Quick Answer
Buy the original Azul first if you play with three or four: it has the simplest turn of the family and plays 2 to 4 from age 8. Buy Azul Duel if it is usually the two of you, since it is the only version listed for exactly two players. If you already own Azul, play the gray side of its board before buying a sequel, then choose Summer Pavilion for a rotating wild colour and tile costs, or Stained Glass of Sintra for a positional puzzle. Save Queen's Garden for experienced players, and buy Azul Mini only for travel: its rules are identical to the original.
Azul$31.99
Best for: A first Azul for three or four players. Buy Azul Duel instead if it is usually two of you.
Key takeaways
- Every Azul box lists the same 30 to 45 minute play time, so choose on rules, not length.
- The original's gray board side is a free harder variant: place tiles anywhere, but no colour may repeat in a row or column.
- Azul Duel is the only version listed for exactly two players, and you build your own wall pattern from dome-plates.
- Summer Pavilion changes what a tile costs; Stained Glass of Sintra changes where you may place it.
- Queen's Garden and Azul Duel are listed for ages 10 and up; Azul Mini has the same rules as the original.
On this page
Side-by-side comparison
The first Azul to buy for three or four players, with a harder variant already printed on the back of every board.
- Player Count
- 2-4
- Game Length
- 30-45 minutes
- Teach Time
- 5 minutes
- BGG Weight
- 1.8
Best evidence
Simplest turn in the family: take tiles, place them on a line
Main trade-off
Floor-line minus points frustrate some new players
The Azul for couples: two players only, with a wall you design from dome-plates before you fill it.
- Player Count
- 2
- Game Length
- 45 minutes (Asmodee)
- Weight
- 2.0
- Designer
- Michael Kiesling
Best evidence
The only Azul listed for exactly two players
Main trade-off
Listed for ages 10 and up, two years older than the original
* Prices are approximate. Tap Buy to see current pricing on Amazon.
| Comparison field | #1Azul Owner rating | #2Azul Duel Owner rating |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| CurioRank | ||
| Verdict | The first Azul to buy for three or four players, with a harder variant already printed on the back of every board. | The Azul for couples: two players only, with a wall you design from dome-plates before you fill it. |
| Price | ||
| Player Count | 2-4 | 2 |
| Game Length | 30-45 minutes | 45 minutes (Asmodee) |
| Teach Time | 5 minutes | - |
| BGG Weight | 1.8 | - |
| Components | Resin tiles + boards | - |
| Weight | - | 2.0 |
| Designer | - | Michael Kiesling |
| Buyer sentiment | Ease of learning Strategy Appearance Family-friendly Buyers praise ease of learning, strategy, appearance and family-friendly. Based on 2,030 user mentions | Gameplay Two-player Original color Complexity Material quality Buyers praise gameplay, two-player and original color. Some flag complexity and material quality. Based on 70 user mentions |
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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* Prices are approximate. Click Buy to see current pricing on Amazon.
Azul
- Spiel des Jahres winner with stunning visual design
- Learn in 5 minutes
- Premium components - resin tiles feel great
The original is still the right first Azul: one kind of turn, 100 resin tiles, 2 to 4 players from age 8, and a gray-sided board that gives you a harder variant before you ever buy a sequel.
Watch the top pick: Azul
Video by a third-party creator, hosted on YouTube. Loads only when you press play.
Every Azul box opens with the same move: take all the tiles of one colour from a display and push the rest to the middle. Michael Kiesling designed every one of them. What changes from box to box is what you do with those tiles afterwards, and that is the only thing worth choosing on.
It is not worth choosing on play time. Next Move Games, the publisher, prints 30 to 45 minutes on every box below.
- 5 distinct Azul games, plus two travel-size editions
- 30–45 min the listed play time on every one of them
- 1 version built for exactly two players: Azul Duel
- 4 vs 6 rounds in Queen's Garden, against Sintra and Summer Pavilion
Source: Next Move Games product pages and English rulebooks, read October 29, 2026.
What each box actually changes
Every row comes from the publisher's own product page and rulebook.
| Players / age | Game length | The one big change | What you juggle | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azul | 2–4 / 8+ | Until someone fills a row of 5 | None: the original printed wall | Pattern lines, and a floor line of minus points |
| Azul Mini | 2–4 / 8+ | Same as Azul | Same rules in a smaller box | Same as Azul |
| Stained Glass of Sintra | 2–4 / 8+ | 6 rounds | A glazier who only walks right | Where he stands, and when to spend a turn walking him back |
| Summer Pavilion | 2–4 / 8+ | 6 rounds | A wild colour that changes every round | A hand of tiles, and which 4 to keep |
| Queen's Garden | 2–4 / 10+ | 4 rounds | Each tile has a colour and a pattern | A 12-tile storage, garden expansions, a scoring wheel |
| Azul Duel | 2 only / 10+ | 5 rounds | You build your own pattern first | Dome-plates, two kinds of factory, bonus chips |
Before you buy a second Azul, flip your board
The original box already holds a harder game. On the gray side of each player board the wall has no colours printed. Per the variant rules in the Azul rulebook, you may put a tile on any space in its row, as long as no colour repeats in any row or any column. If a tile has no legal space left, its whole pattern line goes to the floor.
Rule of thumb: if your group has solved the coloured wall, play the gray side for a few weeks before you pay for a sequel. It is the cheapest new Azul there is.
Pick by the problem you have
"We want our first Azul": buy Azul
It is the only one with a single kind of turn: take tiles, put them on a line. Every other box adds a second system on top of that move.
- 100 resin tiles, 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up.
- The game ends after the round in which someone completes a row of five.
- Its publisher page lists the 2018 Spiel des Jahres among its awards.
"It is usually just the two of us": buy Azul Duel
The other four games all list 2 to 4 players. Azul Duel is listed for exactly two. The bigger change is that you design your own wall. Dome-plates go onto your board in any orientation, and they decide which colours you need.
Each turn is one of four actions, per the Duel rulebook:
- Take a dome-plate.
- Take all tiles of one colour from a factory's sun.
- Take the top tiles of one colour from every factory's moon.
- Take a bonus chip that has been revealed.
The box says ages 10 and up, two years older than the original.
"We have played the original to death": Summer Pavilion or Sintra, not both
Both sequels keep the draft and last six rounds. They fix different things.
Summer Pavilion changes what a tile costs:
- A different colour is wild each round.
- A space numbered 4 costs four tiles of its colour. You place one and discard the rest, and wilds can fill the gap.
- When you pass, you keep up to 4 tiles. Every other leftover costs a point.
- Surrounding a pillar, statue or window earns 1, 2 or 3 bonus tiles.
Stained Glass of Sintra changes where you may place:
- Your glazier stands over one of 8 window strips.
- You may fill the strip below him or one to his right, never one to his left.
- Walking him back to the far left takes your whole turn.
- Completing a strip earns a bonus for panes that match the round's colour.
That is our read of the Summer Pavilion and Sintra rulebooks, not a play-test: Summer Pavilion suits a group that liked planning a hand of tiles several turns ahead; Sintra suits one that liked the spatial puzzle of the wall.
"We want the deepest one": Queen's Garden, but not as a first Azul
In Queen's Garden, every tile carries one of six colours and one of six patterns. You take every tile of one pattern in different colours, or every tile of one colour in different patterns. Placing a tile costs that pattern's value in discards, and a rotary wheel names the patterns and colours that score each round.
"We travel": Azul Mini is the same game, smaller
Azul Mini uses the same 100 resin tiles and the same rules. Each player gets a plastic tray, and the factory displays can sit in the travel tray. Summer Pavilion has a Mini edition too.
Five questions before the second box
Answer these before you add a second Azul
- Have we played the gray side of the original board?
- Is it usually two of us, or three to four?
- Does anyone struggle with a turn that has more than one kind of action?
- Is everyone at least 10, for Queen's Garden or Duel?
- Do we want a different puzzle, or the same one in a smaller box?
The publisher also sells expansions rather than new games: Crystal Mosaic for Azul and Glazed Pavilion for Summer Pavilion, both of which need their base game.
How this was sourced
This is research, not a play-test. Player counts, ages, play times and contents come from each game's Next Move Games page; rule details come from the English rulebook PDFs linked in Research Sources. Both were read on October 29, 2026.
Azul is also our pick in the best gateway board games ranking, and Duel sits in the best two-player board games guide if you want it set against the rest of that shelf.
Common questions
Which Azul game is best for beginners?
Which Azul is best for two players?
Is Azul Mini different from Azul?
Is Summer Pavilion harder than Azul?
Do I need the original Azul to play the sequels?
Research Sources
- Next Move Games — Azul product page (players, age, play time, contents, awards)
- Next Move Games — Azul rulebook PDF (turn, end of game, gray-side variant)
- Next Move Games — Azul Mini product page (contents, travel trays)
- Next Move Games — Azul Mini rulebook PDF
- Next Move Games — Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra product page
- Next Move Games — Stained Glass of Sintra rulebook PDF (glazier, 6 rounds, color bonus)
- Next Move Games — Azul: Summer Pavilion product page
- Next Move Games — Summer Pavilion rulebook PDF (wild color, tile costs, keeping 4 tiles)
- Next Move Games — Azul: Queen's Garden product page (ages 10+, contents)
- Next Move Games — Queen's Garden rulebook PDF (patterns and colors, 12-tile storage, 4 rounds)
- Next Move Games — Azul Duel product page (2 players, ages 10+)
- Next Move Games — Azul Duel rulebook PDF (dome-plates, four actions, 5 rounds)
- Next Move Games — Azul special editions and expansions page (Crystal Mosaic, Glazed Pavilion)
