I absolutely love Azul. I will literally play it with anyone at pretty much any time. Plus the tiles are just the most delicious thing in board games. I want to eat them. Please let me eat them.
Nice, balanced, informative video. Played Summer Pavilion a few days ago and WOW, as soon as we were done, we wanted to play again. THAT'S the sign of a great game. I would say this game is a better option for new players (you won't get stuck with minus points for tiles you can't place since you can save 4 tiles for the next round) but the dilemma of completing stars or covering all the 4 spaces, for example, are really interesting. Also love the addition of the WILD-color tile each round. My advice is to skip the original and jump into Summer Pavilion for newbies and for Azul enthusiasts! Scoring is not difficult (the most you gain in a turn is 6 points) and remember: Everyone can do math!
I like Azul a lot but after quite a number of plays I think I like Summer Pavilion even better. Though, your explanation of the differences is accurate from my point of view. Thanks for the good breakdown. Might be helpful to convince a couple more people to try it out.
I just picked up the original Azul - literally 2 hours ago! Immediately sat down to learn the game - played 4X in a row... love this game. In our top 10 for sure! We also love Splendor -Sagrada- TTR-europe- Patchwork- Wingspan!!- and some oldies - Sequence- backgammon and othello. Loved your video - thanks!
Thanks for your enthusiastic review Wheels! As my country has just come out of lockdown I went to the local games shop, picked up a copy of Azul, invited some friends round who just happen to be tilers and we really enjoyed it. It took a few rounds for everyone to understand the strategy of maximising scores however we are looking to progressing to play the variation side. Anyway thanks again for the review, Azul was a low stress way to get used to having friends over again.
Summer Pavilion is a phenomenal game, I do not care what anybody says. It is just as good as the first game and at each play gets better and better. Also the scoring is not that bad , once you know what to do, it is not very complicated and people make it seems more tedious than it is. If Azul was a 8,5 for me...Summer pavilion it is a solid 8 ...if not the same.
We played Azul just a few days ago for the first time. It is pretty brilliant. Very quick to pick up and then lots of strategy to master. And like he said you can have a conversation about something else entirely while playing and still be tactically competitive. And the quality of the pieces is excellent. They're almost pleasurable to hold in your hands.
I bought the original Azul for my wife as a Christmas gift, based on its strong reputation and several glowing mentions on this channel. We both love it, and it's already become a staple in our local circle of game-playing friends. Protip: take care if you're up against professional mathematicians or computer programmers. Those ladies and gents know how to play a cunning long game.
Love Azul so much. I kind of can’t believe it was only released in 2017, it has the feel of a game that has been around for centuries to me. Fabulous game. I’d love to play this new one but I can’t imagine it replacing Azul in my heart or on my shelf
The deductions on the broken tile tracker do not grow exponentially. Otherwise, good review! But seriously, I implore you to only use that term when it is technically correct.
I too have been contaminated by many years of mathematics, I almost had a panic attack when he referred to a column as a row and called a rhombus a diamond.
@@revo1verrock The English name for the red rhombus suite in a deck of cards is "diamonds", so I get that. Mixing up rows and columns however... but I do not think he did that.
Is it possible to present a list of cooperative games? I do have some difficulties in finding interesting one to play with the family. I know the Pandemics and Forbidden Island, but they run around the same mechanic.
You can find a list of the best co-op board games on our website! (And expect to see plenty on the TH-cam channel in the future, too!) dicebreaker.com/mechanics/cooperative/best-games/best-co-op-board-games
Flashpoint is a very popular co-op game in my gaming group. Players work together in the role of firefighters, combating a house fire while rescuing the people and pets trapped inside. There's an easy ruleset, and advanced options that add more variety and challenge, so it's ideal for experienced players or newcomers. Dead of Winter (on Dicebreaker's list) is wonderfully tense and atmospheric, and another personal favourite. It's also very grim and challenging, and probably not child-friendly due to its frequently dark and violent themes.
Mysterium is always my first co-op suggestion. It's definitely cooperative but does have an element of independent choice for each player. No one tends to get sidelined by more vociferous players and the art is unbeatable.
I love Azul, but learning about the way summer pavilion plays, I feel like it doesn't actually add to the original in the ways that I want. I like how simple the original game is, I can teach it to my parents and they'll pick it up after a turn or two... Yet, there's enough depth that I can still enjoy it after many, many plays. Summer pavilion does add a few interesting things... but it seems like it's at the expense of accessibility and elegance. I think I'll need to sit down and actually play it to see for sure, but I'm less excited about it now than when I first heard about it.
Scoring is such a problem in these kinds of games, practically across the board.. *ahem* I'd like to see more games do a negative scoring system where you begin with a number & subtract for whatever you can't do. For example, remove a point for any tile you take that you can't then place but don't score the ones you do. Once one player exhausts their arbitrary number of points, the one with the most left wins, that kind of thing. It's a lot simpler than having a separate scoring round & takes out almost all the maths & slowdown.
I think it is quite a bit of a strawman argument to dismiss Stained Glass of Sintra so easily. I like it quite a lot and find it even easier to teach than the first one, and thus more elegant.
I don't even like Sintra, and was like wtf. Plenty of fans like it more than the original. It has a 7.5 on BGG, which is quite good for an abstract game with such big shoes to fill. So I would not write it off that easily. Everyone I have played Sintra with has liked it more than the original, as with most reviewers I have seen.
I adore the original Azul; it's so wonderfully simple while offering so much, and so pretty. I'm curious what Wheels reasons for disliking Azul Stained Glass were? I haven't tried it, but from pictures the pieces never looked as good to me, and it also seemed like it might be more complicated in a way that made it less cutthroat than the original?
In many reviews Stained Class in rated higher than the first one. I believe it would have been in place for Wheels to also talk about it and compare it too
time for trip English is widely spoken if your worried and its pretty cheap once there. Hit up the the islands of Azores and Madeira if you want a euro vacation and feel 100% safe while in a semi tropical climate
I absolutely love Azul. I will literally play it with anyone at pretty much any time.
Plus the tiles are just the most delicious thing in board games. I want to eat them. Please let me eat them.
Nice, balanced, informative video. Played Summer Pavilion a few days ago and WOW, as soon as we were done, we wanted to play again. THAT'S the sign of a great game. I would say this game is a better option for new players (you won't get stuck with minus points for tiles you can't place since you can save 4 tiles for the next round) but the dilemma of completing stars or covering all the 4 spaces, for example, are really interesting. Also love the addition of the WILD-color tile each round. My advice is to skip the original and jump into Summer Pavilion for newbies and for Azul enthusiasts! Scoring is not difficult (the most you gain in a turn is 6 points) and remember: Everyone can do math!
I've played a billion games of Azul, and I absolutely adore Summer Pavilion
I like Azul a lot but after quite a number of plays I think I like Summer Pavilion even better. Though, your explanation of the differences is accurate from my point of view. Thanks for the good breakdown. Might be helpful to convince a couple more people to try it out.
I just picked up the original Azul - literally 2 hours ago! Immediately sat down to learn the game - played 4X in a row... love this game. In our top 10 for sure! We also love Splendor -Sagrada- TTR-europe- Patchwork- Wingspan!!- and some oldies - Sequence- backgammon and othello. Loved your video - thanks!
Thanks for your enthusiastic review Wheels! As my country has just come out of lockdown I went to the local games shop, picked up a copy of Azul, invited some friends round who just happen to be tilers and we really enjoyed it. It took a few rounds for everyone to understand the strategy of maximising scores however we are looking to progressing to play the variation side. Anyway thanks again for the review, Azul was a low stress way to get used to having friends over again.
Summer Pavilion is a phenomenal game, I do not care what anybody says. It is just as good as the first game and at each play gets better and better. Also the scoring is not that bad , once you know what to do, it is not very complicated and people make it seems more tedious than it is.
If Azul was a 8,5 for me...Summer pavilion it is a solid 8 ...if not the same.
Fantastic video format, really well done - thanks a lot for this and a really helpful comparison and review
I've played azul at a con at 3 in the morning and liked it a whole lot! Thank you for the review and the amazing thumbnail!
We played Azul just a few days ago for the first time. It is pretty brilliant. Very quick to pick up and then lots of strategy to master. And like he said you can have a conversation about something else entirely while playing and still be tactically competitive. And the quality of the pieces is excellent. They're almost pleasurable to hold in your hands.
I love both azul and sp, if teaching newbies would start with the original, but would then move on to sp they both have a place in my collection.
I bought the original Azul for my wife as a Christmas gift, based on its strong reputation and several glowing mentions on this channel. We both love it, and it's already become a staple in our local circle of game-playing friends.
Protip: take care if you're up against professional mathematicians or computer programmers. Those ladies and gents know how to play a cunning long game.
Love Azul so much. I kind of can’t believe it was only released in 2017, it has the feel of a game that has been around for centuries to me. Fabulous game. I’d love to play this new one but I can’t imagine it replacing Azul in my heart or on my shelf
The deductions on the broken tile tracker do not grow exponentially. Otherwise, good review! But seriously, I implore you to only use that term when it is technically correct.
You can't stop me you word coward
I too have been contaminated by many years of mathematics, I almost had a panic attack when he referred to a column as a row and called a rhombus a diamond.
@@revo1verrock The English name for the red rhombus suite in a deck of cards is "diamonds", so I get that.
Mixing up rows and columns however... but I do not think he did that.
Those tiles look extremely edible.
Is it possible to present a list of cooperative games?
I do have some difficulties in finding interesting one to play with the family.
I know the Pandemics and Forbidden Island, but they run around the same mechanic.
You can find a list of the best co-op board games on our website! (And expect to see plenty on the TH-cam channel in the future, too!) dicebreaker.com/mechanics/cooperative/best-games/best-co-op-board-games
Flashpoint is a very popular co-op game in my gaming group. Players work together in the role of firefighters, combating a house fire while rescuing the people and pets trapped inside. There's an easy ruleset, and advanced options that add more variety and challenge, so it's ideal for experienced players or newcomers.
Dead of Winter (on Dicebreaker's list) is wonderfully tense and atmospheric, and another personal favourite. It's also very grim and challenging, and probably not child-friendly due to its frequently dark and violent themes.
Mysterium is always my first co-op suggestion. It's definitely cooperative but does have an element of independent choice for each player. No one tends to get sidelined by more vociferous players and the art is unbeatable.
"Menara". Cooperative dexterity game. Super-exciting, building a tower together. Even better with the expansion.
Does wheels know what a circle is?
The newer title may not revolutionize the formula, but it has brought the original to my attention so that's a plus.
I love Azul, but learning about the way summer pavilion plays, I feel like it doesn't actually add to the original in the ways that I want. I like how simple the original game is, I can teach it to my parents and they'll pick it up after a turn or two... Yet, there's enough depth that I can still enjoy it after many, many plays. Summer pavilion does add a few interesting things... but it seems like it's at the expense of accessibility and elegance. I think I'll need to sit down and actually play it to see for sure, but I'm less excited about it now than when I first heard about it.
I might just check it out now..the funk soul brother.
Scoring is such a problem in these kinds of games, practically across the board.. *ahem* I'd like to see more games do a negative scoring system where you begin with a number & subtract for whatever you can't do. For example, remove a point for any tile you take that you can't then place but don't score the ones you do. Once one player exhausts their arbitrary number of points, the one with the most left wins, that kind of thing. It's a lot simpler than having a separate scoring round & takes out almost all the maths & slowdown.
I said funk soul brother at same time XD
I think it is quite a bit of a strawman argument to dismiss Stained Glass of Sintra so easily. I like it quite a lot and find it even easier to teach than the first one, and thus more elegant.
I don't even like Sintra, and was like wtf. Plenty of fans like it more than the original. It has a 7.5 on BGG, which is quite good for an abstract game with such big shoes to fill. So I would not write it off that easily.
Everyone I have played Sintra with has liked it more than the original, as with most reviewers I have seen.
Silly Wheels of course you have to play the first two first or the story won't make any sense!
I adore the original Azul; it's so wonderfully simple while offering so much, and so pretty. I'm curious what Wheels reasons for disliking Azul Stained Glass were? I haven't tried it, but from pictures the pieces never looked as good to me, and it also seemed like it might be more complicated in a way that made it less cutthroat than the original?
In many reviews Stained Class in rated higher than the first one. I believe it would have been in place for Wheels to also talk about it and compare it too
He said "grows exponentially", but I don't think he meant that.
📝
The only problem is, I've never been to Portugal so I never get to start (And no, Nandos doesn't count - I've asked...)
time for trip
English is widely spoken if your worried and its pretty cheap once there. Hit up the the islands of Azores and Madeira if you want a euro vacation and feel 100% safe while in a semi tropical climate
isnt it just a copy of patchwork
I skipped the original and jumped right on Summer Pavilion as me and my gf just want as many ways as possible to ruin each other's plans