Azul: Summer Pavilion – Game Rules

Welcome to the world of Azul: Summer Pavilion! In this game, the goal is to build an impressive and beautiful summer pavilion. It’s a puzzle-like board game that is easy to learn and provides hours of fun for players of all ages.

Let’s dive into the rules and explore how to play this engaging game.

Objective

Your objective is to earn the highest score by strategically placing tiles on your player board to create stunning patterns in your pavilion.

Components

Before we start, let me walk you through the components of the game:

1 game board
4 player boards
100 resin tiles
9 factory displays
4 scoring markers
1 start player token
1 linen bag

Setup

To set up the game, follow these steps:

Place the game board in the center of the table.
Give each player a player board and a scoring marker of their chosen color.
Place the factory displays on the corresponding spaces on the game board.
Fill the linen bag with the resin tiles and randomly draw four tiles, placing them in each factory display.
Place the start player token near the game board.

Gameplay

Now, let’s get into the gameplay mechanics:

The game consists of several rounds, each comprising several turns.
On your turn, you have two options: take tiles from a factory display or take all tiles of the same color from a factory display.
After taking tiles, you must place them on your player board, following specific placement rules. You earn points for each tile placed.
Any remaining tiles from the chosen factory display, not taken by the active player, are placed on the floor line of your player board.
When the round ends, any tiles on the floor line are moved to the mosaic on your player board.
Rounds continue until a player completes a row of the mosaic on their player board, triggering the end of the game.
Players then calculate their final scores, earning points for completed rows and columns as well as bonus points for specific patterns and achievements.
The player with the highest score is declared the winner.

Strategies and Tactics

Here are a few strategies and tactics to keep in mind while playing:

Plan ahead and think carefully about which tiles to take and where to place them to maximize your points.
Consider the placement rules, such as no repeated colors in rows or columns, while organizing your pavilion.
Use the bonus points opportunities wisely to boost your score.
Pay attention to other players’ moves and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Remember, the key to success in Azul: Summer Pavilion is to think strategically, plan ahead, and adapt to the ever-changing opportunities that arise. Have fun creating your masterpiece!

Back in the 16th Century, King Manuel I of Portugal had grand ambitions. He wanted to build magnificent structures to celebrate his royal family. After completing the impressive Palaces of Evora and Sintra, the king had his sights set on a Summer Pavilion.

This pavilion was meant to be the epitome of exquisite craftsmanship, built by the most talented artisans in the land. Unfortunately, before construction could even begin, King Manuel I passed away.

Now, in Azul-Summer Pavilion, you have the chance to fulfill the king’s vision. As a master artisan, it’s up to you to create this stunning pavilion using the finest materials. But be careful not to waste any supplies – only the most skilled craftsmen will be able to rise to the challenge and honor the Portuguese royal family.

What’s the Objective?

My main goal in this game is to have the highest number of points when the game is over. The game will end once we have completed 6 rounds and have done the final scoring.

Getting Ready

Here’s what you need to do to get started with the game:

1. First, choose a player board. Each player should pick a player board labeled A in their chosen color. Make sure to place it in front of you so that the side with the colored stars is facing up.

2. Next, set up the Factory displays. Arrange the Factory displays labeled B in a circle around the center of the table. The number of displays you should use depends on the number of players in the game. If there are two players, use 5 Factory displays. For three players, use 7 displays. And if there are four players, use 9 displays.

3. Now, place the scoring board next to the Factory displays. This board, labeled C, will keep track of the scores during the game.

4. Finally, put the round counter, labeled D, on the space for round 1. The round counter not only shows the current round but also indicates the wild color for that round. The wild color will be explained in more detail on the next page. In the first round, the wild color is purple.

Now you’re all set to start playing the game! Enjoy and have fun!

To begin the game, I grab my scoring marker and place it on the 5th space of the scoring track.

Next, I fill the bag with 132 tiles. I draw 10 tiles blindly from the bag and randomly lay them out on the supply spaces in the center of the scoring board.

Then, I fill each Factory display with exactly 4 tiles. These tiles are also drawn randomly from the bag. I set the bag aside for now.

I place the start player token in the center of the table, marking the starting point for the game.

I position the tower between the Factory displays and the scoring board.

Finally, I set aside the point tokens. These tokens will come into play during scoring.

If I have any unused player boards, scoring markers, or Factory displays, I return them to the box.

It’s Game Time!

Each round consists of several phases:

Phase 1: Acquiring tiles

Playing the Game

When you play the game, there are three phases to keep in mind.

Phase 1: Draw tiles and replenish your rack
Phase 2: Play tiles and score points
Phase 3: Prepare the next round (this phase is not needed in the last round)

As the youngest player, you will begin, and the game will proceed in clockwise order. Each round will include several turns.

Introducing the Wild Color

When we play the game, there’s one special color that stands out in each round – the wild color. This color is different every round, and you can tell which color it is by looking at the round track.

The wild color is pretty awesome because any tiles in that color can be used to replace tiles of any other color. So, if you have tiles in the wild color, they can be really helpful!

But there’s a catch. The wild color only lasts for the current round. In the next round, the wild color changes, and any tiles you have in the previous wild color can no longer be used as wild tiles. They just become regular tiles again.

Phase 1: Getting Tiles

When it’s your turn, you have to get some tiles. You have two options for doing this:

First, choose all the tiles that have the same color, except for the wild color this round, from the Factory display. Put these tiles next to your player board. Then, move the rest of the tiles from the Factory display to the middle of the table. If there are any wild tiles on the Factory display, you have to take at least one of them. If the Factory display only has wild tiles, you can only take one wild tile.
Take all tiles of one color, except for the wild color, from the center of the table and put them next to your player board. If there are any wild tiles in the center of the table, you must also take one of those. If there are only wild tiles in the center, you can only take one. If you’re the first player to take tiles this round, take the start player token and place it next to your player board. Move your scoring marker back on the scoring track the same number of spaces as the tiles you took, but not further back than the first space. If your marker is already on the first space, you can still take tiles without moving your marker back.

The Start Player Token: Take the Lead!

Hey there! Did you know that having the start player token in Azul: Summer Pavilion can give you a real edge? When you’re the lucky holder of this special token, you get to be the first player to place your tiles on your board during Phase 2. That means you’ll be calling the shots in the following round!

Here’s how it works: once you’ve chosen your tiles from the Factory displays following the usual rules, you’ll get to place them right next to your player board. But don’t dawdle too long, because after that, the spotlight moves on to the next player in clockwise order.

A Glimpse into a Turn

Let’s take a moment to imagine a turn in the game. Picture round 1, where the wild color is purple.

Now, imagine that it’s your turn and you’ve got the start player token. You decide to go for it and grab both red tiles from a Factory display. Unfortunately, there are no wild colon tiles available, so you can’t snatch up any more. With your move done, you take the remaining yellow tiles and move them to the center of the table.
So, I’m Andrea, and I see this green tile in one of the Factory displays. Pretty cool, right? But here’s the thing – there are also some wild color tiles there. So, I go ahead and snatch up the green tile, and since there are those wild ones, I decide to grab a purple tile too. Gotta keep things interesting!
Now, here comes Tom, and he’s eyeing those three yellow tiles in the middle of the table. Can’t blame him – they’re pretty enticing. But he doesn’t stop there, oh no. He figures he might as well grab a wild tile too, just to spice things up.
Now, remember, Tom’s the first player to be snagging tiles from the middle of the table. So, on top of his tile haul, he’s got to grab that start player token too. And just to keep things fair, he moves his scoring marker back 4 spaces. Tough break, but rules are rules, right?

Phase 1 comes to an end when there are no more tiles in the Factory displays or in the center of the table. After that, we move on to Phase 2.

Phase 2: Playing and Scoring Tiles

It’s time for the starting player to take their turn. When it’s your turn, first check if you have the right number of tiles in the color you need, next to your player board, to play in a space.

If you have enough tiles, you can place one of them on the corresponding space of your player board. The remaining tiles that were needed should be discarded into the tower (refer to examples A and B on page 5).

Then, play moves on to the next player in a clockwise direction. This process continues until no player wants to or is able to place any more tiles.

Rules for Placing Tiles:

When it comes to playing the game, it’s important to know exactly how to place your tiles. Let me break it down for you:

I can only place tiles on spaces that are adjacent to my player board.
Tiles can only be placed on the diamond-shaped spaces on my board. I can’t put them on pillars, statues, or windows.
I can only place tiles on empty spaces, so no stacking them on top of each other.
The spaces on my board are arranged in a star shape. Each colored star indicates which color tiles can go there. The numbers on the spaces tell me how many tiles I need to collect before I can place one on that space. Any extra tiles I collected have to be discarded into the tower.
The star in the center of my board is the only one with no restrictions. I can place any colored tile there, as long as all 6 tiles I place are different colors.

When playing the game, it’s important to remember to keep any tiles you don’t use next to your player board.

Using Wild Colors

If you don’t have enough tiles or you don’t want to use all of your tiles of a certain color, you can use tiles of the current wild color instead.

In order to do this, you must have at least one tile of the color you want to place. Any additional tiles that you need are thrown away in the tower.

A helpful tip for using Wild Tiles:

When you’re playing the game, wild tiles are pretty cool. They can step in for any other color you want. But there’s a catch – you have to pair them up with a tile that matches the space’s original color.

Now, here’s the thing: you can’t put a wild tile on a space that it’s substituting for. Nope, that’s a no-go. It’s reserved for tiles that have the same color as the space on your board.

Let me give you an example to make it crystal clear. Let’s say you have a purple space on your board. To fill it up, you can only use a purple tile, got it? The wild purple tile is perfect for this job.

Imagine this: You’re playing a game called Tom. It’s a fun game where you make different color combos to score points. In one move, Tom combines a purple wild tile with a green tile and puts the green tile on space ‘4’ of the green star.

But Tom can also use his wild tiles on stars that match their color. So, if he had another purple wild tile, he could have put it on the purple star.

And here’s the kicker – if there’s a star in the center of Tom’s player board that doesn’t have a tile on it yet, he could have put his tile there too. That would have scored him some major points!

How to Score Points

When you place a tile on your player board, you earn one point. Your scoring marker moves forward one space on the scoring track.

If you place a tile next to other connected tiles, you earn one point for each of those tiles. Only spaces on the star grid that are beside each other are considered connected spaces.

The scoring track is continuous, meaning there are no breaks. If you reach 80 points, you get a point token and place it in front of you to keep track of your total points.

You also receive an additional scoring bonus in the form of extra tiles from the supply spaces on the scoring board under the following conditions:

You know when you’re trying to decorate a pillar and you want to add some tiles to it but you can’t just stick them on any which way? Well, I’ve got some advice for you. First, you need to make sure that there are four spaces around the pillar where you can put the tiles. And when you’ve found those spots, you can pick whichever tile you want to use. It’s as simple as that!

So here’s the deal: when you have a statue and some open space around it, what you gotta do is fill in those spaces with tiles. Easy, right? But wait, there’s more! After you’ve carefully placed the tiles, you get to pick any two of ’em. And get this, you can even choose wild tiles if they’re up for grabs!

Have you ever played the game known as “Azul”? If not, let me tell you about it! In this game, you surround the two adjacent spaces of a window with tiles. And here’s the interesting part – you get the chance to choose any three tiles you want, and if you’re lucky, they can be wild tiles!

Oh, before I forget, you’ll also receive bonus tiles to place next to your player board. And guess what? The empty supply spaces on the scoring board will be filled up with tiles from the bag, just before the next player takes their turn. But if the bag is empty, don’t worry! You can refill it with all the tiles in the tower and continue filling the empty spaces.

Passing

Now, let’s talk about what to do if you can’t or don’t want to place any tiles on your turn. You have the option to pass. And guess what again? You can even choose up to four tiles from those next to your player board to keep for the next round. Just place them in the four spaces in the corners of your player board. Remember, these tiles won’t score you any points, but they can come in handy later on.

Alright, let’s talk about what happens when you have some tiles left over in the game. It’s not ideal, but it happens sometimes.

When you find yourself in this situation, you have to discard those extra tiles into the tower. But here’s the kicker – you’ll lose 1 point on the scoring track for each tile you have to discard. Ouch! Not the best outcome, right?

Unfortunately, having to discard tiles means that you won’t be able to take any more turns in the current round. It’s a bit of a bummer, but that’s the rule.

Phase 3: Preparation for the Next Round

Alright, now let’s talk about what happens after a round ends and it’s time to prepare for the next one.

Here’s the deal – the start player is the one who’s in charge of this task. They have to make sure everything is ready for the next round.

So that’s how it goes! Don’t worry too much if you have to discard some tiles – it happens. Just be prepared for the next round and keep up the good work!

If you haven’t made it to round 6 yet, it’s time to move on. Just advance the round counter to the next round and get ready to start.

But if you’re already in round 6, the end is in sight. You can skip ahead and finish up the game. Make sure to fill up the Factory displays with 4 new tiles each. Grab them randomly from the bag.

Now, if the bag is empty, don’t worry. Just refill it with all the tiles from the tower. Then, continue filling up the Factory displays as usual.

In the rare event that both the bag and the tower are empty, you can still start the next round. Just accept that not all the Factory displays could be filled this time.

Remember to put the start player token back in the center of the table. And don’t forget to move any tiles you’ve collected in the corners of your player board. Place them next to your board.

And that’s it! The game is over. Well done!

Hey there! I’m excited to talk to you about this cool game and how it’s played. So, the game has 6 rounds, and after that, we’ll need to check if we’ve met certain goals and adjust our scoring marker accordingly. Let me break it down for you:

If you finished the multicolored star at the center of your player board, you get 12 points. Pretty awesome, right?
If you finished the red star, you get 14 points. Nice work!
If you finished the blue star, you score 15 points. Great job!
If you finished the yellow star, you earn 16 points. Way to go!
If you finished the orange star, you get 17 points. Keep it up!
If you finished the green star, you score 18 points. Amazing!
If you finished the purple star, congratulations! You get a whopping 20 points!
If you covered all the l’s, you earn 4 points. Not too shabby!
If you covered all the 2’s, you score 8 points. Well done!
If you covered all the 3’s, you get 12 points. You’re on fire!

That’s it! Those are the goals you need to keep in mind while playing. Good luck, and have fun!

If you covered all four sides during the game, you will score 16 points.

Once the last round is over, if you have any tiles left on the corners of your player board that you didn’t use, you’ll need to get rid of them. Just toss them into the tower and wave goodbye to one point for each tile.

The person with the highest score wins the game. But what if there’s a tie? Well, in that case, everyone who tied shares the victory. It’s a moment for celebration, not competition!

A Different Way to Play

Let’s try something different in the game. All of us will flip our player board to the other side and see the monochrome stars.

The rules are just like in the regular game, except for a few changes:

While playing, you get to choose which colors you want to use for all the 7 stars. You have options!
- If you decide to create a star with multiple colors, each of the 6 tiles must have a different color, just like in the regular game.
- If you choose to create a star with only one color, all the tiles must be the same color.
You can have more than one star of the same color, or multiple stars with different colors. You earn points for these stars like you usually do.
Keep in mind that the numbers on the stars are different on the other side of your player board.