Azul Etiquette?

[karenttrouble]

In a two player game like this, causing the other player to lose points (or miss out on gaining) is mathematically as good as gaining points of your own. Always play to win.

[Kochanski]

Personally I find the whole denial, control game to be a serious NEGATIVE PLAY ENVIRONMENT. I understand that denying your opponent what they need can be a valid strategy, however I have watched players actively choosing to deny tiles when they had good choices that would give them points. I have watched players grind me into the dust denying every opportunity for me to score even a few points even when they have pulled far ahead and have triggered end game.

At this point I am probably NOT going to play Azul in Arena any more because they always have it as 2 person game and I am tired of someone essentially giving me NO opportunity to play at all really. I might as well just do the same to them and have neither of us score anything.

As a two player game this game is awful.

[Suoivax]

As a two player game this game is awful.

That's..... a take.

[thg0724]

I might as well just do the same to them and have neither of us score anything.

Give it a try!

[Drakien]

I found that the accusations of dirty play go away once you get over about 400 ELO.

[cfunke]

I got into it with another player about this in a game last night. First he questioned why I grabbed a single red to place in the first row (to finish my column) instead of combining with 2 red for my third row (he didn't like that it pushed another tile he wanted into a larger group) and then threw an absolute fit when I grabbed the last single white tile and discarded it because it would have both complete a column for him and given him 5 of a kind (his 3rd I believe). He kept saying I wasn't playing with honour and absolutely refused to acknowledge it as a strategy. I ended up blocking and reporting him after he used a racist epithet (one that didn't even apply) against me.

In this specific case, my move cost me 1 point and denied him 26. I won the game by 10 points.

If there's a piece you need, take it early. Don't let it sit there and assume you're opponent won't take it because they don't need it. If they do, it's your fault, not theirs.

[geeked_up_boardgames]

I have watched players actively choosing to deny tiles when they good choices that would give them points. I have watched players grind me into the dust denying every opportunity for me to score even a few points even when they have pulled far ahead and have triggered end game.

What you have described is the very reason that base Azul is by far my favourite version 2 player. It’s a true Duel, which IMHO 2 player games are always best when they’re head on against each other. It’s best when playing Azul 2 player not to view ‘the highest score’ as the goal, but ‘higher score than my opponent’ is the actual goal. So a move that costs you 2 points, but costs your opponent 6 points is always a viable option, especially towards the end. You counter that by playing as dirty back as you can and looking at their board state and planning counter attacks accordingly.


My friend discovered this the first time we played Azul 2 player. Both of us ended up dropping tons of tiles and lost hundreds of tiles. I ended up losing points on moves that in the long run gave me bonuses, (like taking 4 red instead of 1 and completing my top row) or seemed pointless but then could be used later to group tokens together, and I beat him by around 50 points. We had a blast and played it repeatedly.

Other versions of Azul are a lot less cutthroat and work better with 3 or 4 players than base Azul. My favourite is Queens Garden, although Summer Pavilion will be an easier jumping on point. Summer Pavilion is munch less punishing for dropping tiles, and Queens Garden much more punishing at the end- so hate drafting is a dangerous game to play in it. (As with ang game tho expect people to find ways to make hate drafting profitable in strictly 2 player games)

[Romain672]

I did a post about it here: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27216 (6th post of 1st page) which I recommand since you read that subject until here

[CharmJ12]

A slightly different opinion here. I'm no expert but I play to build nice mosaics and earn points. When my opponent is willing to sacrifices good moves to block me, I lose the fun. Don't like too much aggressivity in other players. It's legit to play as you do, but know that it takes away the pleasure for many others (softies like me, for instance .

[skyeofskynet]

I will be the weird one here, because I don't play Azul to win. I play to place as much tiles as possible until it's impossible to continue the game without finishing it. It's very rare to find an opponent who share that style. It happened a few times and these games were beautiful.

Now I understand strategy, but if I okay with someone who blocks me constantly I usually pick the option to never play with that person again. I get it - you play to win, but there's no pleasure in such aggressive game for me therefore let's not play together again.