Hi all,
When I started playing Azul 3-4 years ago there was very little content available on competitive 1v1 Azul strategy. It took me 3000 games and several years to reach Master, all learning the hard way. Fast-forward to now and there is still not much out there. So I decided to write an Azul guide, wrote a few sections, and realized that it would be much easier to convey my ideas in video format instead.
Inspired by a popular Chess format, I'm making a video series in which I play from Beginner (0 ELO) to Master (700 ELO) on a new account and provide commentary for every single game along the way. The goal is to get an idea for what common mistakes our opponents are making at each level and how to punish them, and of course gain insight into how I think about my plays. My goal is to make Azul "easier", and show that you don't need to be deeply calculating options and looking 10 moves ahead to be able to reach Master. We will simply look to improve our position while hurting our opponent's. I will probably make mistakes in these videos, I will lose games I shouldn't. And that might make you say "why am I listening to this guy?" But it should also make you realize you don't need to be perfect to achieve your Azul goals.
I just posted the first video and would love your feedback. This one is quite long because I set up the premise for the series and touch on some initial strategy ideas, but the goal going forward will just be to play 2-3 games per episode. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4KViaIsqIU
When I started playing Azul 3-4 years ago there was very little content available on competitive 1v1 Azul strategy. It took me 3000 games and several years to reach Master, all learning the hard way. Fast-forward to now and there is still not much out there. So I decided to write an Azul guide, wrote a few sections, and realized that it would be much easier to convey my ideas in video format instead.
Inspired by a popular Chess format, I'm making a video series in which I play from Beginner (0 ELO) to Master (700 ELO) on a new account and provide commentary for every single game along the way. The goal is to get an idea for what common mistakes our opponents are making at each level and how to punish them, and of course gain insight into how I think about my plays. My goal is to make Azul "easier", and show that you don't need to be deeply calculating options and looking 10 moves ahead to be able to reach Master. We will simply look to improve our position while hurting our opponent's. I will probably make mistakes in these videos, I will lose games I shouldn't. And that might make you say "why am I listening to this guy?" But it should also make you realize you don't need to be perfect to achieve your Azul goals.
I just posted the first video and would love your feedback. This one is quite long because I set up the premise for the series and touch on some initial strategy ideas, but the goal going forward will just be to play 2-3 games per episode. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4KViaIsqIU