Board Game Arena

Azul was my favorite game to play on BGA. Then, they changed it so that people could pick tiles and see what changed and then undo. Ruined the game. I wish there were an option to play without undo, but there was a thread about it a while back and it went nowhere. Anyhow, just wanted to say that I miss it. Wish there were somewhere else to play it online.

I’m on the other side of the argument (in favor of the undo button) but I’m not posting to try to convince you to change your opinion because I saw how the other threads went lol.

Instead just want to say from one Azul lover to another that it’s sad to see someone give up on it. We generally have a pretty great community here and a lot of passionate players. If you can get over the undo thing come join our Discord channel.

I don't understand.

I consider myself a strong Azul player - potentially an expert player - I don't understand "undo and see what changes".

On BGA, we cannot do something that reveals hidden information and then undo.

What am I missing ??

FrankJones wrote: ↑25 July 2025, 07:00 I don't understand.

I consider myself a strong Azul player - potentially an expert player - I don't understand "undo and see what changes".

On BGA, we cannot do something that reveals hidden information and then undo.

What am I missing ??

This has nothing to do with whether hidden information has been revealed. Some people want all games to be played so that you make your move and you're committed to it. No take backsies. By "see what changes" they mean that some people can't visualize the future state of the board without actually seeing it. Naturally people who can visualize future game states consider that an advantage and being able to make a move then undo it neutralizes their advantage. Can't have that.

A separate objection is that it can be infuriating when someone takes forever to make a move, and then undoes it. I'm in that camp. Yeah, I know there's a game clock and they are allowed to use all of it, but it can still be annoying to see it. I wouldn't mind if their waffling was hidden until they've committed to a move.

I'm not opposed to undo buttons. But with Azul, when you take a tile it shows the result of what happens, other tiles in the center. If you selected your tile and it didn't change the other tiles, that would be fine for undo. But when you get to see the result of your choice, then change your mind, that's not the same as undo in other games.

Another factor is that with other games on BGA, you can go into your preferences and say I don't want to play this or that variety. That could have been an option here: allow players who want the undo button to say I want to avoid games without the undo button. But the change made it so that it's standard, no way to avoid it.

One more thing. I know I'm in the minority here. There were others who agreed with me in the mega thread from long ago, but not the majority. Still, why can't there be an option for us to play together without the undo? Just stinks that it's not even an option. Anyhow, just wanted to share that I miss the game and I'm sure there are others (maybe only 7 of us) who feel the same.

The fact that taking tiles and playing them are two differents actions is weird to me.

I believe that taking tiles should just show to yourself and yourself only what is happening (and so you can undo/select another tile), and once you decide your move, then it is played for all players (in two parts with a ~1 second delay).

And so the turn counter of Azul would be halved.


You got the same thing in Patchwork, but Patchwork choose the way I just explained.

I understand now.

Taking pieces from a factory allows the player to see what the center will look like without committing to takin those tiles.
Personally, I don't have an issue with that. Official chess rules state that a piece that has been touched must be moved. Unless there is a similar written rule in the Azul rulebook, I see now issue with "resetting" the turn and starting over, within the constraints of a player's clock. Most of the games I play here on BGA allow that.

I also mostly play turn-based, so I don't usually see this while it is happening, unless I happen to be looking at the game while my opponent is making the move. Either way, it does not bother me.

When playing with the physical game, we allowed a player to reset his or her turn as long as it was possible to do so. Meaning, we would caution players, "If you take tiles from a factory and then shove the remaining tiles into the center and mix them with the ones already there, you have committed to taking those tiles, because we won't know which ones started on the factory".

I think it is important for "undo" to remain an option. I rarely misclick, being that I typically play from my computer, but I'm guessing players using a phone or tablet have a higher rate of misclicks.

Are there games on BGA that have "no undo" as one of the options when creating the game table?

I think undo is fair, because:

1. Both player can undo and see the situation after the move.
2. As long as the move is not confirmed, it takes only the time of the undo player, and the other player has actually more time to consider the next move.
3. Misclick happens acutally quite often. Azul is more a strategy game instead of an execution or reaction game. The result should be decided by the strategy of both players instead of who makes less misclick.


Personally I am not a real fan of undo but I also often make a move and rethink a few more seconds before confirmation. If I suddenly find another better move I am glad to change my plan.

But I can understand and I also know some great players who never undo. But I have to admit I am not so good and I still need the undo button.

Romain672 wrote: ↑25 July 2025, 16:26 You got the same thing in Patchwork, but Patchwork choose the way I just explained.

Yes! The way this works in Patchwork would make more people everyone happy here. It would be strictly better than the status quo IMO.