Board Game Arena

Hi,
I noticed what seems to be a serious rules mistake in the Azul implementation on BGA.

In the physical (official) version of the game, when a player takes tiles of one color, they must place them on a valid pattern line if there is at least one available. Only if no valid pattern line exists for that color should the tiles go to the floor line (negative points).

However, on BGA, it’s currently possible to choose to put tiles directly on the floor line even if there are empty rows where they could legally be placed. This changes the strategy completely and allows players to avoid placing tiles tactically, which is against the official rules.

This is a major deviation from the real rules and essentially creates a different version of the game.
Could you please check this behavior and confirm if it’s a known issue or intended?

Thank you!

Best regards,
Poolik

Poolik89 wrote: ↑07 October 2025, 00:29 Hi,
I noticed what seems to be a serious rules mistake in the Azul implementation on BGA.

In the physical (official) version of the game, when a player takes tiles of one color, they must place them on a valid pattern line if there is at least one available. Only if no valid pattern line exists for that color should the tiles go to the floor line (negative points).

Where are you getting this from? https://cdn.1j1ju.com/medias/03/14/fd-azul-rulebook.pdf A quick look at page 4 covers this.

Any tiles you have picked that you cannot or do not want to place according to the rules, you must place in your floor line

If that wasn't clear enough, they even give a specific example.

Andrea picks 2 yellow tiles from a Factory display. She is not allowed to place them in her second or third pattern line, as their corresponding wall lines each have a yellow tile. She may not place them in the fourth pattern line either, as there is already 1 blue tile and she may not add tiles of a different color to it. She may, however, place 1 of them in the first pattern line and the excess tile in the floor line (A). Or she may place both tiles in the fifth pattern line (B). She may even choose to place both tiles in the floor line (C).

Ceaseless wrote: ↑07 October 2025, 00:48 Where are you getting this from? https://cdn.1j1ju.com/medias/03/14/fd-azul-rulebook.pdf A quick look at page 4 covers this.

Any tiles you have picked that you cannot or do not want to place according to the rules, you must place in your floor line

If that wasn't clear enough, they even give a specific example.

Andrea picks 2 yellow tiles from a Factory display. She is not allowed to place them in her second or third pattern line, as their corresponding wall lines each have a yellow tile. She may not place them in the fourth pattern line either, as there is already 1 blue tile and she may not add tiles of a different color to it. She may, however, place 1 of them in the first pattern line and the excess tile in the floor line (A). Or she may place both tiles in the fifth pattern line (B). She may even choose to place both tiles in the floor line (C).

This makes me wonder how many games people play correctly for the first time when they are forced to by BGA.

Ceaseless wrote: ↑07 October 2025, 00:48

Poolik89 wrote: ↑07 October 2025, 00:29 Hi,
I noticed what seems to be a serious rules mistake in the Azul implementation on BGA.

In the physical (official) version of the game, when a player takes tiles of one color, they must place them on a valid pattern line if there is at least one available. Only if no valid pattern line exists for that color should the tiles go to the floor line (negative points).

Where are you getting this from? https://cdn.1j1ju.com/medias/03/14/fd-azul-rulebook.pdf A quick look at page 4 covers this.

Any tiles you have picked that you cannot or do not want to place according to the rules, you must place in your floor line

If that wasn't clear enough, they even give a specific example.

Andrea picks 2 yellow tiles from a Factory display. She is not allowed to place them in her second or third pattern line, as their corresponding wall lines each have a yellow tile. She may not place them in the fourth pattern line either, as there is already 1 blue tile and she may not add tiles of a different color to it. She may, however, place 1 of them in the first pattern line and the excess tile in the floor line (A). Or she may place both tiles in the fifth pattern line (B). She may even choose to place both tiles in the floor line (C).

Just to clarify the situation for anyone reading — there’s actually a small inconsistency between the text and the example in the rulebooks.

In the English version, it clearly says:

“Any tiles you have picked that you cannot or do not want to place according to the rules, you must place in your floor line.”

But in the Czech translation (MindOK, 2018), this part was simplified and the “or do not want to” phrase was omitted.
The sentence there sounds more like “you must place all picked tiles into one of your pattern lines; if they don’t fit, put the rest on the floor.”

However, the example with Andrea (options A, B, C) is still identical in the Czech version — including option (C), where she places both tiles directly on the floor line.

So, the text and example slightly contradict each other in the Czech rulebook, which is probably why so many Czech players believe you must place tiles if you can.

Poolik89 wrote: ↑07 October 2025, 09:29 Just to clarify the situation for anyone reading — there’s actually a small inconsistency between the text and the example in the rulebooks.

That seems to be a BIG inconsistency and a pretty egregious translation error. Perhaps the person responsible for the translation had the rule wrong themselves and infected the Czech version with it.

Inconsistencies don‘t only happen in translations, but from old to new editions too. Can‘t do more but just accept it, and leave it to the right holder what he wants implemented here.