I tried to challenge the tile craftsmen who serve the king again with 'Azur: Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set' that can decorate the walls of the palace more beautifully
' Azur: Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set ', which is a new challenge to the board game '
Azure: Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set | ANALOG GAME INDEX
http://hobbyjapan.games/azul_crystal_mosaic/
'Azul' is a game with the motif of traditional Portuguese tiles, azulejos , and the package has a geometric tile-like design.
This is an expansion set to the last, so you need the basic set 'Azul' to play.
The rules of the game are the same as the basic set of 'Azur'. The rules for the 'azure' core set can be seen in the articles below.
The contents of 'Azul: Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set' are only 4 player board covers, 4 player boards, and rule sheets.
The player board cover is a transparent acrylic cover that is used on top of the player board.
The cover has irregularities that allow tiles to be arranged neatly.
If you try to tile the walls of the palace, you can see that the tiles are lined up better with the covers (left) than without the covers (right). Without the cover, it takes time to line up the tiles neatly, and it will be a little misaligned, so adding a cover will greatly improve the quality of play. Since it is a wall that decorates the royal palace, the arrangement should be beautiful.
In addition, if there is no cover (left), you may not be able to understand the score by placing a marker halfway, but since the score table is uneven, you can manage the score firmly with the cover (right).
In addition, it is a good design, so it will be a little easier to collect tiles after the game, so it is possible to reach the itch. An editorial staff member who had played Azur said, 'I wanted you to put on the cover from the beginning ...'.
Comparing the player board of the Crystal Mosaic expansion set (top) and the player board of the basic set (bottom), the wall and floor lines of the palace were different. The Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set player boards have a slightly different score calculation on both sides than the Basic Set.
The walls of the palace where the tiles are lined up are different on each side, the left side has 5 tiles that can be placed, the right side has tiles that can be placed, and the square marked “× 2” 5 are drawn.
Also, the points earned at the end of the game are different. The left side will add 3 points if you align 1 row horizontally, 10 points if you align 1 row vertically, and 12 points if you align 1 color for each row. The right side has the same score as the basic set.
The floor line on which the discarded tiles are placed has a negative point adjusted, and the basic set had a maximum of -14 points, but the Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set (above) has a maximum of -10 points, which is a small point deduction. . The king may have become kinder.
I immediately tried playing with 4 people using the Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set.
First of all, the challenge of making a palace wall in terms of 'x2'.
If you put a tile on the square marked 'x2' on this board, the score will be doubled.
Therefore, if you fill in the square marked with 'x2', you will only get 6 points, 2 points x 2 = 4 points and 1 point x 2 = 2 points for the following walls.
The game ends when the tiles line up horizontally, so if you have tiles vertically aligned, you can get a high score at once by placing tiles in the “× 2” square. For example, with the following walls, the vertical length is 5 points x 2 = 10 points, the horizontal length is 3 points x 2 = 6 points, and 16 points can be obtained at a stretch.
Since it is difficult to arrange tiles, there are craftsmen who gradually increase the number of tiles dropped on the floor as the game progresses.
In the expansion set, the number of deduction points is small for 2 to 4 tiles, so there is also a strategy to aim for a high score by diluting some deduction points. Thank you for the kindness of the king.
Azur has the difficulty of 'getting the desired tiles on time,' and it is necessary to fill in the pattern lines and walls of the palace while identifying the tiles that the opponent wants. Also, since it is the latter half that the vertical 5 squares are arranged, the wall tends to be hollow. The rule was that the difficulty level would be even higher when trying to achieve both beautiful walls and high scores.
This time, I flipped the player board and played with the other side. In this wall tile, the color of the tile to be placed in 5 places is specified.
Since the score distribution at the end of the game is different, you can aim for one shot reversal at the very end.
As a craftsman, sometimes I seriously fill in the tiles that I specified.
However, there is a tragedy that if you fill in the specified tiles without thinking, you will not be able to put the tiles later because there is a rule that 'up to one tile is the same per row'.
If you think carefully and place tiles, you can also place tiles one by one in vertical and horizontal rows to get bonus points at the end of the game. In the wall below, we have successfully placed 5 tiles of 2 types, red and yellow.
Some tile craftsmen showed the unconventional technique of placing a designated tile on a different square and vacating the square where the tile was designated in order to aim for a higher score.
The key to azure is to immediately judge 'where and what color tiles can be placed to efficiently fill the tiles'. In particular, if you fill each row of the wall with 5 squares so that the score at the end of the game will be high, the wall will naturally become beautiful at the end.
I played this game with both those who have played the basic set of Azure and those who have never played it. The simple rules of the basic set are the same, so both experienced and beginners could play without a big handicap.
Azur has fun not only winning and losing, but also 'how to decorate the walls of the palace', but since the tiles can be arranged more beautifully with the player board cover, you can play without the stress of the tiles slipping. If you already own Azure, the Player Board Cover is highly recommended.
The price of 'Azul: Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set' is 2200 yen including tax, and at Amazon.co.jp it was possible to purchase it at 2340 yen including tax at the time of article creation.
Amazon | Azure: Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set Japanese Version | Board Games | Toys
Also, the basic set of 'Azur' required to play with 'Azur: Crystal Mosaic Expansion Set' was available for purchase from Amazon.co.jp from 6200 yen including tax at the time of article creation.
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