Azul Queens Garden: My Favorite Game Mechanism

Jamey discusses the newest and most complex entry into the Azul series of games, Azul: Queen's Garden.

[draheim]

Small correction, the bonus you get for enclosing a feature are the joker (wild) tokens, not straight points (see bottom-left of page 5 of the rulebook). Those joker tokens are worth a point at the end if they’re still in your supply though.

[dylannorthrup]

I would agree with your comment the other day, that Queen’s Garden seems to have pushed Azul out of its typical weight class. Certainly makes for a longer game, and a more complicated puzzle. I like it… I still prefer original Azul, but admittedly I have only played Summer Pavillon once or twice, and still need to get a copy for myself. Stained Glass is also my least favourite, lol… still good, but just doesn’t feel as satisfying to play for some reason.

My favourite mechanism in Queen’s Garden is the new tile draft, and the fact that you grab all of the “Hexagons” with matching colour or symbol, which includes tiles and extensions… except I have had that become an incredibly frustrating sticking point where I was unable to draft the tiles I needed to complete a set because there were too many, and I couldn’t fit them in my storage (yet, I couldn’t play the tiles in my storage without completing the set… a catch 22 that wasted an entire round for me).

Small rules goof that may have improved your play experience - when you complete features by fully surrounding them, you are rewarded with Joker Tiles, not points… to be fair, Joker Tiles are worth points, but more importantly they are wild and help you complete sets easier, preventing negative points later on. A key part of the strategy involves getting those Joker Tiles at the right moment to allow you to complete sets before they score at the end of the round.

[oscararias]

Haven't played this one... I lucked out and bought summer pavilion (at the time the newest version of Azul) after falling in love with the original and the summer pavilion became mi fav out of the two as well

[Jonathan-eivp]

I've played all four and Queens Garden is probably my favorite of the four. Stained Glass of Sintra was my least favorite and I don't feel the urge to go back to the original.
While they are nice abstract puzzles, I'm a bit saturated after all these versions 🙂

[jakermaker]

Very reminiscent of Heaven and Ale’s shed enclosure mechanism that was also a Kiesling design. Definitely enjoy this one but SP is still our favourite too. Have you played Heaven and Ale, Jamey?