Azul: Queen's Garden

The hardest Azul, and the one that will lose you friends who thought they were good at Azul.

Michael Kiesling takes the drafting engine that made Azul famous and points it at a garden rather than a wall - you are laying out topiary, flowers and trees for the Queen, and the placement rules are considerably less forgiving than a four-by-five grid of tiles.

The catch is that you must discard a matching tile to place one, so every piece you want costs you a second piece of the same kind. That single rule turns a gentle drafting game into a genuinely tight puzzle, and it is why this is the entry in the series that experienced players tend to rate highest and newcomers tend to bounce off. Start people on the original and bring them here afterwards.

Perfect for: Anyone who has played Azul enough times to want it to fight back.

2-4 players | 45-60 minutes | Age 10+