How to Play

Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra

2-4 players 30-45 min 7.3 Board Game Geek Rating

Players draft colorful glass tiles to fill their stained glass windows across six rounds. Strategic tile selection and placement earn points through pattern completion and set collection. A Colour Bonus mechanic adds extra scoring opportunities each round. Double-sided window panels create varied gameplay possibilities. Highest score after six rounds wins this tile-drafting strategy game.

Published 2018

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Place Factory Display discs

Put discs orange-side up in the center of the table based on player count:

Position the Glass Tower

Place the tower near the Factory Display discs where all players can reach it

Select player colors

Each player chooses a color and takes the matching Palace board, placing it in front of them

Insert Pattern strips

Each player takes their 8 double-sided Pattern strips and inserts them into their Palace board in random order

Place Glazier pawns

Each player places their Glazier pawn above the leftmost Pattern strip

Determine starting player

The player who most recently cleaned a window takes the Starting Player marker and places it beside their Palace board

Set up the Scoring board

One player manages the Scoring board, placing it nearby

Prepare the Round track

Take one glass pane of each color, shake them in a closed hand, then randomly drop them one by one onto the Round track spaces II through VI

Fill the draw bag

Put the remaining 95 glass panes into the draw bag

Mark Round I

Draw one random glass pane from the bag and place it on space I of the Round track

Fill Factory Display discs

The starting player draws glass panes from the bag and places 4 panes on each Factory Display disc, then places the bag on the table

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Choose your action

On your turn, select one of two actions:

Step 1 - Pick up glass panes

Choose one option:

Step 2 - Place glass panes

Place all collected panes on empty matching-color spaces of one Pattern strip:

Step 3 - Check Pattern strip completion

If the Pattern strip under your Glazier has all 5 spaces filled:

Move to leftmost strip

Instead of picking up glass panes, move your Glazier back above the leftmost Pattern strip

End the round

When no glass panes remain on Factory Display discs or in the center, the round ends

Update Round track

Remove the top glass pane from the Round track and drop it into the Glass Tower

Refill Factory Displays

The player with the Starting Player marker draws panes from the bag to place 4 on each disc

Broken Glass penalty

If any marker reaches the bottom (-18) of the Broken Glass track during play, that player immediately loses 18 points on the scoring track and their marker returns to the top of the Broken Glass track