How to Play Azul Mini

Last Updated on July 16, 2026 by The Official Game Rules Team

Enjoy the Azul tile-placement game in a compact, travel-friendly edition. Azul Mini is designed for easy setup and quick play — perfect for cars, trains, planes, poolside, or while waiting in line! Despite its smaller size, it offers the same strategic depth and satisfying gameplay as the original.

Original Rules pdf

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Game Setup

Distribute Player Boards and Trays:
Each player receives a player board and a plastic tray (A). Place your player board so the colored wall side faces up, then slide it into your plastic tray. (If you want a different challenge, you can flip your board to the gray side to play the variant. All players must use the same side.)

Prepare Score Track:
Place both point sliders (B) on the “0” space of the score track located on your player board.

Arrange Factory Displays:
Place the Factory displays (C) in a circle at the center of the table. For ease of play, you may arrange them inside the plastic travel tray.

Fill the Tile Bag:
Add all 100 tiles (20 tiles in each of the 5 colors) into the cloth bag (D).

Determine Starting Player:
The player who most recently visited Portugal takes the starting player marker (F).

Populate Factory Displays:
Draw 4 tiles randomly from the bag and place them on each Factory display.

Adjust Number of Factory Displays by Player Count:

2 players: use 5 Factory displays
3 players: use 7 Factory displays
4 players: use all 9 Factory displays

Set aside any unused player boards and Factory displays.

Objective

Score the most points by strategically drafting and placing tiles on your wall. The game concludes after a round in which at least one player completes a full horizontal line of 5 consecutive tiles on their wall.

Gameplay Overview

The game progresses in rounds, each consisting of three phases:

A. Factory Offer
B. Wall-Tiling
C. Preparing the Next Round

A. Factory Offer Phase

The starting player places the starting player marker in the center of the table and takes the first turn. Play proceeds clockwise.
On your turn, you must take tiles by choosing one of two options:
- Take all tiles of the same color from a single Factory display. Then move any leftover tiles from that display to the center of the table.
- Take all tiles of the same color from the center of the table.
If you are the first player to pick tiles from the center during a round, you also take the starting player marker and place it on the leftmost empty space of your floor line.
Add the tiles you selected to one of the five pattern lines on your player board:
- Pattern lines vary in length from 1 tile (line 1) to 5 tiles (line 5).
- Place tiles one by one from right to left in the chosen pattern line.
- If the pattern line already contains tiles, only add tiles of the same color.
- If you pick more tiles than fit in your pattern line, place the extra tiles in your floor line (from right to left).
The goal in this phase is to complete as many pattern lines as possible since only completed lines allow you to move tiles to your wall and score points during the Wall-Tiling phase.
From the second round onward, you may not place tiles in a pattern line if that color already exists in the corresponding row on your wall.

Floor Line

Tiles placed in your floor line are considered dropped and result in penalties at the end of the round.
Fill the floor line spaces from left to right.
If the floor line is full, any additional excess tiles are discarded to the game box tray.

B. Wall-Tiling Phase

Players move tiles from completed pattern lines to their walls simultaneously.
For each completed pattern line (from top to bottom):
- Move the rightmost tile from the pattern line to the matching colored space on the corresponding row of your wall. Score points immediately for each tile placed.
- Remove remaining tiles from the pattern line and place them in the game box tray.
- Tiles in incomplete pattern lines remain on your board for the next round.

Scoring Details

When placing a tile on your wall, points are scored based on tile adjacency:
- No adjacent tiles: Score 1 point.
- Adjacent tiles: Score the number of tiles horizontally connected to the placed tile plus the number of tiles vertically connected to it.
After all tile placements, subtract penalty points for each tile in your floor line as indicated above each space. Your score cannot fall below zero.

C. Preparing the Next Round

If no player has completed a horizontal line of 5 tiles, prepare for the next round:
- The player with the starting player marker refills each Factory display with 4 tiles drawn from the bag.
- If the bag is empty, refill it by mixing all tiles from the box tray.
- If tiles run out again, proceed with what’s available.
Remove all tiles from your floor line and place them in the box tray. If you have the starting player marker in your floor line, keep it in front of you.

End of the Game

The game ends immediately after the Wall-Tiling phase in which a player completes a full horizontal line of 5 consecutive tiles on their wall.
Bonus points are awarded for:
- Each complete horizontal line (5 tiles): +2 points
- Each complete vertical line (5 tiles): +7 points
- Each color for which all 5 tiles are placed: +10 points
The player with the highest total score wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most completed horizontal lines wins. If still tied, the victory is shared.

Variant Play

Use the gray side of the player board for a new challenge.
When moving tiles from pattern lines to your wall, you may place them anywhere in the corresponding wall row.
However, no color may appear more than once in any horizontal or vertical line on your wall.
If you cannot place a tile due to this rule, special variant placement rules apply.

Conclusion

Azul Mini offers the strategic tile-drafting and wall-building gameplay of Azul in a compact, travel-friendly format. With simple rules, fast setup, and engaging decisions, it’s perfect for gaming anywhere — whether on the go or relaxing at home. Now that you know the rules, gather your friends and enjoy creating beautiful tile mosaics with Azul Mini!

If you liked Azul and Azul Mini, make sure to check out their new expansion Azul: Summer Pavilion!