Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra

To set up, place the appropriate number of factory displays (5 for 2 players, 7 for 3 players, 9 for 4 players) in a circle in the middle of the table, and the glass tower nearby. Each player chooses a color and takes their corresponding palace board (A-side for the first game), a stack of 8 strips, and a glazier. Players shuffle their strips and place them face-down on their palace board, then flip them over. If a strip with two black spaces (wilds) is face-up, flip it to its other side. Each player places their glazier on the leftmost strip of their board. One marker is placed on space 0 of the scoring track, and the other on the top of the broken glass track. One pane of each color is randomly placed on spaces 2-6 of the round indicator on the scoring board, and one random pane is placed on space 1. The remaining panes are put into the bag. The player who most recently cleaned a window takes the first player tile. The first player then fills each factory display with four random panes from the bag.

The objective of Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra is to become the stained-glass artist who creates the most beautiful stained glass in the Royal Palace. Players achieve this by strategically collecting and placing colored panes to complete window strips on their palace board, earning points for completed patterns and bonuses, while avoiding penalties for broken glass. The game is played over six rounds, with final scoring determining the winner.

The game is played over six rounds. At the start of each round, the first player places their starting player tile in the center of the factory displays and takes the first turn, with turns proceeding clockwise. On a player's turn, they can choose one of two actions: either take panes or move their glazier. To take panes, a player must choose a factory display or the center of the table and take all panes of a single color from it. Any remaining panes from that factory are moved to the center. The chosen panes must then be placed in empty spaces of the corresponding color on one of the player's strips. This strip can be the one currently occupied by their glazier or any strip to its right, but not to its left. If there are not enough empty spaces on the chosen strip for all the panes, the excess panes are considered 'broken' and are moved to the glass tower, incurring penalty points. If no space is available for any pane, all taken panes are broken. If a player is the first to take panes from the center, they also take the first player tile, which results in a penalty point but grants them the first turn in the next round. If a player chooses to move their glazier, they return it to the leftmost strip on their palace board, and their turn ends. This action cannot be taken if the glazier is already on the leftmost strip.

Scoring occurs immediately after a player completes a strip by filling all its pane spaces. First, the player checks for a round bonus: for each pane on the completed strip that matches the color of the current round indicator pane, they score 1 point. These points are immediately added to their score on the scoring track. Next, the player removes the five panes from the completed strip, chooses one to keep (placing it on the upper window of their palace board), and places the remaining four panes into the glass tower. The completed strip is then flipped to its other side. If a strip is completed for a second time, the kept pane is placed on the lower window, and the strip is returned to the game box. The glazier remains in its current position, even if the strip is removed. Additionally, players score points for all windows to the right of the newly completed strip that contain at least one pane. At the end of the game, there is a final scoring phase. Players score 1 point for every three panes remaining on their incomplete strips. They then subtract points indicated by their marker on the broken glass track. Finally, players score points for their ornaments (on the A-side of the palace board): 0 points for 0 or 1 surrounding pane, 3 points for 2 panes, 6 points for 3 panes, and 10 points for 4 panes. On the B-side, players multiply the number of completed windows (with panes both up and down) by the number of panes of their most repeated color.

The game concludes after the sixth round has been completed. Following the end of the sixth round, a final scoring phase takes place. During this phase, players calculate additional points for any remaining panes on their incomplete strips, subtract points for broken glass as indicated on their broken glass track, and score points for their ornaments (on the A-side of the palace board) or for completed windows and pane majorities (on the B-side). The player with the highest total score wins the game. In the event of a tie, the player who lost fewer points on the broken glass track is declared the winner. If there is still a tie, victory is shared among the tied players.