Review: Azul – Stained Glass of Sintra

Introduction & Overview

After decorating the Evora Palace, King Manuel I of Portugal intends to commission the world’s greatest stained glass artisans to adorn the windows of the Sintra Royal Palace. As a glass artisan, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to demonstrate your exquisite craftsmanship in service to King and country. Will you be the best at creating the most beautiful stained glass windows in all of Portugal?

This is the premise behind Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, the follow-up to Azul, both designed by Michael Kiesling. The game was published in 2018 by Next Move Games in English and German editions. Chris Quilliams (Coimbra, Clash of Cultures, Azul) was once again in charge of the art.

In Spain it is published by Asmodee Ibérica in a Spanish version (although the game is completely language-independent). It accommodates 2 to 4 players, with a recommended minimum age of 8 and an approximate playing time of 30 to 45 minutes. The MSRP is €39.99. A review copy of the Spanish edition by Asmodee Ibérica was used for this review.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom) measuring 26×26×7 cm (a medium square box similar in size to Reef or Manhattan), we find the following components:

• 9 Factory Displays (cardboard)
• 4 Palace Boards (1 in each player color) (cardboard)
• 32 Pattern Strips (8 in each player color) (cardboard)
• 4 Glazier Pawns (1 in each player color) (plastic)
• 8 Scoring Markers (2 in each player color) (plastic)
• 100 Glass Panes (20 in each of 5 colors) (plastic)
• Score Track Board (heavy cardstock)
• Starting Player Token (plastic)
• Glass Tower (heavy cardstock)
• Bag (cloth)
• Rulebook

How to Play

Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra is an abstract game in which players compete as master artisans decorating the windows of the Sintra Palace. The game plays over six rounds of alternating turns. On their turn, the active player must choose between advancing a pattern or resetting their glazier pawn by moving it back to their leftmost strip. To advance a pattern, they draft all glass panes of a single color from a factory display (pushing the remaining ones to the center of the table) or from the table center itself (incurring penalties on the broken glass track if they are the first to draft from the center in that round). They then place them onto one of their pattern strips located directly below or to the right of their glazier, moving the glazier above that column; any surplus pieces that do not fit are deemed broken glass and subtract points. When all five spaces of a strip are filled, bonus points are awarded for each pane matching the current round’s bonus color, four panes are discarded, and the remaining pane is moved down to the window frame below, flipping the strip to its reverse side or removing it entirely if both window panes are completed. The completed window immediately scores its printed points plus the points of every window to its right that contains at least one pane. The round ends when all panes in the common supply are exhausted. After six rounds, points are awarded for leftover panes on the strips, accumulated penalties from the broken glass track are subtracted, and end-game bonuses are scored according to the chosen side of the palace board. The player with the highest score is declared the winner.

Key Concepts

Let’s begin with the Glass Panes. These are represented by pieces in five different colors (yellow, magenta, teal, orange, and clear frosted), each featuring a distinct embossed surface. Players must collect these panes to complete a series of patterns.

These patterns are laid out on each player’s Player Board. This component consists of a bottom frame representing the palace window bays, featuring eight two-pane windows. Each window displays a victory point value and indicates that any windows with at least one pane sitting to its right will also trigger scoring again. This board is double-sided; depending on which side is chosen, one of two end-game scoring bonuses will apply.

To establish the patterns to be completed, each player receives a set of eight double-sided Pattern Strips, each showing a column of five spaces for glass panes. At the top of each strip, an indicator displays the colors on the reverse side. Completing a window requires placing all 5 required panes on the strip. Certain strips feature a black space, which acts as a wild space.

Panes are drafted from a central display of Factory Displays. At the beginning of each round, a set of panes is placed onto each display tile. The core rule is that a player may only take panes of a single color from a single factory display on their turn. When this happens, any other panes remaining on that display are pushed to the center of the table.

When placing panes onto the player board, the Glazier Pawn comes into play. This pawn moves across the columns of the board, restricting where panes can be placed: columns located to its left cannot be used. A player may only place panes onto a single column per turn and must advance the glazier above that column, temporarily locking out the preceding ones. Instead of drafting panes, a player may spend their turn moving the glazier back to the start of the board to regain access to all columns.

Finally, there is a central Score Board that features a perimeter score track. In its center, it includes a column to hold panes indicating the bonus color for each round (offering extra points when completing patterns containing those colors) and the broken glass track (if a player cannot fit all drafted panes, the excess is discarded and their marker advances on the broken glass track, which subtracts points at the end of the game).

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

1. Place a number of factory displays in the center of the table depending on the player count (5/7/9 displays for 2/3/4 players).
2. Set up the score board next to them.
3. Place all glass panes in the bag and draw 5 of them, 1 of each color, placing them randomly on spaces 2 through 6 of the round bonus indicator, leaving the first space empty. Draw a sixth pane from the bag to fill the first space (meaning one color will be bonused twice).
4. Draw 4 panes from the bag and place them onto each factory display.
5. Each player takes a Palace Board (agreeing on which side to use) and 8 pattern strips, placing them randomly above the saw-toothed cutouts. If any strip displays a black space facing up, flip it over.
6. Each player places their glazier pawn above their leftmost column.
7. Each player places their 2 scoring markers on space 0 of the score track and on the 0 space of the broken glass track.
8. Finally, choose a starting player at random and hand them the starting player token.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra plays across six rounds. Each round consists of an indeterminate number of turns alternating among players (starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise), concluding with a maintenance phase. On the very first turn of a round, the first player places the starting player token into the center between the factory displays.

On their turn, the active player must select one of two possible actions:

• Draft Panes. Proceed as follows:
  • First, the player drafts all panes of a single color from one factory display or from the center of the table, placing them next to their board. If drafting from the center for the first time in the round, the player also takes the starting player token.
  • Next, the player must place all obtained panes onto a single column on their board, filling matching color spaces (wild spaces can be filled by panes of any color).
  • Furthermore, the glazier pawn must be situated above that column or anywhere to its left.
  • Panes that cannot be placed due to a lack of matching open spaces in that chosen column are dropped into the glass tower, and the player advances their marker on the broken glass track by one step per dropped pane. Additionally, taking the starting player token requires advancing one step on this track as well. If a marker reaches the -18 space and further penalties are incurred, the player immediately deducts 18 victory points and resets the marker to the top of the broken glass track.
  • If the chosen column is to the right of the glazier pawn, advance the pawn above that column.
  • Next, check whether the column has been completed (has all 5 panes filled). If so, score the victory points shown below that window on the palace board, plus the points of every window to its right that contains at least one pane.
  • In addition, if one or more panes on the completed column match the round’s bonus color, the player scores one bonus victory point for each matching pane.
  • Finally, the player moves one pane from the completed column into the window frame below and drops the remaining 4 panes into the tower. Completing the column for the first time requires flipping the strip over; completing it a second time (with two panes in the window frame) results in returning the strip to the box.
• Reset the Glazier. Simply move the glazier pawn back above the leftmost column of the player board. This action cannot be chosen if the pawn is already in that position.

Play then passes to the player on the left.

The round ends when no panes remain on the factory displays or in the center. The round’s bonus pane is dropped into the tower, and 4 panes are drawn from the bag for each factory display to begin a new round.

Game End

The game ends following the completion of the sixth round. Players add the following points to their current score:

• Score 1 point for every 3 panes remaining on uncompleted pattern strips.
• Score the end-game bonus chosen during setup:
  • Side A: each player scores points based on the ornament icons framed by panes on their palace board according to the number of completed spaces (10/6/3/0 points for 4/3/2/1 spaces filled around the icon).
  • Side B: each player multiplies their number of fully completed windows (containing 2 panes) by the total number of panes of a single chosen color present across all their windows (completed or not).
• Subtract the penalty points indicated on the broken glass track.

The player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, the tied player who lost fewer points on the broken glass track claims victory. If still tied, the victory is shared.

Personal Opinion

Today we look at the sequel to a truly mold-breaking game. I am referring to Azul (click here for its tocho-review), a design by the great Michael Kiesling which, published without his longtime collaborator Wolfgang Kramer, delivered a family-friendly abstract title in 2017 that became a turning point in the hobby, turning into a benchmark for the family weight category. Whenever someone asks for an accessible, visually striking game suitable for the whole family, Azul is almost always one of the first suggestions that comes to mind.

Its success was so massive that Next Move Games, a subsidiary of Plan B Games, commissioned Kiesling to design a follow-up to keep riding that wave. Thus we arrive at Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra. Many of you are probably wondering whether a sequel to such a clean game was even necessary. Well, let us attempt to answer that question.

The core essence of Azul remains intact here: an open drafting mechanism where players gather colored pieces from a central arrangement of factory displays. The golden rule is that, on your turn, you may only select a single color, drafting all available pieces of that color from one display (which holds four pieces). Any leftover pieces spill into the center area, which can also be drafted from on subsequent turns, provided you continue taking all pieces of the chosen color.

These pieces must then be placed onto a player board to satisfy patterns that demand specific tiles. As these patterns are completed, victory points are scored. Care is required, however, because you are restricted to placing panes onto only one column per turn. Completing a column triggers scoring, with cumulative bonuses rewarded if previously completed patterns sit in specific relative positions to the one just resolved.

Naturally, Kiesling introduced a few twists to set it apart from its older sibling and ratchet up the complexity, clearly targeting players looking for a bit more depth in their decision-making. To achieve this, he introduced three key elements.

The first is how patterns work. In Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, you are not filling rows with a single uniform color; instead, the pattern strips that make up your board demand a mix of specific colors. Scoring is no longer as straightforward as hoarding a specific count of matching tiles to slide into an open row, making the draft significantly more demanding. Furthermore, each pattern can only be scored twice. Completing it once flips the strip to reveal a different color requirement, and completing it a second time removes it from the board entirely (leaving behind a rather unsightly gap).

Regarding scoring, each column has an assigned value, and the small snowball effect that Azul achieved through adjoining horizontal and vertical tile placements is replaced here: completing a column scores its own value plus the value of every completed window sitting to its right.

The best part of this setup is undoubtedly its variability and asymmetry. Players set up their boards randomly at the start of the game, ensuring that no two layouts are identical. This shifts priorities dramatically and changes player decision-making, requiring you to read the table carefully to avoid getting caught flat-footed.

The second crucial addition is the Glazier Pawn. This pawn sits above the column where you place your drafted glass panes each turn. It acts as a directional bottleneck across your player board, preventing you from filling columns to its left and forcing you to waste a turn resetting the fussy artisan back to the beginning of the track when you need to backtrack.

The third distinguishing element is the fixed game length. In Azul, the game end was driven organically by the players, concluding when someone completed a horizontal row of five tiles. Here, the game lasts exactly six rounds. Not one more, not one less. Round progression is tracked via a track of six glass panes on the score board, one of each color plus a sixth randomly drawn duplicate. Each round is dominated by a specific color that awards bonus points whenever completed columns contain that shade.

Combining these concepts—the glazier pawn and modular pattern strips—gives Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra that extra layer of complexity many were hoping for. It is noticeably deeper, eliminates autopilot play, offers tighter timing considerations, and inflicts brutal penalties if you miscalculate. There is even an interesting strategic layer in holding off on finishing certain columns until the round whose bonus matches their dominant color.

So much for the positives. Unfortunately, enjoying those features comes at a hefty price. In my view, that cost is simply too steep. One of Azul’s greatest assets—arguably its defining virtue—is its sheer elegance. All the additions here, while adding depth, also introduce a level of micro-management that bogs down the experience.

The glazier pawn concept is neat on paper, but in practice, it never feels fully realized. Players tend to develop at roughly the same pace, resetting their pawns almost in lockstep. Trying to dodge the first-player token by spending a turn resetting your glazier only to see your opponents immediately do the same is an all-too-common occurrence, leaving the gamestate virtually unchanged. To borrow an analogy from motorsport, it is like a safety car pulling out in Formula 1: every driver pits at the exact same moment, preserving the relative gaps. You will occasionally find clever moments to reset early and catch an opponent off guard based on board states, but these remain rare exceptions.

Managing the double-sided pattern strips is as fiddly as it gets, to say nothing of how ragged the player boards look once those large gaps open up. It is also remarkably easy to forget to flip a strip when required. Similarly, the score track is somewhat awkward, featuring an unnecessary zigzag layout that makes moving markers less intuitive than it should be.

These flaws are not game-breaking, nor do they completely ruin the experience. Even so, one is left with a bittersweet feeling after losing the brilliant simplicity that made the original so special. Azul remains an outstanding design for its target audience (casual gamers and family gatherings). By contrast, Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra tries to appeal to a more demanding crowd, yet it achieves this at the expense of a smooth gameplay loop.

On a brighter note, the replayability is a step above Azul thanks to the higher setup variability and the subtle asymmetry, which does wonders for the design. Scalability is also rock-solid across all player counts, functioning as a tactical puzzle where interaction is largely confined to the central draft.

Production-wise, Next Move Games and Plan B Games deliver their usual high standard, offering thick cardboard stock and stunning translucent plastic panes. Unlike Azul, which mixed textured and smooth tiles, every piece here features distinct embossed patterns. A word of caution, though: their resemblance to cough drops is uncanny, so keep an eye out to make sure nobody absentmindedly pops one into their mouth. The rulebook is clean, well-organized, and leaves no room for ambiguity.

Art duties were once again handled by Chris Quilliams. As with the original, his talent is primarily showcased on the box cover, which presents a gorgeous stained glass window with light streaming through an explosion of colors. The player boards are decent enough, though the empty notches left behind as strips are removed look rather unappealing on the table by the end of the game.

And let’s wrap this up. Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra offers a tactical challenge driven by a central draft of colored pieces that players must arrange into specific column patterns to trigger synergies and round-based scoring bonuses. This setup encourages careful table awareness, tight timing, and strict penalty management, demanding far more forward planning than its predecessor. Conversely, the strictures imposed by glazier movement create an oddly synchronized dynamic where players often mirror each other’s pauses without consequence. Added to this is constant micro-management that drags the pace down and clutters the physical presentation. What emerges is an experience that certainly adds mental crunch and punishes sloppy math, but ultimately pays too high a price in flow and elegance, leaving a bittersweet aftertaste. For all these reasons, I give it a…