For me the simplicity and and elegance of the original, beat out the newer choices and extended game play, but both are worthy games that should be on the shelves of folks who like lighter strategy games that allow for as much interaction with the other players at the table as they want to allow.

Each player chooses a colour and takes the appropriate Player Board together with the 8 Pattern Strips. Like its older brother, Stained Glass of Sintra has a strong table presence, with lots of visual and tactile appeal. I really like the mechanic of only being able to place either under the Glazier or to the right of it. Azul: Crystal Mosaic contains double-sided player boards, with each board offering new challenges and exciting new strategic opportunities, plus plastic overlays for your games.In this beautiful and unique game, plant and shape the ever-changing forest as you cultivate your seeds and your strategy.

It builds on the addictive gameplay of the original Azul, adding exciting gameplay features without over-complicating the the experience. Azul and Sintra seem to have a similar core mechanism; grab the colors you want and push the leftovers into the middle. A lot of folks are going to like that, and they may use nonsense descriptors like “gamer-y” or “thinkier” when describing it. Additionally, because a different color bonus is offered each round, players may want to hold off on completing a particular column if they stand to earn a larger bonus in a future round.In Azul, if you take extra tiles that you cannot fit on your board, they break and go to waste which will lead to negative points each time you take them. Other times you may want to because it will force your opponent to draft something that they may not want, like when they rested right before you and they must draft Panes. Incom Gaming is the trading name of Incom Gaming Ltd which is registered in England (Company Number: 09883194) and whose registered office is at 2PIGS, church Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3HA. Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, will be a staple game in my collection, more than likely usurping the original Azul.

I find that the broken glass track is particularly brutal in two player games where it is possible to manoeuvre your opponent into picking up far more Pane Pieces than they can place.After furnishing the Palace of Evora, King Manuel I of Portugal now seeks to commission the world's greatest stained glass artisans to adorn the windows of the Royal Palace in Sintra. My family picked up Stained Glass of Sintra over the course of a single game, and were able to very quickly start making strategic decisions about play and screwing each other over in fun ways in our second and third games.