Azure

My Gathering comments on Azure — “Surprisingly good abstract filler that I’m still thinking about. Might buy, even though I dislike abstracts.” And now it is bought, and after playing another game I ordered the expansion. “Filler” is always a crowded category, but most of my fillers are card games (R4TG used to be a filler, before Counterstrike). Azure reminds me of Marrakesh (the Joli Kansil backgammon-esque trick taker. Or trick-taking backgammon game). It takes a classic game and then restricts your moves based on cards. In Azure, each space has one or more benefits …. typically points, but also cards and playing on a space requires one card of the suit for each boon on it …. …. less one card for every piece on it’s row or column. First to 25 points wins, except that if you have to play a piece and can’t you lose (and there are limited pieces). Also there are mountains, which block connectivity across their space, and the first person to have two “influence1” on the mountain gets…