This is the Kingdomino vs Azul game comparison showdown. This one makes sense because both games are abstract strategy games that won back to Spiel des Jahres awards (the most prestigious board game of the year). Both games are drafting games that require you to bring tiles back into your personal grid and form strategic clusters. We dive deep into both. Learn a little about the games then check out our Kingdomino vs Azul notes and final verdict.
ABOUT THE GAMES
About Kingdomino (2016): The game uses tiles with two sections, similar to Dominoes. Every turn, each player will select a new domino to connect to their existing kingdom, making sure at least one of its sides connects to a matching terrain type in play. The order of who picks first depends on which tile was previously chosen, with better tiles forcing players to pick later in the next round. Your goal is to make touching groups of the 6 different types of terrain with as many crowns as possible.
FOR MORE: Kingdomino Page | Buy Kingdomino
About Azul (2017): The game that tops the list of the best abstract strategy board games is about helping the king decorate with Portuguese tiles. Azul is a well crafted set collection and pattern building game. You draft sets of tiles against other players in order to create strategic clusters that are going to get you big points.
FOR MORE: Azul Page | Buy Azul
KINGDOMINO VS AZUL ANALYSIS
Theme: Both games take place in times of growth and prosperity but Kingdomino is from a long ago medieval time while Azul is from a more real life Renassance period in a bustling Portugal. In both cases you are tasked with collecting and arranging on behalf of the king so it is all the same.
Gameplay: These are very similar. They are made up of basically two parts, the getting stuff via draft and the placing stuff in your personal grid. Azul is about 2x more complex on both parts but acts in a very similar way. Azul has a multi-step draft and a multiple step grid placement where Kingdomino is a quick one and done. The scoring math in both is a todo but Azul is in between each round and there is a lot of it. As great as it is, it pushes people away.
Mechanics: The draft mechanic in Kingdomino is all about weighing your decision of now versus later. The draft mechanic in azul is about planning and anticipating your opponents.
Time Commitment: A game of Azul is going to take you about 2 – 2.5x time because of the multiple step mechanics versus the quick one and done that were mentioned earlier.
Player Count: The same 2 – 4 players and they both do a good job of scaling based on whatever player combination within there you would like to do. Something very key for a draft game to do is to scale to player count.
Cost: Kingdomino costs around 1/3 less but it did come out a year early and has less impressive components. Playing with the beautiful tiles and cloth sack in Azul is almost worth the price alone.
VERDICT
Verdict For the Shelf: Kingdomino (65% of time) and Azul (35% of the time). This is mainly because the math in Azul is pretty prohibitive. Both are amazing games and this would almost be a coin flip, but as great and intelligent as the math in Azul is, it takes it out of you. Past that it comes down to intensity level. They are the same type of game, if you are looking for something for intense and strategic, go with Azul, if you want quick and easy but still robust, Kingdomino should be your choice.
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OTHER SHOWDOWNS:
Kingdomino vs (All Others)
Kingdomino vs Kingdomino Duel
Kingdomino vs Queendomino
Kingdomino vs Santorini
Azul vs (All Others)
Azul vs Summer Pavilion
Azul vs Splendor
Azul vs Patchwork
