The Crystal Mosaic Expansion for Azul requires the base game. In the box you will find two new components. The expansion includes four new, two-sided boards with different placement or scoring rules. Also included is a plastic overlay for the boards to help keep the tiles and scoring marker in place.
You can also check out our review of the base game, Azul here!
The Mom Review
I liked the new boards and scoring. To be honest, during the first game play, I got a little bit stuck with my tile placement. I wanted everything to be perfect and just like the placement in the base game. However, once I got over that feeling, the game went more smoothly for me. I wouldn’t recommend the new scoring boards for young or inexperienced players. It is definitely important to establish a foundation of understanding of the basic rules before moving on to them.
The plastic overlays were SO NICE! When we play games, there can be a tendency for the table to be bumped, or for a player to be careless about a sleeve. The plastic overlays help to solve this problem. The tiles fit very nicely within the indentations made for them, yet still can be moved and removed easily. However, the spots for the scoring cube are less impressive. The cube does not lay flat, and each slot encompasses two scoring spots. As a result, the cube can get bumped around a little still.
While the scoring portion isn’t perfect, it is significantly better than having no tray at all. I give this expansion an 9/10.
The Dad Review
Crystal Mosaic offers something I wish the original did in the first place. It includes an acrylic piece that fits over your original boards. So, you now have recessed spots to put your scoring cubes along with your tiles. I will be honest, this is why I wanted the expansion. So I was all excited, the piece fit perfect over the board, the colors still pop through, they are not dulled. Perfect, right? This is where I get a little nit picky.
While the cover does a good job fitting, and the tiles fit perfectly, the scoring cubes sit weird and are not individually squared. What I mean by that is the recessed area for the scoring cubes are recessed every two points. So you can slide a cube from point one to point two, pick it up and put it back down for point 3. This isn’t the biggest deal, but the cube does not fit properly and sits at a weird angle instead of sitting flush. I know I know, what a jerk, to find the littlest thing and complain about it. Well yeah, I’m complaining because if you’re going to make a board cover make it proper. I’m sure there’s something I’m missing where they couldn’t make individual slots for points, and I’m okay with that; it just bugs me.
On to the actual new expansion boards. One side gives you x2 bonus for certain tiles, and the other side offers bigger bonuses for completing rows, columns, and having all of a certain tile out. I really like the x2 bonus side more than the other side, but both sides add complexity to this game. So if you like the more simple, tell me what tiles can go where type of experience, you’re not going to like the new boards. This is because you have a lot more freedom to put your pieces anywhere you want while still following the basic rules of no repeating colors in the same row or column. This can lead to some major down time as players think through their tile placements. The basic board takes some of the thinking out of it.
After playing with the expansion, I have to say I’m OK with the new boards, but I actually like the basic board a lot more. In closing, I wish the original game just came with a double cardboard recessed board but I get it, games aren’t cheap to make and the game still plays fine without them. Luckily, we have a really good gaming store here in town and The Gaming Goat had this expansion for a very affordable price so it is nice having the acrylic cover, but If I had to pay more than 10 dollars for this expansion I wouldn’t be super happy about it.
For a family ranking it’s an 8/10 definitely good if you are playing with children or klutzy players who knock things off the board.
The Kid Review
I like the Azul Crystal Mosaic Expansion. I really like both sides of the new boards. First, I like the negative track because in the original game, it would be a total of -14 when it got filled. Now, the spaces go -1, then 0 and the total only goes up to -10 if it gets completely filled. I don’t have to worry about the second tile on the negative track. On the front side, I like the times 2 spaces.
Next, on the back side there is another board. There are no times two spots but the columns, rows, and five of a color bonus are worth more points. Then I like both sides because I can kind of create the board. Also, I like the plastic thing where you put the tiles in it so they won’t slip or fall. In conclusion, I will give this expansion 10 out of 10.
Overall Thoughts
We all agree that we like the new board overlays, even though they aren’t perfect. We do have mixed reviews about the new boards. Our family agrees that this expansion is worth it if you can find it for a reasonable price.
- Overall Average Rating – 9/10
- Ease of Setup (Expansion) – 10/10
- Ease of Understanding Additional Rules – 10/10