Next Move Games and Asmodee are bringing Azul Duel, a two-player version of the award-winning Michael Kiesling game, to market with release slated for February 21.

Based on the Spiel des Jahres-winning 2017 game (see “‘Azul’ Spotlights the Moorish Art of Decorative Tiles”), Azul Duel pits two players in a head-to-head match to see who is the most clever mosaic master.  Like the original game, the players draft tiles to place on their own player board, trying to achieve patterns to score points.

Azul Duel introduces new mechanics to keep the two-player experience fresh, including a variable setup offering different ways to score points, pattern plates that allow players to create unique player boards, and streamlined gameplay.

The new game features artwork inspired by Chinese shadow theatre, and includes 2 player boards, 4 player tokens, 4 scoring markers, 75 acrylic tiles, 20 bonus chips, 5 factories, 18 dome-plates, 4 scoring tablets, a scoreboard, a bag, and a tower.  Designed for 2 players, ages 10 and up, Azul Duel takes about 45 minutes to play.  MSRP is $26.99.

Since it’s launch, Azul has spawned a number of variants and travel-sized versions, including last year’s Azul Summer Pavilion Mini (see “Asmodee Will Release ‘Azul Summer Pavilion Mini’”).  Last year, Kiesling designed a game about constructing wooden parquet flooring called Intarsia (see “Deep Print Games Unveils ‘Intarsia’”) and a gravesite flower-arranging game called Immortal: A Game of Final Arrangements (see “Trick or Treat Studios Will Release ‘Immortal:  A Game of Final Arrangements’”).