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If you are coming across my review of Azul Sintra you have likely played or already own classic Azul - you have also likely seen the awards, hype, and general buzz around Azul for the past year and now the same for this second game in the series. I have owned and played both games and I have enjoyed both thoroughly. This review will do its best to highlight the differences between these abstract strategy based, pattern building / tile laying games. I will also give you my personal impressions on who might prefer witch game more and why - for board gamers - Sintra is the better game. Weight - 2 out of 5 Age range - 8+ Play time - 45min Best at - 3 players Differences between Sintra and classic Azul - Sintra is a much deeper strategy game than its predecessor, they have added in a few main elements that add complexity to decision making and scoring / round outcomes. - 1 - Board changes. Sintra brings with it a whole new board system with randomly laid pattern tiles, a right to left gem laying system, and a little figure to mark your current position. At the start of the game you will lay out your pattern grid, this grid will fill up with gems, score point when a vertical row is full, and then flip over or become exhausted once two rows have been filled. As you lay gems you can only lay them to the right of where your marker is, every time you lay a gem you move your marker to the row you just filled - as time passes your choices narrow and you must choose to refresh your marker (move it to the far left) and forgo picking up gems for a round. This mechanic changes the flow of the game and gives you an option beyond picking up gems for a round - it makes it much harder to judge who will be forced to pick up the final stack and adds another level of strategy / tile management you have to follow. The score board is also now a community board in the center of the table - making interaction a little more salient. - 2 - Round / scoring changes. From round to round as you fill in rows and resolve points you can score extra points by collecting the color of gem indicated on the bonus tile (each round has a random color assigned to it) so you can play strategically to maximize the points you get from each stack of colors. You also don't simply loose points for taking player 1 token or breaking tiles - instead there is a progression board you follow every time you take a broken tile. The consequences getting worse and worse until you reach the end of the score card and start over again. lastly you score points for every tile you have to the right of the resolved section - adding a new strategy to the way you fill up your board and gain tiles down your row. - 3 - Components. Overall the components are the same high quality of the first game with a few notable improvements. The gems are brightly colored and feel great in the hand, the cardboard is decently thick (although not as thick as the original) and long lasting, and the rule book is clear and easy to follow. They have added a gem tower to the center stage that makes collecting the discarded gems and refilling the bag a lot easier. They have also added a starting player tile that makes turn order a lot easier to follow. Negative Changes - Sintra is similar in a lot of ways with classic Azul, the theme is the same, how you gather and place tiles, the feeling and player interaction and even most of the main mechanics of the game are the same as classic Azul - however Azul is still overall a cleaner, simpler game. For some Sintra gets a little to messy, you are playing on a moving randomized board, you have more variables to consider for your actions, you have 4 ways to score points and 3 of them are active in game scoring elements (as compared to one out of three in Azul). The changes made in Sintra make the game a bit harder and for some who love the clean simple nature of the original game this can be a turn off. Final thoughts - Sintra is a beautiful, fun, and overall welcoming game - it is slightly more complex than its predecessor but I would argue this complexity is a good element to the game and welcome change for those of use who have played hours and hours of the original. I love classic Azul and would be glad to sit down and play either game - if you are new to gaming or introducing new players - Azul might be the best place to start - but if you have a board gaming family, group, or are used to the original then Sintra is a welcome addition to the family and your shelf! Thank you for reading - give me a helpful mark if you enjoyed the review!