Azul Mini Summer Pavilion the Perfect Travel Game

If you’ve never played an Azul game before there is a chance you are missing out on something you might really enjoy. With so many different versions to choose from, Azul brings a common tile laying mechanic but changes it up game-to-game. I’ve had the pleasure of playing a ton of Azul over the past half decade, and while it’s not my favourite game to bust out on game night anymore, I was intrigued when Asmodee Canada offered up the Mini Summer Pavilion title for review.

Finding games to take on trips can be incredibly hard. We just recently bought a trailer and began looking for games we could pack into the trailer to play while camping. With limited space, the games we chose had to be very specific. You can read our suggestions in this article (Link article). But that list was made before Azul Mini Summer Pavilion arrived, and had I had it, we would have it on the list as well.

The miniature version of Azul Summer Pavilion brings all the gameplay you love of the regular Azul title but in a smaller box perfect for taking on trips, busting out on the picnic table by the fire, etc. You get the exact same fantastic production as well, with over 100 resin tiles, nice plastic trays, a well stitched draw bag, and more. The miniature tiles, while easy to lose perhaps, are fantastic to use, and we thought the size was ultimately perfect for the experience. It wasn’t too small that my fat fingers couldn’t pick them up easily, but also not too big as to make this not travel size.

The plastic trays for placing tiles, however, is where this game shines. We talked about losing tiles earlier, but I think these great plastic trays will help keep everything in place once you’ve placed your tiles. I also enjoy that these trays have sliders for scoring points. Obviously, point tokens and score tracks don’t work well in travel games, so having these individual point sliders on each board is phenomenal.

This isn’t so much a review of Summer Pavilion as it is a review of this miniature package. Azul is a fantastic tile laying game where you select groups of coloured tiles and place them within your mosaic in an attempt to score points. If that kind of game interests you, but you want a “heavier” game for the trailer, or while waiting for your next flight, Azul Mini Summer Pavilian is a fantastic buy.