What happens when you take the first player marker in Azul?
The first player in a round to take tiles from the middle of the table also takes the first player marker. It goes on the leftmost free space of their floor line and costs points like a tile, but that player starts the next round.
The rule:
In Azul, the first player to take tiles from the middle in a round also takes the first player marker, which goes on their floor line and costs points like a tile, but lets them start the next round.
Who takes it: the first player in the round to take tiles from the middle, whatever color they pick. Taking from a factory display never gives you the marker.
Where it goes: onto the leftmost free space of your floor line, alongside any tiles you dropped there.
What it costs: at the end of wall-tiling it counts as a normal floor tile, so you lose the points shown above its space.
What it gives you: instead of going to the box lid, it stays in front of you. You refill the factory displays, then put the marker back in the middle and take the first turn of the next round.
The rulebook calls it the starting player marker.
Example:
Ben is the first to take from the middle, grabbing 3 light blue tiles, so the marker goes on the first free space of his floor line. At wall-tiling it costs him that space's penalty. Then he keeps it in front of him and refills the factories for the next round.
Why players argue about it:
Players forget that the marker costs points like a tile, or that whoever takes it starts the next round. It's a real trade-off: going to the middle first costs points but gives you the first pick next round.