How To Play: AuZtralia

Overview

You ever try to build a train line in the outback, only to get chased by a giant squid? Welcome to AuZtralia! This guide covers the basics—How To Play auztralia—plus my hard-earned tips for not becoming Old One bait. I’ll walk you through the rules (in plain English) and share the sneaky strategies my friends swear by to grab victory. Spoiler: Don’t trust the kangaroos.

What’s in the box

• 1 Game board
• 4 Player boards
• 4 Player aid cards
• 60 Farm cubes (15 per player)
• 56 Railway track pieces (14 per player)
• 36 Wooden cubes (gold & resources)
• 20 Combat cubes
• 15 Port markers
• 20 Old One tiles
• 60 Old One tokens
• 16 Revelation cards
• 41 Personality cards
• 30 Military unit tokens
• 4 Sanity tokens
• 40 Action discs (10 per player)
• 20 Survey tiles
• 1 Scoring pad
• 1 Rulebook

How To Play AuZtralia: Rules Summary

Setup

1. Pick a color and grab your matching pieces, player board, and cubes.
2. Lay out the map board in the center, then seed it with ports, resources, and those nasty Old Ones as shown in the rulebook.
3. Deal two Personality cards to each player, but only keep one. Don’t get attached—they might not survive!
4. Put the time track tokens on zero. Set up the resource cubes and train tokens nearby, ready for action.
5. Pick a starting player; whoever last pet a wombat goes first (or just use the official rules, I guess).

Gameplay

1. On your turn, choose an action—build rails, gather a resource, recruit help, or attack the Old Ones. Spend time for each action and move your token on the time track.
2. As you move down the track, don’t lag behind or you’ll meet Cthulhu’s grumpy cousin earlier than you’d like.
3. Once you pass certain spots, the Old Ones wake up! They get their own turn and will stomp on your plans if you’re not careful.
4. Keep an eye on your resources—coal, iron, and food can vanish faster than my patience on game night.

Winning

1. The game ends when everyone reaches the finish on the time track.
2. Add up your points: you get points for farms, leftover resources, and defeated Old Ones. But you’ll lose points for any untouched Old Ones who still haunt the land.
3. If the Old Ones rack up more points than all players, everyone loses and the squids claim victory.
4. If a player has the most points, they win and can forever brag they saved AuZtralia… for now.

Special Rules & Conditions

1. If the Old Ones appear in your neighborhood, you must fight or flee. No one likes a coward, but sometimes you gotta run.
2. Personality cards give you special powers. Use their abilities wisely, or you’ll regret it when Cthulhu comes knocking.
3. When your farms get destroyed, you lose points. Protect them like they’re your last Tim Tam.
4. If you run out of food and can’t feed your troops, bad things happen—trust me, hungry troops are meaner than the Old Ones.

Now you know How To Play auztralia! Enjoy racing the clock, fending off monsters, and arguing over the last piece of coal. And always, always watch out for those sneaky Old Ones.

Best AuZtralia Strategies

Survive and Thrive: Resource Management in AuZtralia

Plan Every Spend

Your wallet cries if you ignore your budget. Gold, iron, coal, and food run dry fast. Smart players always:

1. Count available resources before every action.
2. Only build what helps the plan, not what looks shiny.
3. Swap resources with ports if you get stuck.

Feed Your Troops

Even Cthulhu fears hangry farmers. In How To Play auztralia, make sure you:

1. Stock up on food before big fights.
2. Never let your farms sit idle.

Keep Your Engines Running

Without coal and iron, your trains go nowhere. Always remember:

1. Mine near your base for quick boosts.
2. Upgrade or trade for missing parts if you get unlucky.

Smashing Old Ones Before Breakfast

Scout Their Weak Spots Fast

First, send your explorers out like caffeine-crazed kangaroos. Know where the Old Ones are snoozing. Knowledge is power, and in AuZtralia, coffee is not enough.

1. Use scouts early—don’t wait around for trouble.
2. Track the easiest monsters first.
3. Mark scary spots to avoid (for now).

Hit Them With Everything

Next, gather your best troops and tanks for a quick bash. Early attacks stop their spread and keep you breathing.

1. Group your units together—loners never last.
2. Pick fights you know you can win.
3. Attack in daylight; the Old Ones love night parties.

Reward Yourself With Loot

Finally, loot their stuff! Old Ones drop tasty rewards. Spend it right away to build defenses or bribe your mates for backup.

1. Grab loot but don’t get greedy.
2. Upgrade or heal after each fight.
3. Share the wealth—sort of—so you stay ahead.

And that’s How To Play auztralia like a monster-busting legend. Don’t let those squids steal your sheep.

Lay The Tracks, Win The Game: Mastering Railway Expansion!

Plan Your Direction First

When you learn How To Play auztralia, don’t just slap tracks anywhere. Instead, plot where you want to go before you start laying rails. Doing this saves you time, coal, and a headache later.

1. Pick resource-rich sections to access quickly
2. Mark Old Ones you want to avoid—or attack
3. Connect to ports for bonus points

Cut Across The Map

Next, avoid spreading out in too many directions. Instead, build in straight lines. This helps you move troops and supplies fast, especially if the Old Ones begin to wake up.

1. Build single, long lines from base to resource hubs
2. Add offshoots only if necessary
3. Connect remote farms for late-game points

Watch Your Neighbors

If you’re playing with others (trust me, they’re sneaky), keep an eye on their tracks. Sometimes you can cut off their access—and snatch resources for yourself!

1. Block rivals’ routes to key tiles
2. Race for unclaimed resources
3. Share routes to save on costs—but only if you must

Don’t Overextend!

Finally, more tracks means more risk. Expand slow and steady, or you might wake up something nasty under the sand… I learned that the hard way!

1. Expand only when you can defend your line
2. Avoid tracks near strong Old Ones early game
3. Balance track building with other actions

The Final Shrimp on the Barbie

Alright mates, that’s my guide for you. If you want to win AuZtralia, manage your coal like Scrooge McDuck, build railways with more care than my grandma’s knitting, and never poke a sleeping Old One unless you’re ready for a tentacled slap. Most of all, grab some friends, have a laugh, and don’t forget—How To Play auztralia always works best with snacks. Happy conquering, and may your fungus farms stay fungus-free!

Want to know what we think of AuZtralia? Read our detailed review of AuZtralia here