How To Play: AuZtralia

Overview

Ready to wrangle kangaroos and slap Cthulhu on the tentacle? You’ve come to the right place. I’ve wrangled my mates and played heaps of AuZtralia—so here’s the lowdown. This guide covers a quick outline of the game rules plus the best tips I’ve found for crushing your enemies and outsmarting eldritch horrors. Welcome to my totally honest, sometimes silly, but always helpful guide on How To Play auztralia!

What’s in the box

• 1 Game board
• 4 Player boards
• 4 Personality card holders
• 50 Wooden cubes (various colors)
• 79 Wooden discs (various colors)
• 12 Wooden Rails (each player, total 48)
• 40 Farm tokens
• 36 Revelation cards
• 18 Old One counters
• 19 Combat cards
• 60 Personality cards
• 30 Resource tokens
• 4 Player reference sheets
• 30 Sanity tokens
• 4 Score markers
• 1 Time track marker
• 12 Port markers
• 34 Old One tiles
• 1 Rulebook

How To Play AuZtralia: Rules Summary

Setup: Getting Ready To Survive

1. Pick a faction board and color. Everyone grabs their matching pieces and starting resources. If you want to fight Cthulhu in style, pick the yellow train meeples (trust me, they look the bravest).

2. Lay out the map board in the middle of the table. Set up the locations and shuffle the port cards (not as tasty as actual port, but still important).

3. Shuffle the Old One tiles and place them face down, then scatter them across the map like evil confetti.

4. Put the time track and player tokens on zero. Don’t worry, you’ll lose track of time soon enough.

5. Everyone draws their hand of starting cards. Shuffle the rest for later panic.

Gameplay: Building, Fights, and Unwise Life Choices

1. Players take turns based on time points—not clockwise! Choose an action (build, lay rails, recruit, mine, fight, trade, etc.) and pay the time cost by moving your token.

2. Build rails and expand your network. You’ll need them to reach resources and, most likely, run away from monsters later.

3. Recruit helpful folks at the pub. They all have weird hobbies but you’ll need their skills.

4. Cultivate resources (coal, iron, gold, and food) to keep your team working. Nobody likes a hungry adventurer.

5. When the ‘Old Ones’ wake up (and they will), they attack without warning. Reveal events and move those tentacled nightmares toward anything that looks like lunch. That usually means you.

Winning: How To Not Lose With Style

1. The game ends when a player’s time marker curls up at the last space or all humans are wiped off the map (it happens more often than you’d think).

2. Tally your points from farms, resources, saved townsfolk, defeated Old Ones, and leftover sanity. Now subtract points for Old Ones still out lurking about.

3. The player with the most points wins. If it’s the Old Ones, shame on you. Give them a polite golf clap and try again.

Special Rules & Conditions: The Wild Stuff

1. Some Old Ones have unique powers. If you reveal one that causes extra screaming, read its tile and follow its evil instructions.

2. If you run out of sanity or food, you’re in for a rough ride. Check the manual for how badly it messes up your plans.

3. Sometimes, events change the rules. Draw an event card when told and enjoy the chaos.

That’s it! Now you know how to play AuZtralia. You just need lots of luck and a strong desire to not be eaten by mythical monsters. Good luck! (You’ll need it.)

Best AuZtralia Strategies

Make Your Resources Count to Win AuZtralia

Pick Your Priorities Wisely

Resources in AuZtralia dry up faster than my patience during a four-hour setup! Focus on what matters most, because you can’t do everything at once. Here’s how to keep your stockpile healthy:

1. Set a clear plan for what you want to build first: farms, rails, or defenses.
2. Spend actions on gathering the most urgently needed resources instead of hoarding everything.
3. Monitor your coal, steel, and food. Running out at the wrong moment ruins everything.

Use the Trade Port Smartly

If you run low on supplies, don’t panic—use the trade port. But, remember, time ticks away every time you trade, and those Old Ones never nap!

1. Trade for what you lack, but don’t waste precious time swapping cheap stuff just to feel busy.
2. Plan trades ahead, pairing them with action turns to avoid backtracking.

Balance Expansion and Efficiency

Building everywhere is cool, but if your resources stretch too thin, those tentacled monsters will feast. Focus on growing, but not faster than you can afford.

1. Expand only when you know you have the goods to support new rails or farms.
2. If you overextend, fall back and regroup rather than pushing your luck.

In summary, smart resource management is the backbone of a winning strategy. Knowing How To Play auztralia means making every coal and steel count, and not letting your dreams (or your supplies) go up in smoke.

Track Attack: Rail Network Planning To Outsmart the Old Ones!

Lay Tracks With Purpose

Start rail lines where you spot resources. Always think ahead—Cthulhu doesn’t wait for slowpoke engineers. Don’t make a spaghetti mess of rails. Instead, keep things neat and useful.

1. Build towards farms and mines first.
2. Avoid dead ends that waste precious turns.
3. Connect to teammates to help with combat support.

Plan For Danger

When using rails, monsters might pop up. Prepare escape routes so you don’t get eaten for breakfast!

1. Place tracks so you can reach towns fast.
2. Stay flexible—sometimes re-route if a Shoggoth parks on your best line.

How To Play auztralia Like a Pro

I learned the hard way after my rails looked like a bowl of noodles and a Deep One blocked my path home. Trust me: Rail strategy wins games.

Crushing Cthulhu: Mastering Combat in How To Play auztralia

Target the Right Monsters

1. Pick off weaker Old Ones before they gather steam.
2. Delay big baddies like Cthulhu until you are armed to the teeth.

Choose Your Weapons Wisely

1. Combine artillery and infantry for a mean combo.
2. Save airships for dramatic rescues or final blows.

Timing Is Everything

1. Strike when monsters are distracted or just moved.
2. Avoid fighting on their turn—trust me, it hurts.

When playing How To Play auztralia, I learned the hard way that picking a fight with Cthulhu too soon ends in tears (and lots of tentacles).

Final Thoughts From The Outback

Alright, mate. That’s about all the wisdom I can squeeze out of my battered Akubra for this How To Play auztralia strategy guide. Trust me, after losing to Cthulhu three times in a row, I learned that having a plan—and maybe a stiff drink—really helps. Remember, resource management saves you from going broke, rail networks save your boots, and fighting monsters keeps your sheep safe and your pride intact. Play bold, laugh at your mate’s bad luck, and never trust a sleeping Old One. Good luck out there! If you beat my score, don’t tell me. My ego’s fragile.

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