Australis Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Materials
• Game Setup
• How to Play
  • A. Dice Selection and Dice Action
  • The Dice Actions
  • The Advantage Cards
  • The Movement of Sea Turtles
• B. Points for Coral Reefs, Schools of Fish and Sea Turtles
• C. The Dice Competition
• Start of a New Round
• The End of the Game
• Detailed Example of a Three-Player Dice Competition
• The Designers
• Credits

Game Materials

• 1 gameboard
• 45 advantage cards
• 10 competition tiles (5 gold, 5 silver)
• 4 sea boards
• 21 food cubes (4 each of blue, green, orange and pink and 5 of grey)
• 64 corals (16 each of blue, green, orange and pink)
• 4 sea turtle counters
• 4 point discs
• 17 special dice (4 each of white, yellow, blue, violet, and 1 of red)
• 1 first player token
• 58 fish (34 small, value 1, and 24 large, value 3)

Game Setup

Before the first game, carefully remove all the die-cut parts from the punchboards and remove the square tiles from the sea boards.

1. Place the gameboard in the middle of the table.
2. Place the large red die on the red space on the gameboard.
3. Take as many other dice of each colour as there are players. Example: In a game with three players, you take three dice of each colour. Roll these dice and place them with the rolled side up on the corresponding coloured storage spaces on the gameboard.
4. Place the 24 large and 34 small fish next to the gameboard. Note: Each large fish counts as three small fish. You can swap them at any time.
5. Divide the 10 competition tiles into gold and silver piles. Sort them in ascending order so that the lowest number in each pile is at the top. Example: In the gold pile the tiles are numbered 7-8-9-12-15 from top to bottom. Place the two piles face up on the corresponding areas.
6. Place three grey food cubes next to the gameboard.
7. If you are playing with four players, you shuffle all the advantage cards and place them face down on the corresponding card field as a draw pile. If you are playing with two or three players, first sort out the 15 advantage cards which show a shell at the bottom of the card. These cards are not used.
8. Reveal the top six advantage cards one at a time and place them on the six card spaces.
9. Lay out your sea boards in front of you so that there is space to place advantage cards below and fish above. You distribute these items as below: Each of you receives your own coloured personal game pieces: 1 sea board, 16 corals, 1 sea turtle, 1 point disc and 4 food cubes.
10. Whoever was last at the beach receives the first player token and places their own point disc on number 1 of the score track and their sea turtle on number 0 of the EAC. Working in a clockwise direction, the remaining players place their point discs and sea turtles on the subsequent spaces.
11. Place your 16 corals as supplies next to your sea boards.
12. Place one food cube in the left slot of the food track on your sea board.
13. Place all of your three remaining food cubes on the three coloured current spaces 5, 11 and 15 in the EAC.
14. Place one grey food cube on number 17 on the EAC with the grey mark. If your game has four players, you place one additional grey food cube on this space.

If you are playing with two or three players, put the remaining dice, advantage cards, grey food cube and personal game materials back into the box.

Note: For technical reasons, the gameboard does not show the exact course of the East Australian Current. This actually runs straighter along the coast.

How to Play

The game is played over five rounds. Each round consists of the following actions:

• A Dice selection and dice action
• B Points for coral reefs, schools of fish and sea turtles
• C The dice competition

A. Dice Selection and Dice Action

Whoever has the starting tile places it on the corresponding space next to the red die and takes any one die from the gameboard. That player then places it (without changing it) on the dice image of the same colour on their sea board. They then perform the corresponding dice action.

All the other players follow in clockwise order, each also taking one die, placing it on their own sea board and performing the corresponding dice action.

Repeat this action four times so every player has four dice on their sea board. One unused die remains on the gameboard. If you take a die of a colour that you already have, you simply add it to any dice of that colour which you already have on your board.

Important: If there are one or more advantage cards below the dice image, you activate them before performing the dice action (see "The functions of the advantage cards").

The Dice Actions

White dice = choose advantage card(s)

There are two symbols on the white dice:

For each circle, you move your point disc one space further along the score track.

For each rectangle, you take as many advantage cards (one or two) from the display as rectangles are shown on the die.

Each time you pick an advantage card you have a choice as to how you use it. If you place the card below your sea board next to the image of the corresponding coloured die you can use the card several times later in the game. Alternatively, you can use the card advantage immediately, but only once. The card is then placed on the discard pile.

After you have taken one or two cards, you draw that many cards from the draw pile and place them on the empty card spaces in the general display.

Yellow dice = catch fish

There are two symbols on the yellow dice:

For each circle, move your point disc one space further on the score track.

For each fish, you take as many fish from the supply as are shown on the die: 2, 3, 4 or 5. You place the fish at the top of your sea board to form one school of fish at the end of each round and thus score points.

Note: Each large fish counts as three small fish and can be exchanged at any time.

Blue dice = move sea turtle

The blue dice have the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 on them. You move your sea turtle forward in the EAC as many spaces as shown on the die. Please note the rules for "The movement of sea turtles" below.

Note: Advancing in the EAC brings some advantages: food cubes, more points, tie resolution.

Purple dice = place coral

The purple dice have the numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 on them. You place 1 of your corals on the coral reef shown on the die. If you don't want to place your coral on the corresponding coral reef, you can choose a coral reef with a lower number. The majority of corals on a coral reef earn points at the end of each round.

Note: If you no longer have any corals in your supply, you can move one of the corals you have already placed.

Red die = take starting tile

The large red die shows the numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9. If you choose this die, you receive the first player token from the gameboard for the next round. Since this die has higher numbers than the other numbered dice, it is the strongest die in dice competitions. Place the red die on the competition symbol on your sea board.

The Advantage Cards

Using an advantage card

If you do not want to use a selected advantage card immediately, but instead want the opportunity to use it several times, you place it below your sea board.

Example: You take a card showing a yellow die and place it in the slot below the image of the yellow die.

If you take more cards of this colour, place them slightly offset so that the functions of all cards remain visible.

Whenever you place a die on your sea board, you first activate all advantage cards of that colour placed there (in any order).

If you take a competition advantage card from the display, you place it to the right of your sea board.

Important: You cannot have identical cards. This means that you can have cards with the same function, but they must be in different colours.

You can place a maximum of three different advantage cards in the slot under each colour die. You can also have only one competition card of each colour.

Discarding an advantage card

Instead of placing the selected advantage card below your sea board, you may use it immediately, but only once. To do this, place the advantage card onto the discard pile next to the gameboard, then immediately use the advantage.

Note: You cannot discard competition advantage cards.

Important: If you choose an identical card to one that you already have below your sea board, you must use it immediately. You cannot keep two identical cards of the same colour.

Note: In most cases you will choose to place the advantage card below your board because you can then use it again and again. You usually only use the immediate action of an advantage card toward the end of the game.

The functions of the advantage cards

Each card provides a different advantage:

• 2 circles: You immediately move your point disc two spaces further on the score track.
• 1 fish: You immediately receive one fish and place it above your sea board.
• Move sea turtle: You immediately move your sea turtle one space forward in the EAC. For further explanation, see "The movement of sea turtles" below.
• Place coral: You place one of your corals on the coral reef next to where your sea turtle is currently located.

Note: The EAC is divided into different sections. Each section has a coral reef. The coral reef with the 3 belongs to the spaces with the numbers 0 to 3, the coral reef with the 4 belongs to the spaces 4 to 6, the coral reef 5 belongs to the spaces 7 to 9, etc. The small image at the beginning of each section helps to identify the correct reef.

Important: If you don't want to place your coral on the corresponding coral reef, you can choose a coral reef with a lower number.

Competition advantage cards

Place these cards face up on the right side of your sea board. They will give you an advantage in the dice competitions. Note: You can only have one card of each colour here, a maximum of three cards in total.

The Movement of Sea Turtles

When moving in the EAC, count each current space. If your sea turtle lands on an occupied space, you immediately move it to the next free space. There can only be one sea turtle on a space at any time.

Note: If sea turtle movement takes it beyond the last space of the EAC, it simply stays on the last space.

If your sea turtle reaches or passes a space containing food cubes (spaces 5, 11 and 15), you take the cube of your colour.

The grey food cube on space 17 is only given to the player whose sea turtle reaches this space first. In a game with four players, whoever reaches the field second also receives one food cube.

You always place food cubes from left to right on the food track of your sea board.

The food cubes indicate how many of your fish you can care for. The more food cubes you have, the larger and more valuable the school of fish you can form.

Note: You can get additional grey food cubes in the dice competitions. If you already have six food cubes on your food track and get more, these extra cubes are placed in the box.

B. Points for Coral Reefs, Schools of Fish and Sea Turtles

After each player has taken four dice and performed the corresponding actions, the points are scored. You always use your point disc to immediately record the points you have scored on the score track. If you reach over 100 points, you continue counting from 1 on the score track. Whoever currently has the starting tile begins the scoring.

Points for coral reefs

Each coral reef is scored individually in ascending order (from '3' to '8'). Whoever has the most corals of their own colour on a coral reef receives the points. For the coral reefs '5' to '8' there are also points for the second most corals of one colour. In the event of a tie, whoever's sea turtle is further ahead in the EAC wins.

Example: On coral reef '5', orange receives two points because orange has the most corals there. Green and blue have the same number of corals. As blue is further forward in the EAC, they receive one point. Unfortunately, green is left empty handed.

Points for schools of fish

All players receive points for schools of fish. You can only form one school with your fish. Firstly, look at how many food cubes you have on your food track. Your rightmost cube determines how many fish you can feed and how many points you score for your school. Fish that you cannot feed do not count in this round.

Example 1: You have two food cubes and seven fish (two big fish counting three each, one little fish counting one). Because you can only feed six fish with your food cube, you receive three points. You cannot score one single fish.

Example 2: You have three food cubes and 15 fish (four big fish counting three each, three little fish counting one each). For this you get seven points. You cannot score all 15 fish because the fourth food cube is missing.

Important: Both your scored fish and the fish that you were unable to take care of remain with you. In later rounds, if you have enough food cubes and fish, you can expand your school of fish and achieve higher scores.

Points for sea turtles

Each of you receives as many points as the space in the EAC where your sea turtles are currently located.

Example: You receive 13 points.

C. The Dice Competition

At the end of each round you experience turbulence in the current. Get ready for a dice competition to see who can coast the best through the EAC. The competition is only played with the number dice. Put all the white and yellow dice back on the gameboard.

You enter the competition with the blue, purple and red dice which you have placed on your sea board. Note: Any players who did not take any of these dice will not take part in the competition.

How the dice competition works (see also the detailed example below)

Everyone rolls their number dice at the same time. Each player announces the lowest number they rolled on a die. If you have competition advantage cards, you first add +1 to all of your dice of the corresponding colours.

Important: You must always use the card, even if it puts you at a disadvantage.

Note: You can have a maximum of one competition advantage card in each colour.

Whoever has the lowest number must put that die back on the gameboard. If several players roll the lowest number or a player rolls the lowest number multiple times, it may happen that several of you have to discard dice or that one person has to discard multiple dice.

Any players who still have dice roll them again and announce their lowest dice number. The competition advantage cards are also taken into account at this point. Any player without dice is eliminated from the competition. This could apply to several players.

Important: If several players are eliminated at the same time, the tie for second place will be won by the player whose sea turtle is further ahead in the EAC. This rule also applies if there is a tie for first place.

The player who wins the dice competition can choose whether they take the gold competition tile or the silver tile as a reward. The gold competition tiles score more points than the silver ones. Whoever wins second place receives the other tile. However, in each of the first three rounds, in addition to the silver competition tile, you also receive one grey food cube from the supply next to the gameboard. Whoever receives the grey food cube places it in the next free slot on their sea board.

Note: It makes sense to choose the silver competition tile in the first three rounds in order to receive the additional food cube.

Place the competition tiles you have won face down in front of you. You only add the points to the score track at the end of the game. After the dice competition is completed, the current round ends.

Start of a New Round

Roll all dice again and place them on their corresponding area of the gameboard. Take the six previously revealed advantage cards from the gameboard and place them on the top of the discard pile. Replace them with six new advantage cards.

Note: If the draw pile is empty, the cards from the discard pile are shuffled and laid out as a new draw pile.

Whoever has the first player token places it back on the gameboard and starts the new round.

Note: If the red die was not taken in the previous round, whichever player's sea turtle is furthest back in the EAC becomes the starting player.

Phases A to C are then carried out as described.

The End of the Game

After five rounds, when all competition tiles have been awarded, the game ends. For each of your corals which are on the coral reefs, you now receive one point, which you add to the points track. Whoever has the first player token also receives one point.

Finally, reveal the competition tiles you have won one by one and advance the corresponding number of spaces on the score track. Whoever is furthest forward ultimately wins the game. In the event of a tie, the owner of the sea turtle furthest forward in the EAC wins.

Detailed Example of a Three-Player Dice Competition

At the start of the competition, Anna has a blue die, a red die and a red competition advantage card. Bob has two blue dice, one purple die and one blue and one red competition advantage card. However, the last card doesn't help him in this round because he doesn't have the red die. Charlie has two purple dice and a purple competition advantage card.

First dice round: The lowest number rolled is the blue 3 that Anna rolled. Bob also rolled a 3, but because of his advantage card it counts as a 4. Anna therefore has to put her blue die back on the gameboard.

Second dice round: The lowest number rolled is Bob's 2. Because of his advantage card, it counts as 3. This means that the lowest number is now 3. Since Bob also rolled a 3 with his purple die, he loses both dice. He is not allowed to forgo using his advantage card.

Third dice round: The lowest number is the blue 4 rolled by Bob. Even though it counts as a 5 because of his blue advantage card, it is still lower than Charlie's purple 5. This is counted as a 6 because of their purple advantage card. Bob therefore has to put his last die back and is eliminated from the competition.

Fourth dice round: The lowest number is Charlie's purple 3. Even though it counts as a 4 thanks to their purple advantage card, it is still lower than Anna's red 4, which counts as a 5 due to her red advantage card. Therefore, Charlie loses a purple die.

Fifth dice round: Anna rolled a 6 with her red die. Her red advantage card raises it to a 7. Charlie rolled a purple 7, which counts as an 8 because of their purple advantage card. With that, Charlie won the competition. They choose the silver competition tile, which ultimately scores three points. They also receive a grey food cube, which they place on their sea board. As the runner-up, Anna receives the other competition tile, the gold, which ultimately scores seven points.

If Charlie had also rolled a 6 and both players had the same result, Anna would have won because her sea turtle is further ahead in the EAC.

The Designers

Alessandro Zucchini was born in 1964. His first contact with games was the fantasy role-playing game D&D. At the beginning of the new millennium, he fell in love with German-style board games. These "German Games" (such as Catan) were a completely new world for him. After meeting many important Italian game developers at an event, he and two other designers, founded their own game design studio. Their game range also includes card games and large board games for the family.

Leo Colovini was born in Venice in 1964. He has been passionate about board and card games since he met the gaming expert Alex Randolph at the age of 12, with whom he published his first game in 1986. He has now released more than 100 games, including classics like Incognito and Cartagena. His now out-of-print titles "The Bridges of Shangrila" and "Avalon" were published by Kosmos. Three of his games have been nominated for Spiel des Jahres. His game "Leo muss zum Friseur" won the German Games Award for the best children's game.

The designers and the publisher would like to thank everyone who was involved in testing, reading the rules and creating the game.

Credits

• Editing: Wolfgang Lüdtke
• Editing support: Peter Neugebauer
• Illustrator: Christian Fiore
• Graphic design: Fiore GmbH
• Technical Product development: Carsten Engel
• Manufacturing: Alicia Kaufmann
• English language editing: Nicky Thomas, Pamela Evans

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