Overview

Australia is a strategy board game for 2-5 players designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling, published by Ravensburger in 2005. Set in 1920s Australia, players take on the role of politicians working to establish national parks and develop the nation’s industrial base. Players fly around the map, deploy rangers to camps, and complete conservation and industrialization projects to score points.

Components

• 1 Game board (map of Australia divided into 24 regions)
• Airplanes (1 per player)
• Rangers (wooden pieces, number varies by player count)
• Player boards (listing possible actions)
• Region cards (deck of cards in various colors corresponding to regions)
• Industrialization tiles (placed in regions)
• Conservation tiles (placed face-down in regions)
• Scoring track
• Rules booklet

Setup

1. Place the game board in the center.
2. Randomly place industrialization tiles and conservation tiles (face-down) in each of the 24 regions.
3. Each player receives: 1 airplane, a number of rangers (based on player count), a player board, and 2 cards drawn from the shuffled deck.
4. Place player scoring markers on the scoring track.
5. Shuffle the card deck and place it face down.

Turn Structure

On each turn, a player performs 2 actions from the following options (may take the same action twice):

1. Fly and Place Rangers: Play a card matching a region’s color, fly your airplane to that region, and place 1 or more rangers at camps in that region.
2. Draw Cards: Draw cards from the deck to replenish your hand.
3. Score a Project: If a region meets the completion conditions for its project (industrialization or conservation), trigger scoring.

Actions

• Fly Airplane: Move your airplane to any region matching the color of the card you play. You must play a card to fly.
• Place Rangers: After flying, place rangers from your supply at unoccupied camps in the region where your airplane is located.
• Draw Cards: Take new cards from the deck into your hand.
• Complete an Industrialization Project: When the required number of rangers is present in a region with an industrialization tile, the project is completed. All players with rangers in that region score points based on the number of their rangers present.
• Complete a Conservation Project: When all camps in a region are populated with rangers, the conservation tile is flipped. All players with rangers in that region score, with bonuses determined by the conservation tile’s value.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Players score points by having rangers present when projects are completed:

• Industrialization projects: Score points based on the number of your rangers in the region when the project triggers.
• Conservation projects: Score points when all camps in a region are filled; the face-down conservation tile reveals the bonus value.
• Additional scoring may come from special bonus conditions on the player board.

The game ends when a certain number of projects have been completed (varies by player count). The player with the most points wins. Winner of the GAMES Magazine Game of the Year 2006.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Card colors correspond to regions: You can only fly to and place rangers in regions matching the card color you play.
• Ranger placement is permanent: Once placed, rangers remain at their camps for the rest of the game.
• Multiple players can have rangers in the same region: All players with rangers present score when a project completes.
• Conservation tiles are hidden: Their values are unknown until the project triggers, adding an element of uncertainty.
• Airplane positioning matters: Your airplane must be in a region to place rangers there.
• Player count adjustments: The number of rangers each player starts with scales with player count.

Player Reference

Turn: 2 actions from: Fly & Place Rangers, Draw Cards, Score Project

Scoring triggers:

• Industrialization: Required number of rangers present
• Conservation: All camps in region filled

Win condition: Most points when game-end condition is reached