AUZTRALIA

Reviewed by Chris Kovac

AUZTRALIA (Stronghold Games, 1 to 4 players, ages 13 and up, 30-120 minutes;  $69.95)

Auztralia is an action planning game with some light wargame and resource management elements designed by Martin Wallace and the first release in Stronghold Games’ “The Great Designer Series”.  The theme of the game, inspired by Wallace’s own A Study in Emerald (featured in the Spring 2014 Gamers Alliance Report) which combined elements of Sherlock Holmes with the Cthulhu Mythos (the “Old Ones”), postulates a time in the 1930s when  the northern hemisphere has been decimated as a result of war. Survivors have decided to explore and colonize new lands in Australia. Unfortunately, for them, the Old Ones and their loyal human minions who have survived have settled in Australia first.