Australis

Ride the Current, Shape the Reef

Beneath the waves off Australia's east coast, the East Australian Current sweeps warm water through one of the ocean's most spectacular ecosystems. In Australis, you guide sea turtles through this living highway — gathering food, cultivating coral, and competing to thrive in a world of stunning underwater beauty. Every round unfolds as a quiet but meaningful puzzle: which dice do you take, and what do you give up to get them?

What Is Australis?

Published by Thames & Kosmos, Australis is a dice-drafting game set along the East Australian Current. Players choose from a shared pool of dice each round, with each die offering a different benefit — feeding fish schools, settling coral onto reefs, advancing your sea turtles along the current, or claiming the coveted first-pick position for the next round. The tension lies in what you take and what you leave for your opponents. It's a game about reading the table, planning your path through the ecosystem, and building something beautiful along the way.

The theme does real work here. The East Australian Current isn't just window dressing — it gives the game a sense of place and flow that makes the mechanics feel grounded and purposeful. You're not just collecting resources; you're nurturing a living reef.

Who It's For

Australis plays with two to four players and is recommended for ages ten and up, making it a strong fit for families with older kids as well as couples or small groups looking for a medium-weight game night option. It sits comfortably in the middle ground — approachable enough to teach in a single round, but with enough strategic depth to reward careful play and repeat sessions. It's a great next step for households that have outgrown purely luck-based games and are ready for something that rewards thinking ahead.

Features & Highlights

Thames & Kosmos brings their characteristic production quality to Australis, and the underwater setting gives the visual design real room to shine. The coral and ocean imagery create an immersive table presence, and the dice-drafting mechanism keeps every round interactive — you're always watching what your opponents take and adjusting your own plans accordingly. The multi-use nature of the dice means no two rounds feel identical, and the ecosystem you build grows more interesting the longer the game runs.