Game: Billabong

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Düsterwäldler — 2008-11-16T16:31:25+00:00

self made fimo kangaroo and two of his friends (self made but not by me)

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garygarison — 2008-10-07T18:52:45+00:00

Pentebong: Billabong conversion of Pente

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janus — 2008-04-21T20:23:38+00:00

Plotting the movement.

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2007-12-19T21:03:52+00:00

Franjos flat-cropped box front

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2007-12-19T21:01:57+00:00

Franjos box back

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2007-12-19T21:00:30+00:00

Franjos box components

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opinicus — 2007-10-14T22:18:27+00:00

Roo race in the final stretch (Franjos Edition)

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opinicus — 2007-10-14T22:16:58+00:00

And they're off! (Franjos Edition)

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2007-08-07T21:57:56+00:00

Promotional Card included in games

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ponchera69 — 2007-08-07T07:00:59+00:00

Billabong advertising

Thread: User review

edosan — 2007-05-26T05:37:11+00:00

Billabong is a game with kangaroos racing around a watering hole. Since they're kangaroos, they jump because that's what kangaroos do (well, that and boxing, but that isn't covered here).

The board is a rectangular grid with the watering hole in the center and a stream coming out of it which acts as the start/finish line. Every player gets five kangaroos in their color and they start by taking turns placing their pawns one at a time. They can go pretty much anywhere behind the starting line but the tend to get bunched together. Then the first player gets to move one of their kangaroos by either moving one space in any direction (very slow and inefficient) or by jumping another kangaroo.

There are a few general rules to jumping another kangaroo:

1) You can only jump in a straight line (diagonals permitted).
2) You have to land the same distance as you started from the "jump-ee," so if you were three spaces away from the kangaroo you're jumping, you have to land three spaces away in a straight line.
3) You can only jump one kangaroo in a single jump.
4) It is permitted to make multiple jumps in a turn.

If you've ever played Chinese Checkers, you probably get the idea. Anyway, everyone takes turns. leapfrogging (leapkangarooing?) around the board until one player gets all their pawns across the finish line. As you can imagine, there's a big advantage in staying with the pack, because if you get left too far behind you can't make jumps. OTOH, if you're too far ahead, you're a prime target for being used to set up a great jump.

It's a fun light game with a lot of "aha!" moments that make it really enjoyable. We play pretty competitively, but sometimes you see a jump for someone else that you just can't help but tell them (which is probably why I lose a lot). I think this is a great little game and am surprised that it hasn't been republished (I had to buy an import copy). It's not Caylus, but we always have a lot of fun playing. (My rating: 9)

Thread: Billabong Rising

ed95005 — 2006-07-30T03:12:22+00:00

My ratings tend to move in one direction over time: downward. A lot of games go down a point after the novelty wears off and I have some time to think about the game and how it fits into my overall ratings scheme. But not Billabong. Last night, after my second four-player game, I changed my Billabong rating from a 7 to an 8.

Winning twice in a row tends to improve one's opinion of a game. Last night, it came down once again to Charlie and me. One of Bluffy's kangaroos was still lounging behind the starting line face down (Amigo Spiele edition) by the time Charlie and I came racing around the final turn. Kirk was quicker to pick up the game, but his last two kangaroos were just too far behind to catch up.

Charlie was slightly better positioned toward the end, but his last kangaroo got stranded when one of my kangas hopped away, taking away a quick jump for Charlie to the finish line and forcing him to schlepp his way around the final turn one square at a time.

As for me, I quietly slid my final kanga to the edge of the board in anticipation of Kirk's next move. Sure enough, Kirk's kanga slid to a stop along the same diagonal, and I leaped past Charlie toward the finish line.

Billabong scratches an itch in my brain that I really enjoy. It's the same movement-and-spatial-relationship itch that lead me to rank Torres and Through the Desert as among my favorite games. I love this game so. Billabong is rising.

Thread: Session Report

Shade_Jon — 2005-12-29T10:09:26+00:00

Brendan+, Jon, Zeke

This is a race game played on four chess boards arranged in a square where a 4x2 area (the Billabong) in the center is off limits. There is a line from the Billabong to the edge of the board which is both the starting and finishing line. Each player gets 5 pieces to place anywhere they want on the board to start, after which they win if they are the first player to cross the start line and then the finish line with all of their pieces. Pieces move either one space in any direction or by jumping pieces. A piece jumps by landing the exact same number of spaces on the far side of the jumped piece. You may make multiple jumps in one turn, but you can't jump a piece if you would land on another piece, land off the board, in or over the Billabong, and you can't jump two pieces at once.

It is a strange and chaotic game, especially at the start when you have thousands of multiple jumping opportunities. Setting up far jumps means that being father back is not necessarily a bad thing, unless your means of jumping moves away. It plays a bit like Chinese checkers on drugs. The sheer volume of possible jumps leads to a lot of analysis paralysis.

Anyway, Zeke fell rather behind, mostly because he hated the game (once again). Brendan ended the game exactly two moves before I would have.

Thread: billabong first game

Colorado — 2005-09-05T00:36:03+00:00

My wife has played Billabong several times and really likes the game. This was my first go. I was a little dubious as I never did well at those spatial awareness tests in grade school. Four of us started the game and, I was told, we were very bunched up at the starting line, and so it took a few turns to get some clear space to start my 'roos jumping. For some reason I took an early lead, beginner's luck I guess. One of the most agressive member of our game group fell behind and wound up having to advance several of her pieces one space at a time. The game developed nicely with some very complex jumps happening. Being new to the game, I tended to think in much more simple terms that some of the experienced players. And yet, despite their impressive jumps, I just kept plodding along getting one, then two, then three of my pieces off. Much to my surprise--any everyone else's probably, my simple strategy allowed me to get all of my pieces off pretty easily. I look forward to playing Billabong again and getting some of the complexities.

Thread: In the Outback

angelotti — 2005-08-28T16:35:19+00:00

Played my first game of Billabong at the Royal Oak Boardgamers Association (ROBA) meet-up. My first play of the first game of the first time I attended this wonderful monthly event.

Played with 5 players and I was Red. I lingered in the back to mess with my new acquaintance sitting across the table playing green (purely non-intentional as I was still trying to figure the whole thing out). He and I did our best to stay in the back as Yellow and Blue (John – who owns the game) hopped off to a huge lead.

Mid-game, I got the hang of it and increased the distances and number of jumps on a move. Not enough, unfortunately, to pull myself any further than fourth place by the end of the game (I beat Green by one space).

I am not a big fan of abstract games, and this on clearly is that despite the really cool wooden kangaroos. Despite that, I really like this. It reminded me in a small way of Cartagena, but without the cards. Based on that, and how quickly the game played, I found myself really liking it. I think it will play well with the family and maybe even the game group.

Thread: Re: More kangaroos in 2P game

Favre4MVP — 2005-08-19T13:29:38+00:00

Good idea. I'll give it a try next time I play a 2 player game.

Thread: More kangaroos in 2P game

Ed_the_Red — 2005-08-19T10:26:18+00:00

When we play with just two players, we tend to sprinkle a few kangaroos of non-playing colours around the board at random. They just sit there, but give some extra kangas to jump over. We think it makes it quicker and more fun!
Ed the Red

Thread: 6 Player Game

Andrew York — 2005-05-31T15:43:02+00:00

Billabong seemed to be a fairly popular choice with 6 of us and Anne, having heard about the game from Paul was keen to give it a go. One slight problem was that it comes with enough pieces for 4 players but we decided in the end to go with a reduced number of pieces/player (four in fact) and substituted X-wing fighters and Rebel Alliance figures from Tel's Star Wars Chess set! The board made an interesting sight with kangaroos (or is that wallabies) being chased around the billabong by the likes of Ben, Leia and Han although we collectively decided that the figure of Luke with Yoda on his back did not count as a double piece.

Paul who usually comes hopelessly last in this game (for once) decided to follow a sensible setup for his pieces as did the rest of us. However it didn’t do him any good as he followed his usual path of becoming almost inexplicably left behind by every one else, with 3 of his kangaroos barely being across the start line before the rest of us (collectively) managed to take our first pieces off the board. As to why this always happens, I honestly don’t know, it's just like one of those universal mysteries that Steven Hawkins is always going on about.

Winning this game is always a question of advancing your pieces in a way that benefits you more than your opponents. At one point however a convenient kangaroo/X-wing/Alliance highway (Cartagina style) was established allowing players to almost circumnavigate the board. This was entirely down to Leia as Tel decided she should stop and powder her face for a while in a key square. In the end the force though was to no avail to those pesky rebels as Andy's kangaroos finished the race ahead of Steve and Oggie.

Position: Paul 6, Anne 5, Tel 4, Oggie 3, Steve 2, Andy 1
Ratings: Paul 8, Anne 7, Tel 8, Oggie 8, Steve 8, Andy 8
Winner(s): Andy

Thread: Re:What a billabong really is

Friendless — 2005-04-18T04:08:54+00:00

OzGamer (#459114),

At Sandgate near where I live, there are 3 lagoons which are not at all saltwater. I never really thought about the similarity in naming of Einbunpin Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon. I can't think of any bodies of water in Queensland which are called ponds, it doesn't seem to be a Queensland word.

Friendless

Thread: Re:What a billabong really is

Critical Mass — 2005-03-24T02:49:51+00:00

Friendless (#459006),
Simple translation: Billabong = ox bow lake

Thread: Re:What a billabong really is

OzGamer — 2005-03-22T12:49:43+00:00

Friendless (#459006),

I think I would call something a pond if it was in a park with ducks in it. A lagoon really has to be salt water and formed by a reef, doesn't it?

You didn't mention the resulting point about a billabong that they are generally pretty stagnant.

Thread: What a billabong really is

Friendless — 2005-03-22T06:29:46+00:00

A billabong is not just a pond or a lake. BTW, in Australia we almost never call something a pond, it would be a lagoon instead.

Imagine a river with a U-shaped bend, like this: U. As the river changes its course over time, it may straighten out like this: -. In that case, there may be just a small part of the bend left, like this: u which remains as a detached body of still water. That's a billabong - so billabongs are usually crescent-shaped.

Friendless, practising Aussie

Thread: Session Report

SusanRoz — 2005-01-24T14:10:58+00:00

This is a very nifty checkers-like game of racing kangaroos. It comes in an irritatingly large box that is mostly air. The bits are nice, though – big, chunky, colorful wooden kangaroos and a big vinyl map. The map is a grid of spaces with a pond, or billabong in the center and a start/finish line. The kangaroos race around the billabong in a circle. You get to move one of your kangaroos each turn. The movement rules are the heart of the game and are quite clever. A kangaroo can move like the King in Chess, one space in any direction, or he can jump over another kangaroo. When jumping, he jumps in a straight line (orthogonally or diagonally) such that he lands on the other side of the kangaroo and ends up the same distance away from the other kangaroo as he was before. For example, if my kangaroo is two spaces behind the kangaroo I want to jump, my kangaroo will land two spaces in front of that kangaroo. The thing is, in doing so, the spot he lands on has to be unoccupied and he can only jump over one kangaroo at a time. He can, however, jump over as many kangaroos on a single turn as he is legally able, one at a time. A clever series of jumps can move a kangaroo quite a long distance. You are constantly trying to set yourself up for long jumps or series of jumps, while also trying to block opponents from being able to do the same.

Ed and I had both played this several times, but it had been a while. Mike and Adam were new to the game. They both made the mistake of stranding a kangaroo too far behind the pack. Similar to the game the Cartegena, you often have to work from the back, being careful not to leave pieces so far behind by themselves that they can’t take advantage of chains created by the other pieces. Now that they have played the game, I doubt either of them will let that happen again.

I like this game a lot. It’s simple, elegant and makes me feel clever when I spot a killer move.

Results: Susan-1st, Ed -2nd, Adam-3rd, Mike-4th

Thread: Re:Availability?

edosan — 2004-12-03T03:55:24+00:00

As a postscript, my copy came from Fairplaygames today. It was about $22.

Thread: Re:Availability?

Favre4MVP — 2004-11-01T17:30:17+00:00

edosan (#62688),

I just got a copy from www.gamesgalore.com for $14.90! Great game.

Thread: Re:Availability?

edosan — 2004-10-30T05:57:54+00:00

My copy is on order with them now. Here's hoping!

Thread: Re:Availability?

Redneon — 2004-10-13T20:29:12+00:00

edosan (#58664), I got a copy from GameSurplus.com today. They had to order it from their German distributer. I think I saw it available at another online dealer, but don't remember who. I, too, fell in love with it after my first play and waited 6 weekes to get a copy. I plan to play it tonight.

John

Thread: Availability?

edosan — 2004-10-08T16:21:19+00:00

I played this for the first time and really liked it. Is this now one of those games you just can't get anymore?

Thread: Session Report

Richard_Huzzey — 2004-06-13T18:44:56+00:00

The final game I played was Billabong. Owen had left, meaning that James R and Greg were left to join me for a simulation of that famous sport of kangaroo-racing.

I know that James is often very tolerant of playing auction games, which I love, and so it was only fair that he hit his element with this one. He was playing on a different level to Greg and I, who lacked all spacial reasoning, it seemed.

James hopped home to an easy victory, and I believe we worked out I could get in quicker than Greg. This is a game I always find amusing, and is a very impressive design, but I never fail to do poorly at this genre. I think Greg was even more antipathetic, and is in a mood to veto it in the future. I'd like to see James play Dave Percik, an old Society member who is excellent at this game.

Thread: Session Report

loiosh13 — 2004-04-28T17:17:27+00:00

We were seeing Bruce (aka Tim) off - he's moving to Nashville for work, and tonight was his last session with the Cardbenders. We'll miss him - but we had a big send off bash, starting around 1pm (quite a few of our members are currently, erm, available during the day due to current economic conditions - i.e. out of work).

Anyway, we started off with Billabong - an excellent little multi-player abstract that is so simple, it seems like it won't be interesting. Far from it! It's fun to try and figure out the most elaborate jumping moves to get your kangaroos around the Billabong fastest . . .

I ended up winning with at least a couple of moves lead over Bruce, who was a close second. Charles was . . . not really in contention from about the mid-game, but that was due to his allowing some of his 'Roos to fall behind the pack (note: never let this happen to you).

Anyway - Billabong was, as always, great fun!

Thread: Session Report

Andrew York — 2004-04-22T11:33:32+00:00

The kangaroos had just finished their dance with Matilda and decided, just for fun mind you, to have a quick team race around their favorite swimming hole (ok billabong). Beardaroo had just put the kettle on and it was going to take a while to boil!

Dorkaroo won the toss and had to go first, placing his first kangaroo team member on the start/finish line. Yodaroo made the classic counter move of placing his roo in direct line with Dorkaroo's but as far away as possible - thereby hinting that he was going to make a large jump as his first move. Beardaroo wanting part of this fun, put his first roo in-between the the other two roos.

And so on it went in typical Piddinghoe cut and thrust style, merrily shafting each other but with Dorkaroos team all near the start/finish line, Yodaroos, strategically placed on the edge of the board and Beararoo's all in-between.

The end result was somewhat predicatable with Dorkaroo's team romping home to win and spending the next 20 minutes making kangaroo pyramids whilst the other two teams of roos (or is that donkeys) attempted to finish. Beardaroo finished second and Yodaroo limped home last.

I'll let you guess who is who, nice game and quite fast with 3 players, despite two of them starting in hopeless positions.

Scores:

Andy Oggie :0 Paul :0 all 8's.

Thread: Expensive components, simple game - Solution

BeyondMonopoly — 2003-10-13T16:13:48+00:00

Fun game. Expensive, though. The components are top notch, but easily remade cheaply on your own.

I liked the game enough to want to play, but not enough to spend $40.00 or more for it. So... I bought a sheet of poster board with 1" grid already drawn on, a 3/4" Kangaroo stamp, and bunch of (21) pawns at a craft store.

I drew in the lake & stream with markers, and cut the board down to 18x16. I used the stamp to make a checkerboard pattern to aid players making longer jumps, and spray painted the pawns, 5 each in red, white, blue, and green, and one in black. Then I laminated the board at Kinko's (a copy store). and downloaded the rules from the link above.

Works great.

Thread: Session Report

lorna — 2003-09-28T13:58:40+00:00

We decided to open with Billabong which I quite like with 3 or 4 players. Billabong is a great abstract game of racing kangaroos around the pond (billabong). Movement is somewhat checker like in that the more jumps your 'roo can do the better! Bryon got off to a quick lead, moving all of hiss 'roos over the start line. This was Thad's first game and (with a little help from Bryon) found a few of his 'roos stranded well behind the pack. Meanwhile with Bryond and Thad moving their kangaroos to slow each other down, I eeked a 1 turn win over Bryon. Sploosh last of my 'roos into the billabong!

Thread: Session Report

EYE of NiGHT — 2003-08-06T14:49:51+00:00

Dave was wanting to leave, so I grabbed Billabong thinking it would be quick. Not quick enough, Dave had to go halfway round. I like Billabong, but I never ever win. Ian romped away with some neat multiple hops and won easily, leaving Richard and me to drag over the finish line. A nice game, everyone should try it once at least. I think the new Franjos edition is over-priced.

Thread: Session Report

lorna — 2003-07-27T17:25:42+00:00

Eric, Barb and I got to try Billabong tonight. The game consists of a race to get your kangaroos around the billabong (pond) first. You move your kangaroos one square at a time or preferably by making multiple jumps over other kangaroos. You must, however, jump over only one kangaroo and be able to land a equidistant number of spaces from where you start to the kangaroo and land on the other side on an unoccupied square. Since we had no idea what we were doing we randomly lined our kangaroos behind the start line. I place 3 of my kangaroos towards the back of the pack. Eric got off to an early lead getting all of his 'roos halfway around the course. Barb and I both had a few lagging 'roos behind the start line. I was able to get two of my 'roos from behind the start line to all the way around the track in one move each! Eric stalled out halfway round and Barb was left with two 'roos just past the starting line. A cute game with nice components. I actually had purchased the older version with the kangaroos printed on the cylinder which I like better than the big 'roo shaped pieces in the current edition. I also like the puzzle aspect of figuring out the best route and there is interaction as you can stop you opponents from making progress by blocking their jumps.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2002-11-04T16:02:15+00:00

I’ve seen this game played at several Gulf Games events and have heard glowing reports from many sources. Incredibly, however, I had never played. While in Essen, Franjos was touting their new release of the game, which comes complete with a rubberized mat for a playing board and some impressive wooden kangaroo pieces. In spite of the large size of the box and my worries about fitting all of the games into my luggage for the journey home, I just couldn’t pass up the 15 Euro price.

Jim, Keith and Spouey joined me for our inaugural playing of the game. Although I admire the chess-like thinking involved and can appreciate the clean design, this one will never be one of my favorites. I tend not to be fond of games which are dominated by such movement mechanisms. Still, I have to admit that this one was quite good and I wouldn’t hesitate to play it again.

Jim and Spouey jumped out to quick leads, while Keith and I languished in the rear. Sadly, our rear kangaroos got separated from the pack, which meant it took a long time for them to make any substantial movement. This proved our un-doing.

The race for victory was back-and-forth between Jim & Spouey and literally came down to the very last move. Spouey was able to move his final kangaroo across the line just one turn ahead of Jim to claim the victory.

Ratings: Jim 7, Spouey 7, Keith 6.5, Greg 6

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2002-10-25T15:41:43+00:00

Billabong has just been re-issued by Franjos. Oggie obviously still has fond memories of spending a year down under as he quickly scooped up a copy at the annual Essen games buying frenzy.

The game is about racing kangaroos around a billabong. Or, for anyone who lives outside of Australia, a pond. It consists of a cloth board, five wooden kangaroos in each of four colours and a black referee kangaroo. The board is rectangular and is marked with a grid. The billabong is in the middle of the board and a stream runs from it to one edge. This forms both the start and finish line. The players position each of their kangaroos in any square they want behind the start line, and the race begins. In his turn, a player moves one of his kangaroos. It can be moved to any adjacent square, or it can jump over a kangaroo. There are two rules for jumping. First the kangaroo being jumped over must be in the exact middle of the jump (i.e. the start and end positions of the jump must be the same distance from the kangaroo being jumped). Second, only one kangaroo can be jumped over in a single jump. Multiple jumps can be chained together in a turn, allowing kangaroos to move a good distance around the board.

Myself and Andy had played the game just a week previously. As we had it explained by somebody on the Franjos stall we were in the rather unusual position for our group of being able to play the game with the correct rules. We were joined by The Boog; a Billabong virgin.

The line up saw us all jockeying for position, placing kangaroos in anticipation of long jumps from the start whilst trying to block good moves for anybody else. Our earlier game game me and Andy a small advantage as it took The Boog a few turns to get the hang of setting up, and exploiting, opportunities for multiple jumps. He was soon in the middle of the throng though as we each tried to work our kangeroos to best effect. By the second bend we'd managed to clump all of the beasts so tightly that progress was slowed to a crawl. Andy had managed to work his way to the front of the clump though and when he finally managed to break away myself and the Boog were left eating dust.In the final reckoning, Andy took the race by a couple of turns with The Boog hopping in in last place.

I'm not usually a big fan of abstract games, which this one basically is. However, it gives a nice puzzle solving feeling each move as you attempt to plot the best move. Spotting a good multiple jump opportunity is particularly satisfying, especially when it ruins an opponents best laid plans.

Ratings (/10, for this session) All 7's

Thread: Re:User Review

Andrew York — 2002-10-25T15:37:52+00:00

The new version at Essen 2002 contains kangaroo shaped pieces.

The designers suggested to avoid confusion between pieces which have not yet crossed the starting line and those which are approaching the finishing line is to orient them to face in opposite directions.

Interestingly, I have played this game twice only, both with 3 players. The game I won, I won by clumping my roos together and keeping them adjacent to the billabong as far as possible (often 4 in a line). The effect of this was to curtail the amount of jumping that my opponents could do winning me the game.

As for kids, I am sure that kids would enjoy this game. I am also sure that any kid that was a good chess player would do very well, even against the most 'expert' of gamers.

Thread: Re:User Review

TurboNick1 — 2002-09-12T14:20:25+00:00

I like it. Not sure about the bit about "little downtime", though. Play it with a dedicated thinker and a complicated situation and the game can really take ages as analysis paralysis sets in.

Thread: Re:User Review

garyj — 2002-09-08T13:40:37+00:00

Larry Levy (#3416),

I have only played it with serious gamers, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We often play with 6 and I think once 7 people - gets pretty crowded and can take a bit long but gives a whole new series of tactics to consider.

Gary

Thread: Re:User Review

jeffcarey — 2002-09-04T15:02:05+00:00

glanfam (#3420),

I hope you meant "winning" and not "whining".

I agree that adults could nearly always win against kids, but that's true of any game based more on skill than luck. I don't think that makes it a "gamer's game".

I just don't think there's enough variety in this game to create any lasting appeal for most adult gamers. It looks like this assessment may be incorrect though, based on a few comments.

Thread: Re:User Review

glanfam — 2002-09-02T13:42:26+00:00

Billabong

A kids game. A family game.
You must have wining down pat.

This is truly a gamer's game with lots of interaction and intense thought required.

I challange any kid to even be close when playing with a gamer. It's just too hard to do that. Too much skill required.

Thread: Re:User Review

Larry Levy — 2002-09-02T13:41:34+00:00

Like Jeff, I'm a fan of Billabong. But I also think it makes a fine gamer's game. All of my games have been with other serious gamers. I also think it plays very well with three (that's usually how we play it, since there are more good alternatives for four than for three). I'm not a huge fan of abstracts, but there is enough scope for clever play in Billabong that it is one of my favorites. Don't be afraid to play this one without the kids.

Larry

Thread: User Review

jeffcarey — 2002-08-30T14:08:06+00:00

Billabong is a simple strategy game, lightly themed around the concept of a kangaroo race around a billabong (Aussie for "pond" or "lake"). The standard-sized board consists of a grid of squares, with the small billabong in the middle fed by a stream that stretches out to one edge of the board, with the water elements denoting a race oval with a start/finish line. The kangaroos are represented by good-sized wooden cylinders. Some additional artwork adorns the board, but is not relevant to game play.

Game play consists of a brief setup phase, followed by the race. During the setup phase, two to four players take turns placing their five 'roos anywhere behind the finish line, with each player placing one 'roo in turn, five times around the table. The race then commences, with players taking turns moving any one of their five wooden kangaroo tokens, choosing between two possible move options. A 'roo may either move one space in any direction, or it may make a series of jumps over other 'roos.

There are simple rules defining a legal jump. First, each jump in the series must pass over only one other 'roo. Second, the jumper must land an equal distance on the opposite side of the 'roo being jumped. That is, if you jump from three spaces away from the other 'roo, you'll land three spaces on the opposite side. A player may continue a series of jumps with a single 'roo (jumping other 'roos) as long as he wants to, and has legal moves to make. This can lead to some spectacular advances by a 'roo. I've personally made it from start to finish with one 'roo on a single move. Generally though, the moves are much more restrained. Additionally, there a referee 'roo, which stands in your kangaroo's starting position, both to mark where you started (in case you need to try again) and to stand in as a legal 'roo for one of your jumps in the series (you can use the referee to jump over).

The other move option, a single space in any direction, is generally only used when no good jumps are available, or in order to set up a good jump on a future move (which may be foiled by someone else's move that turn). This move option is also occasionally useful to cross the finish line when a jump has left you just one or two squares short.

So the game essentially requires players to find the best option each turn for advancing their 'roos, while at the same time setting up jumps for future turns, and avoiding leaving one 'roo stranded at the back of the pack. The first player to advance all five of their 'roos around the board and across the finish line wins. And that's all there is to it.

The game can be played by two to four players. I've played with three and four, and find the four player version to be much better, although three players still makes for a decent game. With three players, there aren't nearly as many jumping options though, and I imagine the two player version would be even more limiting. Perhaps two players could each control two teams, with the first player getting either one of their teams across the finish line being the winner. This option just occurred to me though, and I haven't tried it.

The rules for this game are so simple that children can easily play, and I think the best audience for this game is a family with younger children. Even though the game accommodates kids, there's also enough room for strategic play to keep an adult mind busy for a while. There is also little down time during the game, as turns move from one player to the next fairly rapidly, which especially benefits children. I don't think there's nearly enough to this game (either in theme or variety) to make it a lasting favorite for sophisticated adult gamers, however.

I have one suggestion if you play this game. Since your 'roos all start behind the start/finish line, and must cross this line once to begin the race and a second time to finish, the "not yet started" 'roos can often get mixed in with some especially quick "nearly finished" 'roos. To avoid confusion, we always start our 'roos face down, and flip them face up once they make their first move across the start line. That way it's apparent that face down 'roos have not yet started the race.

I like this game, given the right circumstances (kids, no desire for a "gamer's game"). It's simple, yet allows for strategy and doesn't depend at all on luck, like most kids' games. Unfortunately, its availability seems to be quite limited. It's hard to find on auction sites, and at the time I wrote this review, it was a special order item at FunAgain for $37.95 (new) or $32.95 (used). Considering what you get in terms of components (just a board and the wooden 'roo tokens) and game play, it's hard to justify that kind of price. If you can find it at a better price though, it may be worth your time.

Thread: Session Report

dougadamsau — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Julian writes:

Then onto the the Billabong for a little refreshment. Doug appeared to make a mistake by placing a kangaroo on the opposite side of the billabong from the stream, but then halfway through the game, bounced back to near where it was having covered about 80% of a circuit. Alan was a quiet achiever in this making several unexciting but profitable moves, which didn't make us notice how far he was getting his team. By the end I had to go back to collect my tail ender, whilst others used them to make big hops into the home run. Though we played on to second & third I rather lost track, so here are the scores when Alan finished.

Alan 5
Doug 4
Janet 3
Julian 2

This obviously wasn't Janet's night, so I expect we'll probably see Expedition or one of her other favourites next week!

Thread: Session Report

wavemotion — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Session Report for February 12, 2000 (by Dave Bernazzani)
Roll Call: Eddie, Carol, Jenn, Dave

Session Length: 5 hours (Billabong, 2.5 hrs, Acquire 2.5 hrs)
Session Details: A great session today with two reasonably lengthy games. Billabong has been on my want-to-play list for some time. And if you can believe it, none of us had previously played the classic Acquire. We figured we better try the Avalon Hill version before the new version is out in stores

Billabong Session Details: We started with Billabong and I have been eagerly awaiting this hitting the table. Billabong is a bit of a puzzle-type game - each player is trying to maximize their jumps to move their Kangaroos to the finish line. Each player has 4 Kangaroos which must race around a board consists of many squares laid out around a watering hole. The first player to move all their Kangaroos around the water hole to the finish-line is the winner. A player can move one space for free - or can move any larger distances by jumping other Kangaroos on the board. Once jumped, the player may make another immediate jump and so can make a series of interconnected jumps to improve board position. Often a player will seem to be far behind only to see them perform a miraculous series of jumps to vault them in front. Great stuff! We all worked hard to get our pieces around the board, but Jenn just kept up a bit better than the rest and finished just ahead of the rest of the pack.

Final Scores: Jenn=4 (Winner), Dave=1, Carol=1, Ed=2
Ratings(1-10): Jenn=7.5, Dave=7, Carol=8, Ed=8
Comments: The only reason I did not rate this higher was the play-length. It was a bit long between turns, but overall a very enjoyable game.