Billabong (1992)

About this game

In the geometrical racing game Billabong, players maneuver teams of kangaroos jumping around a "billabong" ("a dead-end channel extending from the stream of a river," a term used in Australia). The board is made up of checkerboard-style squares around the billabong in the middle. On your turn, you move one of your five kangaroos, usually moving it in a jump or series of jumps over the other kangaroos. Jumps can be long; if the kangaroo to be jumped over is five spaces away, for example, the landing space will be five spaces beyond. The other option — to move a kangaroo just one space — is usually used as a positioning tactic for a subsequent move. The first player to get all five kangaroos around the billabong and over the finish line wins.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 4.
• Rules load. At 1.9/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 10 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.