How Do You Beat Australia In RISK? 3 Easy Strategies

Australia is a beast of a continent in RISK, and it’s one most inexperienced players don’t know how to defeat very well. 

Even with advanced players, getting Australia early is almost a guaranteed second-place finish. 

But there are some ways to still come out ahead even if you don’t have it. I asked around and used my own experience to answer the question: How do you beat Australia in RISK? 

Beating Australia in RISK comes down to three main strategies. Use a card bonus to break them when you can guarantee a strong army remains for yourself, ignore them and aim to win the greater part of the world, or wear them down gradually (or at least stop them from growing).
Read on, and I’ll go into more detail on these strats below. 

How To Beat The Australia Turtle Strategy In RISK?

For many people, when someone gets themselves settled into a defended Australia, they know they’re going to lose. 

But the reality is, Australia is a limiting platform. 

With the right strategies, players can easily defeat them; it just takes time. 

Note: All of these apply to fixed card bonuses. On Progressive (the bonus gets bigger every time cards are turned in), it doesn’t matter.  

Just keep on playing with normal survival and “eating” strategies, and you’ll beat them in no time (unless they beat you first!).

Related Reading: Is RISK hard to play? How to Make It Easier

#1 Card Bonus To Break

The first and riskiest strategy is to break their defending army with a card bonus. 

Australian players will plop a massive army on Indonesia or Siam and leave the other territories occupied with only one troop. 

This makes them tough to break but easy to wipe out. 

Keep them “contained” while still letting them capture a territory and retreat back to Siam or Indonesia. 

They’ll get their cards, and you’ll be waiting.

Don’t ignore the other players in the game, but start building a decent army within striking distance of Australia. 

Wait for the perfect storm: 

1. You can turn in a 10 or 8-troop bonus. 
2. The Australian player has 3, 4, or 5 cards in hand. 
3. If you wipe them out, their cards will add to your and make over 5 total. 

In this instance, if you can wipe out their big army and then finish them off entirely, DO IT! 

You’ll lose a lot of troops, but you’ll gain some back. Then, place everything you’ve got left (and your bonus card turn-in) on either Siam or Indonesia. 

This one is risky because you’ll be gathering some strength in Asia while being weaker elsewhere. 

The other players may see your divided attention and try to take you out instead. 

Of course, RISK is the name of the game, isn’t it? 

Check out our guide for how to win 2-player RISK.

#2 Ignore And Beat Later

One of the best strategies to handle Australia is to ignore it. 

Australian players get an early lead, but as the game goes on, they have a hard time converting that lead into a bigger foothold. 

If other players settle into Africa, North America, or even South America with more territories for a larger bonus, they’ll outpace the Aussies after a while. 

Eventually, one player will gain strength. Hopefully, it’s you! 

At this point, don’t attack Australia. Leave them for last. 

Wipe out the other opponents first, but don’t leave yourself weaker than the Aussie armies in doing so. 

Capture the whole world except for Australia, and wait a turn or two to get those massive bonuses. You’ll have a bigger army in no time. 

#3 Stop Their Growth (Or Shrink It)

Stopping growth is another active strategy that kind of walks the middle line between the other two. 

Consider using this one while you wait to either beat the rest of the players OR get a bonus and wipe out the Australian player completely. 

This one only works if you’ve got the continent fully contained. 

Keeping them only as far as Indonesia is a must. Siam is riskier. 

Each turn, don’t let them capture a territory. Keep your army close in size to theirs so they don’t break you easily. 

Attack and destroy only 3 armies in Australia. 2 at the least. 

This stops them from building their army up. 

In time, one of the two other conditions will come true. Then, be ready to break them. 

The two bigs issues with this strat are: 

• You leave both of you weaker for the taking. 
• The Australian player may get frustrated and “suicide” on you. Then, you both lose. 

Note: If you can do this right in the beginning, go for it. If not, be patient and don’t overextend yourself. 

Is The Australia Turtle Strategy Worth It?

If you can get Australia early and without fighting too much for it, then take it! 

I’m a decent RISK player myself, but I’ve watched expert players a lot. One of the things they love to see is when newer players fight over Australia in the early game. 

This gives them a chance to either: 

• Wait nearby for a chance to take them both out. 
• Pay attention to the rest of the world and get too strong for Australia to be a threat. 

Still, if there’s an opportunity to take it early without much fighting, they’ll take it every time. 

But the key here is, they’ll also try and establish a smaller army somewhere else. 

This gives them an out if there’s too much pressure on their main army. 

It’ll also give them a chance to keep capturing territories for cards if Australia gets contained. 

Another thing I notice is that these players are also ready to abandon Australia if they can wipe out other weak players and establish themselves in more powerful positions. 

Read more about the best continents in RISK and other strategies.