Aqueducks: two friends and a Roman duck empire
6th October 2026, 09:45 CEST
A study session that turned into a conversation about board games has taken two longtime friends to PAX Australia. In a new interview published on 5 October, Aqueducks co-creator Jack Reboul explains how he and Reid turned a house-of-cards idea into a game about building a Roman city populated by ducks.
Created By Adam Davis Fernsby
A study break with lasting consequences
Speaking to Stephen del Prado for Player2, Reboul recalled going to Reid’s partner’s home after a German class. Studying gave way to game design: what if building a deck meant physically constructing something with the cards?
The duck-and-Rome theme followed. Their Brisbane studio, Corkscrew Games, eventually settled on cards that slot together, rather than loose towers balanced by hand. Reboul says the intention was to make construction accessible, with the challenge coming from the game rather than players’ dexterity.
From crowdfunding to a showcase spot
The completed Kickstarter campaign ran from 28 March to 27 May 2025. It attracted 116 backers and raised AU$15,377 against an AU$10,000 goal. That puts its starting point in perspective: this was a small campaign that passed its target, rather than a blockbuster with thousands of supporters.
Those figures describe the earlier funding stage. Aqueducks is already advertised as released on the publisher’s website, so this week’s story is about the people behind it and its forthcoming public appearance, rather than a newly opened crowdfunding campaign.
PAX named Aqueducks among its 2026 Indie Showcase winners in an announcement dated 1 September. The event runs from 9–11 October at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, giving visitors a chance to discover the game in person.
For anyone attending, the tabletop showcase offers something that a striking photograph cannot: the opportunity to see how an unusual construction system works during play. The organisers describe the showcase as a place to meet developers and try their games firsthand.
Reboul also told Player2 that visitors can learn Aqueducks at the booth and playtest the studio’s next project, Tag! You’re Undead. That second title remains in development; the invitation is to try a work in progress.
Can you buy it already?
Corkscrew’s site labels Aqueducks “out now” and provides an ordering link. Australian retailer Blackheart Games also has a product listing, although it was marked out of stock when checked for this article.
A listing is therefore worth distinguishing from a copy available to dispatch. Readers interested in ordering should check the seller’s current stock and delivery options, particularly outside Australia. We have not verified UK, European or worldwide availability, and the PAX appearance should not be read as an announcement of an international retail launch.
What is Aqueducks, exactly?
Aqueducks combines city development with a three-dimensional card display. The PAX description casts players as city-builders in the Roman Eggpublic, commissioned by its ruler, the Pondifex, to develop a riverside settlement into a metropolis. Trade, military strength, urban comforts and monuments offer different directions for that development.
Blackheart’s gameplay description adds an important wrinkle: at the end of each era, Gallic attacks interrupt the city’s growth. Players rebuild using earlier foundations and later Roman innovations. The progression therefore involves returning to what came before, rather than simply adding buildings to an untouched settlement forever.
The listed structures range from vineyards and bathhouses to defensive palisades and a Colosseum. Together, the economic choices and physical city give the theme a clear shape: gather the means to develop, decide what sort of settlement to create, then construct it on the table.
The ducks supply the humour, but the central attraction is easy to understand without the puns. You are building a city you can actually see rise in front of you.