If only two players are playing, put two ships on the board as shown in fig. See Fig. 5. Each player picks a color and takes the figures of that color. All other pieces are left in the box until needed. Each player tries to rescue his guys from the sinking island.
Goals are the safe islands in the corners of the board.
The youngest player goes first. Each player in turn puts one figure on the island. Each tile can hold up to three guys. Play passes to the left. Keep going until each player has all 12 guys on the board.