Each player starts with a hand of 13 cards that allow various actions. 1 or 2 planks, place 1 or 2 stones, remove a stone or a plank, jump over another pawn, or cancel another player's action. Of the 13 cards, you must choose 5 to play face down. After each round is played, the cards are returned to your hand, and the next player in turn becomes the first player to play actions in the next round. Some nifty things in the game are the limitations on plank size.
Some islands are further apart than others, requiring the use of longer planks.
Also, each island stone can only support three planks. Be forwarned now that this game does have a significant luck factor to it and a Kingmaker problem. It's not the type of luck you get from rolling dice, but the type from having played the lucky combination of cards that won't be messed up by your opponents. It's also the luck that adds tension and fun to the game. Part of the fun is guessing what card to play to wreck your oppponents' plans for getting across the delta.