The goal is to haul more gold onto your ships than your rivals. No holds barred. But above all, remember to take the gold coin in hand on every move, or you will leave without it. A coin brings one point, a bullion three.

The game ends when the leader can no longer be caught: the gold left on the island and in pirates' hands is not enough to overtake them. There are early wins too: in a duel, when the opponent has no units left that can move; in a game with "Destroying ships", when all of the opponent's vessels are sunk.

And a few more tips from an old boatswain:

— keep gold close to your ship — it is harder to steal there;

— cover a pirate who goes on the attack, so that striking back at him costs the enemy dearly;

— grab the lonely gold in the middle of the island: if you can reach it before your rival, do not waste moves on scouting or on the gold next to your ship — drag the central gold closer first, the near gold will not run away;

— an experienced Munchausen delivers gold faster: if a cannon barrel points at your ship, stepping onto the cannon with a coin is the quickest delivery there is.

The rest you will learn yourself — in battle and on the march. Fair winds and good luck!

Fight — by stepping onto a cell with enemies you knock them all out: they fly to their nearest ship (to an allied one if they have no ships). Whoever is attacked in the water goes to feed the fish.

You cannot attack while carrying cargo. There are no fights in the jungle. You cannot enter a fortress while any enemy unit stands in it — any at all: even a missionary will not go in to an enemy Friday. In a maze only units on the same step fight. Whoever knocks an enemy out of a trap falls into the trap himself, unless his own units are on the cell. Friday cannot be knocked out — he joins the attacker. Nobody may step onto an enemy missionary's cell except Friday — and then both die.

Configurable: "Missioner blocks attack" (a unit standing with the missionary cannot move onto an enemy) and "Distance to the nearest ship" (how the retreat ship is chosen).

Death — a pirate dies if:

— he is attacked in the water, or an enemy ship runs over him while he swims;

— he ends up on an enemy ship: a cannon shot him straight into it (the ship stood on the first water cell along the barrel), or an arrow or ice opened in the fog led him there;

— he is in the water on a cannonball's line of fire;

— he finds the cannibal; has nowhere to go back to from a crocodile; arrows or ice lock his path into a loop or lead him where the move cannot be finished;

— an arrow or ice carries him into a fortress with an enemy inside or onto an enemy missionary's cell (a cannon — onto the missionary if he swims on the first water cell along the barrel);

— his ship is sunk and there is no other ship to move to.

The dead pirate's cargo is lost (on an enemy ship it goes to the ship's owner). A dead pirate can be resurrected in the resurrection fortress.

Configurable: "Breaking a restriction kills" (whoever ends up where the move is forbidden dies instead of the special outcome) and "Cannonball kills".

Arrows — a move cannot end on an arrow: the pirate goes on at once where it points. If there are several directions, choose one — it is still the same move. Cargo can be left only on a fork (an arrow with a choice); from a single arrow the pirate goes on with it. If arrows lock the path into a loop, the pirate dies.

Gold and items — a pirate carries one item: a coin, a bullion, a cannonball, a boat or a wheelbarrow (with a wheelbarrow — the wheelbarrow itself and two more items in it). With cargo you cannot enter the fog (unopened cells), a fortress or the jungle, and cannot attack. Cargo sinks in the water — except the boat, which becomes a vessel.

Mazes — the cell shows how many moves it takes to pass: 2, 3, 4 or 5 (steps); each move is one step. You may enter with cargo: it goes straight to the last step, and you pick it up once you get there. You fight only those on the same step. Rum from the stock moves everyone on the cell to the last step (the "No wasted rum" setting forbids spending it when it would change nothing).

Ice — the move repeats: on foot, one more step in the same direction; by horse or plane, one more jump or flight.

Trap — the pirate falls into the pit and waits for help; only one sits in a trap. Your own unit coming onto the trap pulls the prisoner out and does not get stuck; rum from the stock frees him too. If an enemy comes to the prisoner, the prisoner flies to his ship and the enemy lands in the pit himself. Cargo stays on the cell. Friday never gets trapped.

Cannon — the pirate is shot along the barrel and lands on the first water cell on his way: into the water (cargo sinks), onto his own ship (cargo counts) or onto an enemy ship (the pirate dies, the cargo goes to the enemy). A ship standing beyond that first water cell does not help. Bring a cannonball to the cannon and it fires while the pirate stays: units on the line of fire fly to their ships on land and die in the water, items on the line are lost. Configurable: "Fortress vs cannonball" (a fortress shields by default), "Cannonball kills", "Cannonball spares the fog".

Horse — having stepped onto the horse, jump in the same move like a chess knight. You may take your cargo along or leave it on the horse's cell.

Fortress — behind its walls units cannot be attacked. You cannot enter with cargo, nor where any enemy unit stands; a pirate carried into such a fortress by an arrow or ice dies.

Resurrection fortress — the same fortress; in addition, your unit standing in it may, instead of a move, resurrect a dead pirate of your team, who appears in this fortress. Only ordinary pirates are resurrected — not Ben Gunn, Friday or the missionary.

Rum barrel — the pirate who finds the barrel drinks and skips his next turn; your other units move as usual. The barrel kills Friday.

Crocodile — you cannot stay on the cell: the pirate returns where he came from. If there is nowhere to return or the return cell leads to the crocodile again, the pirate dies.

Cannibal — the pirate becomes his dinner, cargo and all. The cannibal does not touch Friday.

Balloon — the pirate flies with his cargo to his nearest ship (to an allied one if he has none). Every new visit to the balloon is another flight.

Plane — it has two seats: the first to board is the pilot, the second the passenger; boarding ends the move. On the next move the plane flies to any cell of the island (not into the fog with cargo): the passenger lands, and the pilot flies the plane back, so it can be used again. If the pilot flies alone, he lands himself and the plane does not fly any more. The "Plane seats" setting: one seat, or "the chosen one flies" (a chosen pilot swaps places with the passenger before take-off).

Wheelbarrow — a pirate with a wheelbarrow carries two more items in it. The wheelbarrow is cargo too: it cannot go into the fog, a fortress or the jungle.

Cannonball — bring it to a cannon and the cannon fires (see "Cannon"). In games with "Destroying ships" (available in any game) the cannonball also holes enemy ships on the line of fire; a ship sinks after the second hit, and on small islands with a single cannonball after the first. The "Friendly fire" setting lets you sink your own ships too.

Boat — carry it to the shore and step into the water with it: your team gets one more vessel. Gold can be delivered to it, and balloon flights and knocked-out units land on it if it is closer than the ship.

Lighthouse — open any four fog cells.

Rum bottles — whoever finds them puts the bottles into the team's stock. Rum from the stock can be served on your own cell and the eight around it: it frees from a trap, moves everyone in a maze to its last step and turns a missionary into a pirate; rum kills Friday. The "No trapped rum" setting forbids a unit stuck in a cave to serve rum.

Bullion — brings three points but is carried as a single item.

Cave — there are four caves joined by one tunnel. A unit entering a cave while no other one is open gets stuck in the tunnel until another cave opens (or another unit comes — then they swap places). If there is one free (unoccupied) exit cave, the pirate comes out of it in the same move; if there are several, he chooses the exit. If all the others are occupied, the cave acts as an ordinary cell. You may enter with cargo. The "Boardgame caves" setting switches on the board game rules.

Earthquake — swap two open land cells with no units, gold or items on them. A horse, a plane and untouched rum bottles move together with their cell.

Jungle — any number of units of different teams stand here together: no fights, Friday cannot be lured away, neutrals do not join. But a missionary and Friday who meet even here both die. You cannot enter the jungle with cargo.

Shaitan weed — for one round the turns go in their usual order, but each team's units are steered by the previous player: the finder steers the next player's units, that player the units of the one after him, and so on around, while the finder's own units are commanded by the last player in the round.

Ben Gunn — a marooned pirate roams somewhere in the fog; whoever opens his cell gets him into the team.

Missionary — carries no items and does not attack. Enemies cannot step onto his cell (except Friday — then both die); the missionary himself dies if he is carried onto a cell with an enemy pirate. Rum turns the missionary into a pirate. A missionary and Friday who meet on one cell both die — in a maze only on the same step, and on a ship too.

Friday — carries items but does not attack; passes a maze straight to its last step, never gets trapped and is not touched by the cannibal. If an enemy steps onto his cell, Friday joins him. Rum kills him.