This board game recreates such a historical time by portraying Portugal and Holland's race to conquer the riches of Southeast Asia. The game aims to claim all the islands marked by a number present on the board.
The board is subdivided into 368 squares (23 × 16), each defined by coordinates of longitude (columns) and latitude (rows). The players have three types of ships that move according to the value of dies at different speeds. Each ship has a specific feature. The board is interspersed with islands with allocated values (treasures) that the players must collect and protect with fortresses and ships.
Treasures and ships are jeopardized by pirates and typhoons that can wipe out these elements from the board and that move around the board randomly using spinners.
The players need to decide how to move their ships around and how to allocate resources, and the presence of pirates or typhoons adds randomness to the game. The board and components can be expanded, for instance, to accommodate four players and additional ship types.
—description from the designer