Players begin close to each other, on islets found on the northernmost part of the map. These are arid, with sun-baked terrain, and feature nothing but a herd of 4 Goats, and some acacia trees. Gold and Stone, as well as huntables are practically nonexistent on the islets. Players must invest in Transport Ships as quickly as possible, in order to disembark Villagers to rich mainlands to the west and east of the river (depending on the starting positions of the players), that features generous amounts of fauna, but most important of all, Stone and Gold.