This game is pretty simple and requires very little skill. However, there are certain tips and tricks that can help you acquire a higher score. In this guide I will be referring to the time trial option because I find it gets me a higher score overall, however, everything written can be applied to normal mode.
The aim of the game is to uncover the boat (shown in the diagram above) by clicking blocks to uncover them. The majority of blocks uncovered will be direction blocks and they will point to the vague direction of the boat. However, you will get some special blocks such as the canon (destroys all adjacent tiles), the storm (reveals all adjacent tiles) and the treasure box (extra points). If the boat happens to be adjacent to the storm or the canon tile and you click it then the boat will be automatically revealed.
When you click on play, you will get this screen (diagram above). At the bottom, you can choose whether to have brief view or extended view. I always pick brief view because I find that extended view slows the game down ever so slightly, and it clutters up the board so you get confused. However, this is totally up to you.
This is the toolbar you will see at the bottom of your screen throughout the game.
LEVEL: On normal mode there are 20 levels for you to complete, but on time trial there are an infinite number of levels. The higher level you are, the more blank blocks you uncover, making it more difficult.
SCORE: This tells you your score.
BONUS: These are bonus points added to your score at the end of each round. The timer will count down every time you hesitate when clicking. On level one you start with 105 bonus points, and every level after that you start with five more. So on level two you will start with 110, level three 115 etc.
TIME: This is how much time you have left. On time trial you have 200 seconds to complete as many levels as you can, and on normal you have 20 seconds per level.
CLICKS: This is how many times you click blocks.
When choosing blocks to click, think FAST! Your bonus points decrease the longer you take between clicks, so you have very little time to think. Also, instead of clicking blocks next to each other, try clicking blocks that are 3 or 4 blocks away from your previous block. This will help you find the approximate location of the boat.
At the start of each round you will find that most of them point in one or two directions, for example left and up. Once you find a block that points in an opposite direction to the blocks you have uncovered, you know you are getting close, so start clicking blocks around that area.
I hope this guide has helped. Good luck!! – lilhennahoneyno2