Gold Ahoy consists of 36 square tiles which are arranged into a 6x6 grid during the game. The tiles contain 2 landscape elements: water and sand. Water is at the corners, and sand is on the sides. A treasure chest is located at the center of each tile, which is one of 2 colors. When assembled, the tiles form a water/sand labyrinth.
During the game, players take turns drawing a tile and adding it to the grid at any location; the only restriction is that a player cannot extend the grid in their opponent's direction. When the grid is complete, players receive 1 point for every chest that is connected to more exits on their side than on the opponent's side. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins.