Schiffbruch

In the game Schiffbruch you are stranded on a desert island in the southern Caribbean. First you have to manage to survive: That means finding drinking water and something to eat. Later you explore the island, experience adventures and try to be rescued from the island.

How to play

The most important elements in Schiffbruch are the three fluid levels on the right side of your screen. If your health reaches zero, you will die. To restore your health, you’ll need to find food and drink. Without them, your health will gradually decline. The first task is to search for something to eat and locate the river.

When you click on discovered land (areas in black remain undiscovered), a path will be highlighted in red. Clicking again will send you to that location. If you reach the edge of the screen, you can scroll across the visible map by holding down the right mouse button. It’s best to head inland, as rivers are more commonly found there.

Along the way, you’ll undoubtedly encounter some bushes with red berries. Approach the bushes and click the button with two gears on the left side to open the Action Menu. There, click on the knife-and-fork symbol to eat the berries. You can also click the magnifying glass to search the area for useful items. Keep searching until you find a branch, then continue on your way to the river.

Once you find the river, head directly to it and click the knife-and-fork button to drink. It’s a good idea to drink until your water supply is fully replenished.

This marks the first step in ensuring your survival. Now, let’s make things a bit more comfortable. Search the river for a stone. When you find one, open your Inventory by clicking on the chest icon on the right. You’ll see a stone and a branch. Click on the branch (your cursor will change to a branch) and then click on the stone. You’ll hear a "Bing!" sound—congratulations, you’ve just crafted an axe.

With your new axe, approach a tree and click the animated falling tree in the Action Menu to chop it down. If you check your inventory again, you’ll see you’ve gathered raw materials. Now, head to a flat, open area. Open the Building Menu (the hammer icon) and select the tent option. After some time, you’ll have a new shelter. You can also craft a hoe or harrow by combining another branch and stone from your inventory. With that, you can plow a field near the river (accessible again through the Building Menu).

Now you’ve mastered the basics. Of course, there are many more tools and structures to discover, but you’ll need to explore on your own. New buttons will appear as you acquire the necessary tools.

Additional Information:

Time only passes when you’re actively doing something, so you can take your time and explore without rushing. The time is displayed in the bottom right corner. At exactly 6 p.m., you must go to sleep. If you're caught outside after dark, your health will sharply decline, so ensure you're resting in a tent (or better shelter).

The status bar at the bottom of the screen constantly displays useful information, such as the materials needed for construction and the function of each button.

The ultimate goal of the game is to be rescued. Your chances of being spotted by a passing plane (which is not visible) are represented by the life preserver icon in the upper right corner. This percentage indicates the likelihood of being rescued on any given day. You can increase your chances by creating SOS signals using stones.

Each time you restart the game, Schiffbruch will generate a fresh map and gameplay.

As you progress, try sailing around the island in a boat (but keep an eye on the time)—you might find something interesting!

Alright, now that you’re all set, enjoy the adventure!

Closing words

This is a 25th anniversary remake of the 1999 original and features the same pixel graphics and sounds. The user interface has been slightly adapted to work on cell phones and tablets. In addition, the game now scales to any screen size. Small improvements to the game and bug fixes have also been made.

Like the original game, the new edition has a small download size, costs nothing, has no ads or in-app purchases, and collects no user data.

I would like to thank all the loyal fans of Schiffbruch for the great feedback over the last 25 years with this new edition - even if they were hoping for a Schiffbruch 2.