In Rescue Animals, you take on the role of a wildlife conservation specialist, rescuing and protecting endangered animals from all over the world! Each animal you save is worth a number of protection points that you score at the end of the game. By collecting pairs of animals, your conservation efforts are rewarded with bonus points. The wildlife conservation specialist who has collected the most points wins.

Each round, a number of endangered animal cards are placed face up in the center of the table, within clear view of all players. After giving all players a moment to study the animals, the current Conservation Leader calls out: Ready, set, go! All players now start rolling their dice, rolling and rerolling as quickly as you want. If some of your just-rolled dice match the dice requirements of the endangered animal you are trying to rescue, you may set these aside while continuing to roll and reroll any remaining dice. At any point, if you have managed to collect all dice necessary to meet the dice requirements of one of the endangered animals, loudly call out "Rescuing!" After collecting the animal, the other players resume attempting to rescue one of the remaining endangered animals.

Each round, new cards will be drawn, presenting the players with new challenges and more animals to rescue. Most cards depict a dice requirement consisting of one black die and two or more white dice. However, a few endangered animals have special requirements that must be met.