Zaroff turned the lights on his stupendous fortress to make it look like there was a seaport. Any sailors who needed to get on land, food, and other needs would stop at the island, where Zaroff and his Cossack giant companion, Ivan, would capture and hunt them. In addition, there were huge rocks on the coast of the island, so ships got trapped if they came too close. This made it easier to trap the stranded sailors. Zaroff deceived them, and he blackmailed them into being hunted by giving them two choices: be hunted or be tortured by Ivan. Almost all of the sailors chose to be hunted because they had a slight chance of winning if they were hunted. No one ever won against Zaroff until Rainsford appeared on the island. If Rainsford perished while being hunted, future sailors would be hunted and killed. Rather than many lives being murdered, Rainsford saved them and eliminated Zaroff.
Rainsford was definitely the winner of the game because he defeated Zaroff, saved future lives, survived, and defeated the general who would obliterate more sailors. Imagine what would have happened if Rainsford had died! Eventually, many people's lives to come would be in jeopardy, but Rainsford was victorious. Rainsford now knew what it was like to be hunted, so he will probably never hunt again. It was assumed that after the demise of Zaroff, the inhabitants of the island lived in