History
Kōnane is an ancient game from Hawaiʻi. Though it’s unknown exactly how old it is, the Hawaiians already considered it to be ancient by the time of King Kamehameha the Great. When Captain Cook visited Hawaii, he reported back that King Kamehameha was a skilled Kōnane player, who sometimes defeated his opponents in one move.
After hearing this news, the King of Great Britain sent his champion draughts players to challenge the Hawaiians to in an international draughts competition. Hawaii’s formed a team of Kamehameha’s Queens, who learned draughts quickly, and beat the visiting challengers at their own game.
Long before Kamehameha, Kōnane appears in the saga of Chief Lonoikamakahiki. In this story, he was playing the game with his favorite wife Kaikilani. It was proper etiquette to remain silent during a Kōnane game, so as not to distract the players. In this silence however, they could hear singing in the distance. Kaikilani recognized the song, as it was written for her by the man she was having an affair with. She ignored it in an effort to hide her indiscretion, but it was too late. Lonoikamakahiki understood the hidden meaning behind the song and killed her in a fit of rage.
Traditional game boards called papamū were originally made by carving depressions into lava rock. Pieces of coral, lava rock, or shells were used for the pieces. They were also made of other materials such as mats or wood. The size of the board is not standard, and can be either square or rectangular. Larger papamū of up to 17 spaces would have made for a longer game and more of a challenge to experienced players.
In ancient times Kōnane was played by men and women of all walks of life. Many traditional homes have a papamū carved into the stonework of outdoor living spaces. Gambling was often a part of the game, with players and spectators betting goods and services on the outcome of the game. During the Christianization of Hawaii, Kōnane was discouraged due to it’s association with gambling, and in 1924 only one elderly woman was documented to know how to play. Fortunately, today Kōnane is experiencing a revival. Tournaments are being held again, and game sets can be found in hawaiian shops. There is even a papamū on display at Pu’ubonua o Honaunau National Historical Park.
How to play
Objective
The goal is to make the last move of the game by causing your opponent to be unable to capture any pieces.
Setup
Decide who will play each color by having one player take one of each piece and hold one in each hand behind their back. The other player chooses a hand to select which color they will play. The dark pieces will play first.
The board is set up with the pieces placed in a checker pattern alternating dark and light.
Game Play
- For the first move of the game, each player, starting with black, removes one of their own pieces from anywhere on the board.
- Starting with black, each player takes turns jumping over one of their opponent’s pieces to remove it.
- You can move in a straight line forward, backward, left or right, but not diagonally.
- You may only remove one piece during each turn. You may not chain jumps.
Declaring the Winner
When a player is unable to jump over another player, the game is over and the last player to have made a legal move wins the game.