Jump and capture across a checkerboard of black and white stones, strand your opponent with no legal leap and the game is yours.
Kōnane begins with the board fully packed with alternating black and white stones. The only legal move is a capturing jump: hop one of your stones in a straight orthogonal line over an adjacent enemy into the empty cell beyond, removing the stone you cleared. The first player who cannot capture on their turn loses.
Konane is a traditional Hawaiian game, sometimes called Hawaiian checkers, played on a papamu — a board of shallow pits, often cut directly into stone, some of which survive in place today. It was played at every level of society, including by aliʻi, and early European visitors recorded it being played seriously enough to draw crowds.
It begins fully packed: every pit holds a stone, black and white alternating, and the opening moves are the removal of one stone from each side to create space. After that pieces capture only by jumping, and there is no draw — the player who cannot move loses. So the entire game is about denying the opponent options, and a winning position often looks like a nearly empty board.
Kōnane is a traditional Hawaiian capture game in the same family as checkers and draughts. This is an original, free browser build with three computer difficulties, local two-player, and live online play, no download or sign-up required.