Kahuna is a two-player area control game set in the South Pacific. Two ancient sorcerers (Kahuna) compete to control 12 islands by building bridges between them. When a player controls the majority of connecting lines to an island, they claim it with a Kahuna token, removing all opponent bridges to that island. The game is played over three scoring rounds, with escalating point values.
Components
1 Game board depicting 12 islands interconnected by dotted lines
50 Kahuna bridges (25 black and 25 white)
20 Kahuna tokens (10 black and 10 white)
24 Island cards (2 per island)
Setup
Place the game board between the two players.
Each player receives 25 bridges and 10 tokens of one color.
Shuffle all island cards; deal 3 face-down to each player.
Place 3 cards face-up beside the board.
Place remaining cards face-down as a draw pile.
The player who more desperately needs a vacation begins.
Turn Structure
On your turn:
Play island cards (any number, or none)
Draw one island card
Actions
Playing Island Cards
Play a card to place one of your bridges on a free connecting line starting from the island shown on the card (marked in red) to any neighboring island.
Play multiple cards one at a time.
You may abstain from playing any cards.
All played cards go to the discard pile.
If your hand has 5 cards and you cannot/don’t want to play, you must discard one or more cards face-down under the discard pile before drawing.
Controlling Islands (Placing Kahuna Tokens)
If you have bridges on MORE than half of an island’s connecting lines, you control it.
Place one of your Kahuna tokens on the island.
Remove ALL opponent bridges connected to this island (return to owner).
The lines below island names on cards indicate how many connections each island has (3, 4, 5, or 6).
Important: Removing bridges may cause your opponent to lose control of neighboring islands, forcing removal of their Kahuna tokens there too.
Removing Opponent Bridges
Play TWO suitable island cards simultaneously to remove one opponent bridge.
The two cards must each show one of the two islands connected by the target bridge (can be the same island on both cards).
Example: A bridge between HUNA and ELAI can be removed with: “HUNA + ELAI”, “HUNA + HUNA”, or “ELAI + ELAI”.
If you can also play a third card to immediately place your own bridge on that now-free line, chain reactions may occur.
Drawing a Card
At the end of your turn, draw one card (regardless of how many you played).
Take one of the 3 face-up cards (immediately replace from draw pile) OR draw from the face-down pile.
You may abstain from drawing UNLESS your opponent abstained on their immediately preceding turn.
If your hand has 5 cards, you may not draw. If your opponent abstained previously and you have 5, you must play/discard at least one card so you can draw.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
Interim Scoring (occurs twice)
Triggered when the draw pile is depleted and the last face-up card is drawn.
Each player counts their Kahuna tokens on the board.
1st interim scoring: Player with more tokens gets 1 point. Tie = 0 points.
2nd interim scoring: Player with more tokens gets 2 points. Tie = 0 points.
Reshuffle the discard pile to create a new draw pile; place 3 cards face-up.
Both players keep their hand cards.
The player who triggered the scoring ends their turn; the other player goes next.
Final Scoring
When the draw pile is depleted for the third time and the last face-up card is drawn, each player takes one more turn.
Count Kahuna tokens. The player with more tokens receives points equal to the DIFFERENCE between the two token counts.
The player with the highest total points (both interim + final) wins.
Tiebreaker: higher final scoring points wins. If still tied after all three scorings with both at 0, the player with more bridges on the board wins. If still tied, no winner.
Premature End
If during the 2nd or 3rd scoring round, a player has NO bridges on the board, the game ends immediately and the other player wins.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
Chain reactions from bridge removal can cause cascading loss of island control.
The number of connecting lines per island varies (3-6), shown on the cards.
Variant 1 (Strategic): A player may only place a bridge if neither connected island is under opponent control.
Variant 2 (Tactical): Face-up drawn cards must be placed face-up in front of you (visible to opponent) but can be played normally.
Handicap Play: Less experienced player may place 1-3 bridges of their color on any connecting lines during setup.