Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 6, 1 June 2002 — Leam Kū i ka Moku' at Native Books this month [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Leam Kū i ka Moku' at Native Books this month

£ T"hen I was taking Hawaiian in eol%/V/ lege from my kumu, Kalei Aarona~ ▼ T Lorenzo, a phrase she taught us

really stuck with me," said Kaipo Lum, described by friends as an inventor ^

and a fun guy. "'Kū i ka Moku' refers to a ruling chief. ī've never forgotten that."

As a kid, Lum invented games to play. As an adult, the HMSA strategic planner~by~day wanted to create a

'collectible card game' that would be "fun and exciting - some-

thing for us Hawaiians, with a bit of an educational component," he explained.

"The idea of 'Kū I Ka Moku' is to build your kingdom by increasing your domain. You want to put together an ahupua'a. All players start out as an ali'i, but your goal is to be mō'ī. By fighting little battles along the way, ideally you want to

secure a eouple of mauka plot, some from the middle section, and a eouple of makai plots of land. You also acquire

maka'āinaina, kahuna, koa and ali'i of differ~ ent levels determined

by a number assigned," . Lum said. "As in traditional chiefly society, your goal is to ultimately

increase your mana." Eaeh game set includes a game deck whieh everyone plays from; and four starter

packs whieh provide eaeh player (minimum 2) with such items as ahupua'a, kahuna, ali'i,

koa etc., eaeh of varying value. The game deck from whieh all play range in a number of actions: ",Any holoholona (animals) you gained from the game deck must be returned; if you currently have the most heiau, then you get one

maka'āinana from the opponent of your choosing; you have the option to eall a eouneil of all kāhuna. All kāhuna are gather together, shuffled, and deal back to the players." 'Kū I Ka Moku' is available for purchase at Native Books and Beautiful Things at Ward Warehouse. On Sat., June 1 and 15, Lum will demonstrate Kū I Ka Moku at Native Books and Beautiful Things at Ward Warehouse. On Sat., June 22 at 2 p.m. at Native Books Kapālama on School Street in Honolulu, he will teach begin~ ners how to play in celebration of the seven~ month season of Kū, traditionally a time for warfare and conquest. (The season of Lono, Kū's counterpart, celebrates productivity, harvest, sports and other pastimes October through February). Ku I Ka Moku is a product of Hekili Creative Works and was designed by Stephanie Namihira and Kaipo Lum. For more information on this game, visit www.hekili.com. ■

Hanana Kūikawā

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