About Kōnane
Kōnane is the ancient Hawaiian abstract strategy board game of jumping stones, played on a papamu board filled with alternating black and white pieces. If you want to play Kōnane online, the rules take under a minute to learn: hop one of your stones over an adjacent enemy stone into the empty square beyond, and take everything you jump.
The depth is in what the rules leave out. There is no target square, no promotion and no material goal, only mobility, so a player who is behind on stones can still win comfortably. The player who cannot move loses, which turns the endgame into a delicate counting problem. Play Kōnane online against the computer and learn to think in moves rather than in pieces.
Play Kōnane vs AI
Play Kōnane online against the computer and practise at your own pace. Pick a difficulty level that matches your skill, then work on the habit that decides every game: counting the jumps each side will still have after your move.
Learn how to open the board without feeding your opponent, how to build a reserve of safe jumps along the edges, and how to read the endgame count so you are the player still holding a move when the board runs dry.
How to play Kōnane
The goal of Kōnane is simple. Be the player who still has a legal jump when your opponent does not.
The board starts full of alternating black and white stones. Each side lifts one of their own stones to open the space, then players take turns jumping orthogonally over an adjacent enemy stone into the empty square beyond, removing every stone they leap. A chained jump may keep going in the same direction. The first player with no legal jump loses.
Improve by learning strategy
Kōnane strategy rewards players who stop counting stones and start counting moves. Strong players give up material happily when it buys them jumps their opponent cannot answer.
Keep your moves spread across many stones, build a reserve along the edges where it is hard to attack, and open the board only as fast as you need to. Learn practical Kōnane strategy tips you can use right away and watch your win rate climb.
Frequently Asked Questions
You win when your opponent begins a turn with no legal jump. Stones captured and stones remaining do not matter at all. Because every move takes at least one stone off the board, the game always ends and it can never finish in a draw.
Similar games you might like
If you enjoy Kōnane, you will probably like these other abstract strategy board games.
Learn, Play, and Have Fun!
Ready to play Kōnane online? Start a match against the computer now. No signup, no friction.