On Tuesdays on the sunbaked, windswept Kohala coast of Hawaiʻi Island, at Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, you might hear the low murmur of laughter. Under the lānai (porch, patio) of the visitor center, Ed Dowling is laying out smooth black (lava) and white (coral) pebbles in round little depressions on a gridded board that he may made by hand, himself.
This is kōnane—sometimes casually referred to as “Hawaiian checkers,” though it’s closer in spirit to chess or Go. It’s a traditional game once played by the Hawaiian aliʻi (royal chiefs) to hone their strategic minds (it was also a favorite gambling game). The rules are deceptively simple: leap your opponent’s pieces, one by one, until no moves remain. But what begins as play quickly sharpens into a contest of wits.
Ed, a Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association employee and also a dedicated NPS volunteer, brings the game to life each Tuesday from 10 AM to 1 PM. He quietly sets out the boards and invites visitors to sit and play. It’s free to learn, hands-on, and incredibly fun. Families, children, curious travelers—one by one they are lured to the game table. The cooling sea breezes make time seem to disappear. “People are always surprised by how quickly it gets competitive,” Ed says, “But once they get the hang of it, they don’t want to stop.”
As he teaches and coaches, Ed offers more than rules or strategy. He’s reviving a tradition—passing down a cultural touchstone with quiet purpose. In the shade of the lānai, kōnane becomes more than a game. It’s a bridge to the past, to the ways the aliʻi prepared for leadership, to a time when play trained the mind for matters of state and survival.
At Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, where the land is anchored in memory and mana (spiritual power), even the simple act of moving black and white pebbles on a wooden board resonates with meaning and connection to the past. Visitors leave not just entertained, but awakened to the depth of cultural practice in this place.
So, if you find yourself at the park on a Tuesday morning, step under the shade, say aloha to Ed, and sit a while. You might lose a game or two. But you'll gain a deeper sense of Hawaiʻi—and perhaps a lifelong love for the Hawaiian game of kings and queens.
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Visit the national historic site.
Get your own kōnane board kit.
What are the rules of kōnane?
