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- BGG rating
- 8.4
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth
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Kahuna
1998
Rules assistance for Kahuna
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 30–40 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.1/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Kahuna
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Kahuna is a board game released in 1998 for 2 players, 30–40 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Günter Cornett and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Set Collection.
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About the game
"Who will rule the South Seas? Two Kahuna - ancient sorcerers of the Pacific - compete for dominance on an archipelago consisting of twelve small islands. Using their magic and wisdom, they struggle for control of the islands. They anxiously await the cards handed to them by fate. But when the time is right, they move to capture one, two, or even more islands, trying to gain the upper hand. At the mercy of the magical powers of the South Seas, they quickly realize that even the best magic is no good without strategy." Originally published in 1997 as Arabana-Ikibiti by the designer's own publisher Bambus Spieleverlag, then reprinted by Funagain in the U.S., Kosmos' Kahuna – part of its Kosmos two-player series – is the best known implementation of this design. It's a two-player game, played on a board depicting twelve islands. Players use cards to place bridges between these islands or remove opponent's bridges. If you get the majority of bridges around an island, you place one of your marker stones on it and also remove any of your opponent's bridges to that island – which might cause them to lose a bridge majority on an adjacent island and lose a marker stone there. The game is played in three rounds. A round ends when all cards from the face down deck and the three face up cards have been taken. Then points are scored for the islands with a marker stone on them. The game can also end sooner when one player has absolutely NO bridges left on the board. The Kosmos edition has excellent graphics and nice wooden pieces and plays very well. Reimplements: Arabana-Ikibiti Reimplemented by: Kanaloa
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Arclight Games
- Tilsit
- Korea Boardgames
- Swan Panasia Co., Ltd.
- Galakta
- KOSMOS
- 999 Games
- Rio Grande Games
- Laser plus
- Filosofia Éditions
- White Goblin Games
- IELLO
- Paper Iyagi
Questions and answers
Kahuna supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Kahuna is 30–40 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Kahuna for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Kahuna has a complexity rating of 2.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Kahuna belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Set Collection. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Kahuna are: Günter Cornett. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Kahuna as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.