Kilauea, a competitive strategy tabletop game inspired by Hawaiian folklore officially has a new Gamefound campaign! Publisher Combo Games has extensive details about gameplay and the colorful components.

In Kilauea, players are “Mo’o” spirits that compete to build tikis for their goddess as they navigate around a volcano. You’ll need to strategically perform actions via rondel gameplay, building your own tikis to score while cutting down opponents’ work.

While I haven’t played Kilauea, today’s Gamefound campaign already has me sold on its central ideas. The streamlined ideas seem accessible for new gamers, and the artwork is just plain stunning.

Kilauea’s thematic setting is already an undeniable highlight! The table presence alone was enough to catch my eye, and I’m betting it’ll attract many other fans just as quickly. Those who simply enjoy looking at Spirit Island (a personal favorite) will surely welcome the vibrant and tidy visuals in Kilauea.

Fortunately, all the specifics in the Gamefound campaign imply these thematic elements will extend to the gameplay, too. It’s a catchy premise, to be sure, and the rondel mechanism has some fun twists. I really like the idea of the personal islands and canoes.

To me, Kilauea sounds like a really nice introduction to hobby gaming. I always appreciate when creatives can achieve unexpected levels of strategy out of a smaller, friendly design space!

It’s worth noting that Kilauea is also surprisingly inexpensive for the hobby. That’s especially useful these days. It’s also, again, more accessible than typical pricing. So, be sure to check this one out for yourself—there’s a full how-to-play on the campaign!

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