Game description from the publisher:
Don't expect to lie around the sun, lazily sipping cocktails and passively watching hula dancers, because the tactical game Hawaii is not a paradise for idlers, but rather for bold, active strategists. Restlessly, they'll move their pieces on the game board, facing constant challenges in terms of making their beautiful villages on this beautiful island as profitable as possible. Only those who will be able to use their dwindling resources to meet the increasing demands over five rounds will find a spot for themselves on the beach.
In Hawaii, players must make use of their limited resources to score points by growing their villages and exploring the surrounding islands. Your chieftains move around the board to purchase new tiles for their villages, hopefully grabbing the best deals before their opponents. Three different currencies are used to pay for these trips, so make sure you don't run out of any of them too quickly. Players are also rewarded for providing for their people (measured essentially by how much they bought on a given turn), but your meager income shrinks as the game goes on. Players will have to balance a number of ways to score points to secure their victory.
- Comfort euro feel with strategic depth
- Variable island economy provides tension and replayability
- Potentially fiddly with resource timing
- May not appeal to players seeking heavier euro mechanics
- Village-building with a focus on resource management and currency (feet and shells).
- Five islands; players lead a Hawaiian village over five rounds.
- Accessible midweight euro with variable island pricing and placement tension.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Dynamic pricing — Prices shift round-to-round affecting purchasing options.
- Worker placement and tile placement — Place chieftain to acquire goods; place tiles to expand village.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- My number 70 game is a two-player game only about two villages competing over beer and bread.
- This is the only solo game I have on my list.