Gamehelpunane

INTRODUCTION Ūnane (ooh-NAH-nay) is played on a Kōnane board. That is, a rectangular grid of pits that can hold one stone each. The grid can be any size, with at least one even dimension. The board is initially filled with a checkerboard pattern of black and white stones. Figure 1 shows a 5 x 4 grid. Mark Steere designed Ūnane in April 2026.

PLAY The two players, Black and White, take turns either moving a stone of their own color, or removing a stone of their own color (but not both actions), one stone per turn, starting with Black. Passing is not allowed. Ūnane uses the pie rule. White, on his first turn, has the option of switching colors and becoming Black, claiming the first move as his own, instead of moving a white stone.

CAPTURING MOVES You can move to capture an orthogonally (horizontally or vertically) adjacent enemy stone in any direction. In Figure 2, Black can capture by replacement a white stone marked with a green dot, but not the white stone marked with a red dot.

REMOVALS You can remove a friendly stone which has no orthogonal adjacencies with enemy stones. In Figure 3, Black can remove a black stone marked with a green dot, but not a black stone marked with a red dot.

OBJECT OF THE GAME The goal is to have only one orthogonally interconnected group of your color (which could be a single stone). You can win on your turn or on your opponent's turn. If, after your turn, there is only one friendly group and only one enemy group, you win. In Figure 4, Black has won.

DESIGN NOTES Ūnane was inspired by the ancient, Hawiian game of Kōnane. True to the spirit of Kōnane, Ūnane begins with a checkerboard pattern of stones, has short range captures, and is extremely simple. "Ūnane" is a fusion of Una (Spanish for "one") and Kōnane. This is intended as a tribute to Kōnane, not cultural appropriation.

AUTHOR’S NOTE Feel free to publish this rule sheet and to program the game of Ūnane. No licensing fee or royalties are expected. However, please don’t change the name or the rules, and please attribute the game to me, Mark Steere. My other games can be found at marksteeregames.com.