Konane

Konane is a Hawaiian jumping game on an 8x8 board that starts completely full, with black and white stones alternating like a checkerboard. Since there are no empty squares at first, the opening removes a couple of stones to make room.

From then on, the only legal move is a jump that captures. Collecting stones is not the point, though. The winner is the last player able to jump. Try it against the computer on three levels or with a friend on one device, right in your browser.

How to play Konane

To begin, Black takes away one of its own stones, either from a corner or from the four middle squares. The board highlights which stones qualify. White replies by lifting a white stone that borders the new hole.

Black then makes the first jump. A stone hops over an adjacent enemy stone into the empty square directly beyond it, moving up, down, left or right, never diagonally. The jumped stone is captured.

When the same stone can jump again from where it landed, you choose whether to keep going or press Done jumping. Because every move must be a jump, a player who has none on their turn loses straight away. A score line counts the stones each side has taken, but that number is only for interest.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Mouse	Touch
Remove an opening stone	Arrow keys to a highlighted stone, Enter	Click a highlighted stone	Tap a highlighted stone
Jump	Arrow keys and Enter on the stone, then on the landing square	Click your stone, then the square past an enemy stone	Tap your stone, then the square past an enemy stone
End a jump chain	—	Click Done jumping	Tap Done jumping
Play the computer	—	vs Computer, choose black or white and a level, New game	vs Computer, choose a color and level, New game
Take back	—	Click Undo	Tap Undo

Tips

Think in terms of moves left, not stones taken. A jump that leaves you with more future jumps beats one that grabs extra stones.
You do not have to finish a chain. Stopping on a square where your stone cannot be jumped back is often the stronger choice.
Every jump empties squares. Before moving, check whether those new gaps give your opponent a jump they did not have.
Stones along the border can only be attacked along the edge, which makes them harder to capture.
In the endgame, count the jumps still available to each side. The player who will make the final one is usually clear a few turns ahead.

If you like Konane, try these

Peg Solitaire
Jumping and removing pieces is the whole idea in this solo puzzle, where you aim to leave a single peg standing.
Checkers
Diagonal jumps, chained captures and crowned kings make this a natural next stop for anyone who enjoys capture-by-jumping.