Blogger / 10 August, 2026 / Nanny Anita

How To Play The Hawaiian Game Lu-Lu

It has been a while since I have made my own DIY version of a game, that is one of the joys of looking after a toddler.  Now the majority of my activities are geared for the 2-3 age range.  As it is the summer though and because we have been travelling with other families with older children, it has been a chance to do something for them.  Lu-Lu is a Hawaiian dice game, the first written documentation of it was was in 1899 by an anthropologist.

Make sure you follow my homemade children’s games board on Pinterest for more ideas.  Don’t forget to save the pin for later.

To make your own Hawaiian Lu-Lu game you will need:

• 4 counters
• Pen
• Piece of paper

Traditionally the game would have used counters (which are called u-lu) made from volcanic rock or of bone.  I obviously don’t have any of those on hand, instead I am making them out of wooden counters.  The ones I got are actually really small, totally useable, but I wish they are been slightly bigger.  Serves me right for not checking the description properly on Amazon first.

On the back of the counters, you will draw a dot.  One counter will have one dot, the next will have two dots, the third one will have 3 dots, and the last one will have 4 dots.

On the other side I did actually draw some little flowers, traditionally they are left blank.  I decided to make 5 sets of the u-lu; one set for each player.

The word lu-lu means to shake in Hawaiian, because that is literally what you have to do with this game.  You shake the u-lu in your hand before throwing them onto the table.

Each of the throws has a different Hawaiian name:

Hu-li la-lo – all down,

Hu-ka-hi hu-i i-lu-na – one turned up,

E-lu-a hu-li i-lu-na – two turned up,

E-ko-lu hu-li i-lu-na – three turned up,

and E-ha hu-li i-lu-na – four turned up

If one or more of your u-lu lands with the blank side up, you can pick just those up and throw again.  Then count the totally number of dots you got and that is your score.  If all the u-lu land with the dots facing up, you can have a second turn.  The maximum score you achieve on one go is 20 (10 for each throw).

The first person to reach a score of 50 wins.

The great thing about this game of Lu-Lu is that there is no skill needed, it is simply a game of chance.

If you enjoyed this Hawaiian Lu-Lu game, then be sure to check out my homemade Mancala, Pentalpha, five field Kono, and Lego kerplunk.

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