Fun Hawaii Theme Luau Games

Traditional Ancient Hawaiian Games

Games based on Ancient Hawaiian Makahiki Games

Spear Throwing

See which “warriors” can toss their spear or darts and hit a water melon target. For a special touch decorate the watermelon with ears, snout, eyes, and a curly tail to look like a pig!

Rolling Stones

This ancient Hawaiian game is played similar to horseshoes. Set up a small stick post in the ground. Each person chooses a stone and tosses it at the post. Whomever’s stone lands closest to the stick wins!

Foot Races

Ancient Hawaiians used to hold foot races to see which warrior was the fastest. You can hold single person races, three legged races, and backwards running races.

Modern Luau Activities and Games

Paper Lei Making

This is an ideal activity for young children.

You will need:
string 36″-40″ in length
paper
scissors
hole punch (if none just use scissors)
Fillers: colored straws cut up into 2 inch lengths, colored dry macaroni, beads, or curled colored pipe cleaners

Create a basic “Daisy” style flower design. Either trace your master flower or copy the flower design onto colored paper. If your lei makers will have limited time cut out the flowers and make a hole in the center of each flower.

To make thread one flower, one “filler” of your choice, one flower, etc onto the string. Leave about 2 inches on each end to tie the lei. Hang around your neck or the neck of your sweetie!

Make fresh orchid leis

I provide step by step instructions and video on making fresh orchid leis (click here).

Tacky Tourist Relay Races

This game has members of teams racing to put on quirky items, then run a course while wearing the items, then tag their teammate and remove all the items so their teammate can put them on and run. It is a fun game and is a great photo opportunity!

Tacky Tourist Relay Version 1

Have your guests divide into two teams. For this relay all team members begin at a start/finish line. One at a time a each team has a member run to the pile of tourist gear, put on one item then run back to the start/finish line and pass the item on the awaiting tem member. After the tourist gear is on the new team member they run down to the pile of tourist gear and put on another item, run back to the start/finish line and pass off the tourist gear to the next awaiting team member. Each person takes a turn in the relay until the first person wearing ALL the tourist gear crosses the start finish line. This is a great game to take fun photos of your luau guests!!!

Tacky Tourist Relay Version 2

Put together two sets of “tourist gear” containing items like a beach hat, sunglasses, lei, hula skirt, shorts, aloha shirt or muumuu, flip flops, snorkel fins and snorkel, pail and shovel, camera on a strap, swimming tube or kiddy floatie ring, etc. Each set of tourist gear needs to have similar if not exactly the same items. Put a chair, cone or some type of marker several yards from the start finish line which everyone will need to run around.

Have your guests divide into two teams. For this relay all team members begin at a start/finish line along with the pile of tourist gear. At the start the first player for each team puts on ALL of the tacky tourist gear then runs down to and round the marker with all the gear on then back to the start finish line where they take off all the tourist gear passing it to player two. Once player two has on all of the gear they run down to the marker and back to the start/finish line. Each player must put on all the gear and run around the marker. The first team to have all their last team member cross the finish line wins! This is a great game to take fun photos of your luau guests!!!

Tacky Tourist Relay for Small Children

Put together several sets of “tourist gear” containing kid safe items like a beach hat, sunglasses, lei, hula skirt or aloha shirt. Each set of tourist gear needs to have similar if not exactly the same items. Put a chair, cone or some type of marker several yards from the start finish line which everyone will need to run around.

Have the kids divide into the same amount of teams as you have tourist gear. For this relay all team members begin at a start/finish line along with the pile of tourist gear. At the start the first player for each team puts on ALL of the tacky tourist gear then runs down to and round the marker with all the gear on then back to the start finish line where they take off all the tourist gear passing it to player two. Once player two has on all of the gear they run down to the marker and back to the start/finish line. Each player must put on all the gear and run around the marker. The first team to have all their last team member cross the finish line wins! This is a great game to take fun photos of your luau guests!!!

I received the photo of the young lady above playing her own variation of the Tacky Tourist Relay at her birthday luau in Austria! For her game she used an old swimming suit from her great grandmother, fins, dive mask, sun glasses, swim cap. Each player had to put on all the items and then had to stand on an ironing board and have their picture taken before they could remove everything and tag the next person in line.

Musical Beach Towels

You will need:
Beach towels/mats
Tape/cd player with adjustable volume and a Hawaiian music tape/cd

This game is played like musical chairs. Lay out one less beach towel and/or beach mat than you have players/beach walkers. Have the beach walkers walk in a circle around the towels/mats when the music plays. When the music is turned off the beach walkers must stand on the towel/mat. The beach walker who does not make it to a towel/mat must sit out until the next game. Remove another towel/mat and turn the music back on. Keep repeating this until there is only one beach walker left.

Pass the Coconut

This is the Hawaiian version of “hot potato”. Have everyone sit in a circle. While the Hawaiian music plays the coconut is passed around the circle. When the music is stopped whom ever is left holding the coconut leaves the circle. The last person left wins!

Around the Islands Basket Toss

You will need:
One basketball hoop or 5 gallon bucket.
1 raffia hula skirt
1 ball (basketball or playground ball)
Chalk or paper cut outs in the shape of the Hawaiian Islands

Set up: Tie a grass hula skirt around a basketball hoop or 5 gallon bucket. If you will be playing this game on a paved surface use chalk to draw the outline of the 7 Hawaiian Islands in a horse shoe shape around the basket/bucket. If you will be playing the game in a grassy area lay out paper cut outs in the shape of the Hawaiian Islands in a horse shoe shape around the basket/bucket.

To play: Each player starts at one end of the Hawaiian Islands and takes a turn tossing the ball into the basket/bucket. If a player gets a basket then they get to move on to the next island and take another shot. If a basket is missed then it is the next players turn. The first player to make it around all 7 islands wins!

Hula Around the Islands Basket Toss

You will need:
One basketball hoop or 5 gallon bucket
1 raffia hula skirt
1 ball (basketball or playground ball)
Chalk or paper cut outs in the shape of the Hawaiian Islands

To play: This game is played similar to the Around the Islands Basket Toss game but is a bit more challenging. Each player starts at one end of the Hawaiian Islands. Before taking a turn shooting the ball into the basket/bucket the first player makes up a hula move (a simple hip, hand, or foot movement). If the ball goes in the basket/bucket then the player stays in the game, if they miss they have to sit out until the next game. The second play then does the hula move the first player made up and adds their own hula move to the end before taking their shot. Once each person has gone then everyone who made the 1st basket moves onto the 2nd island. Each player again adds a new hula move before taking their shot. Those who make each basket continue on to each island. The players who make it to the 7th island and make the shot are the winners and by the end of the game the players will have made up their own hula dance! It is good to have Hawaiian music on in the background during this game to get everyone in the hula dancing move.

Island Treasures Memory Game

You will need:
A serving tray
Paper and pencil/pen for each player
2 Towels
At least a dozen Hawaii theme items that will fit on a serving tray

Give each player a piece of paper and a pencil/pen. In private put a towel on a serving tray and arrange all of your Hawaii theme items so they are all visible then cover with another towel. Have the players gather around a table where you will put the tray down and remove the towel for one minute for them to study the items. After one minute cover with the towel and give the players one minute to write as many of the items they can remember on their piece of paper. The person who remembers the most items wins!

The items we have featured on the tray in the photo above are: pineapple toothpick holder, plumeria incense, shell lei, shaka/hang loose key chain plumeria photo frame, hula girl playing cards, spoon rest, macadamia nuts, coffee, ash tray, shot glass, nail file, pen, aloha shirt key chain, plumeria candle.

Coconut Bowling

Fill used water or soda bottles with water to use as pins. Set a line where everyone must bowl their coconuts from. The player bowls their coconut from the line and gets 1 point for every bottle they knock down. The player with the highest score after 10 bowls wins!

Hula Hoop Games

There are several contests that can be held using the hula hoop:

Hula hoop endurance– who can go the longest.

Hula hoop obstacle course– set up an obstacle course that you must go through while hula hooping.

Multiple hula hoops – see who can do 3 or more hula hoops for 30 seconds. It is not as easy as it sounds.

Hula Hoop Toss – Place items around the playing field . From a specific spot players take turns tossing a hula hoop around the different items. You can give 1 point for items close by and raise the points the farther away from the toss spot. The first player to 10 wins! Ideas for items to use as targets are: beach pail, flip flops, beach ball, tiki, large shell, pineapple, folded beach towel, beach chair.

Hula Charades/Create your own Hula Game

Before the party create slips of paper with a hula move including description on it then fold them up and put them in a beach pail. Use each move 2-3 times. At the party provide all players with a master list of the hula moves including description. The host should go first and randomly select a slip of paper with a hula move and perform it. The first person to correctly guess the hula move using their master list gets to pick the next person to perform the charade. The party host should write down each move in order after it has been correctly guessed. After all of the moves have been selected you have just created your own unique hula! Put on Hawaiian hula music and have everyone stand up. The party host takes the list of hula move the players charade and calls them out while demonstrating the moves to the rhythm of the music. Each move should be done for a count of four or eight.
A list of Hula Moves is available here!

Kimo Says Hula Game

Pick someone to be the move caller- Kimo. This game is played like “Simon Says”. When the caller calls out “Kimo says” and a hula move with a description then everyone should do the hula move. If the caller does not say “Kimo says” before the move then anyone who does the move must sit out until the next game. The game continues until only one person remains. A list of Hula Moves is available here!

Hawaii Pictionary

Items Needed:
Paper
2 Pads of Paper or 1 Easel with large pad of paper or a Wipe Board or a Chalk Board

Create sheets of paper with names of items, places, and Hawaii theme things. Create two teams and flip a coin to see who goes first. Each team then alternates turns. The first player from team one pulls a piece of paper and must make drawings to give their team members clues to what the Hawaii theme item they are drawing. The team members have 2 minutes to make a correct guess. If they do not correctly guess then team two can guess to steal the point. Team two then has one team member pull a piece of paper and so on. The first team to reach 10 points wins.

Ideas for Hawaii theme items to have them draw: Diamond Head, snorkeling, hula dancer, ukulele, grass shack, surfing, surfboard, lei, flip flop, waterfall, palm tree, Arizona Memorial, pineapple, waves, rainbow, coconut, aloha shirt, volcano, canoe, turtle.

Hawaiian Word Mingle Game

The Hawaiian word game is a great way get your luau guests to mingle, especially if it’s the first time many of them are meeting.
You will need:
Plain labels or stickers to write on
Markers
Names of all of your guests
List Hawaiian vocabulary words and their English translations
Pens and/or pencils

Preparation prior to luau:
1) Create name badges for each guest using the labels/stickers and markers. Under each persons name put a Hawaiian word or phrase with the English translation.

2) Create list of just the Hawaiian words & phrases used on the name badges and make a copy of the list for each guest WITHOUT the English translations.

Click here for a list of Hawaiian words and phrases!

At the luau:
As each guest arrives provide them with a name badge, the list of Hawaiian words/phrases WITHOUT the English translations, and a pen/pencil. Advise each guest to go meet the other guests and read their name tag to find the English translations to the Hawaiian words and phrases. When they find a translation they are to put the English meaning next to the Hawaiian word/phrase. After an hour of mixing have your guests put their name on their list of translations and turn them in. Award a prize to the person with the most correct translations.

Learn Some Hawaiian Game

Create a list of Hawaiian words with their English translations. Give each guest a list to study for 2 minutes. Collect all the lists with the translations. Then hand out a pen/pencil and a list of just the Hawaiian words (mix them up in a different order than the first list). Give everyone one minute to put down the English translation. After one minute read out the translations. The person with the most correct wins.
Click here for a list of Hawaiian words and phrases!

Learn to Play Ukulele

You can WOW your luau guests with a song and even teach them how to play. Click here to view my Ukulele Resources to learn to play without having to read music!