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(eh-leh-leh)
"Go Fly"
Pāʻani Pepa o Nā Manu Kai Hawaiʻi
Hawaiian Seabird Card Game
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'Go fly' with a new game dedicated to Hawaiʻi's native seabirds
Hawaiʻi Public Radio | By Maddie Bender
Published July 23, 2026 at 2:12 PM HST
A fledgling card game about Hawaiian seabirds is getting ready to leave the nest. Unlike another classic card game, you don’t go fish — you go fly, or “E Lele!”
In the game, players build habitats and grow their colonies while avoiding environmental threats and learning about the seabirds that nest on and visit the islands.
Hāna residents Scott Crawford and Heidi Lea worked with the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project to marry the fun of the game with scientific accuracy. Each card features seabird names and basic phrases in ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi.
HPR spoke with Crawford, Lea and Jay Penniman from the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery project to learn how “E Lele!” took flight.
About the Game
About the Game
E Lele! is a card game based on Hawaiian seabirds, with play similar to Go Fish, and with added elements that make the game fun and educational.
The basics are quick to learn and start playing, even for kids, yet it's layered enough to give hours of family or party entertainment and replay ability.
E Lele! was developed in collaboration with the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project, and the relationships between the birds, habitats, threats and protections are based on real ecological relationships. It's a great way to learn about seabirds and their ecological importance and conservation.
‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian language) names are featured on all the cards, so it's a game for Hawaiian language students, of any skill level. (Mahalo to Sam ‘Ohu Gon III for ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i kōkua.) (Here's a few simple phrases to play the game in Hawaiian.)
Bird Cards
Bird Cards
Bird cards have their ‘Olelo name down the left side, with a yellow section on top with English and Linnean names, and gender on the left and point value on the right (based on conservation status).
Bird cards also have a factoid about the bird, and an orange section on the bottom showing the Habitat icons for which habitat(s) they can nest in, corresponding to the top left of the Habitat cards.
Habitat Cards
Habitat Cards
Habitat cards have their ‘ōlelo name down the left side, and an orange section on top with the English name, habitat icon on the left, and the colony capacity number on the right.
Each Habitat card has a capacity that allows it to hold more than one colony, so once you play the habitat card you can play pairs of birds that nest in that habitat up to its capacity.
Threat Cards
Threat Cards
Threat cards are played on the colonies that have been laid down by other players.
Threat cards have their ‘ōlelo name down the left side, a red section on top with the Threat icon and the English name, and an orange section on the bottom showing the Habitat icon they can affect, corresponding to the top of the Habitat card. They also include basic instructions on how the card is played.
Protection Cards
Protection Cards
Protection cards counter the effects of the Threat cards.
Protection cards have their ‘ōlelo name down the left side, a green section on top with protection name, and a red or orange section on the bottom showing the Threat or Habitat they can affect, corresponding to the top of the Threat or Habitat card. They also include basic instructions on how the card is played.
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