In 2018 we helped rescue an injured juvenile koa‘e kea (white-tailed tropicbird). We searched online and found Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project, and contacted them about the rescued bird.

That was the beginning of our connection with Hawaiian seabirds, and our appreciation of the importance of their conservation.  

Since then, we have also worked with MNSRP to develop a project to create a seabird sanctuary,  in partnership with a local community organization in Hāna. 

The origin of E Lele!

We enjoy playing Wingspan, a popular board game with bird cards, and we give Stonemaier Games credit for the inspiration that led to the development of E Lele!  We also have felt that Wingspan has a steep learning curve and can be rather complex to play.

On an overnight camping trip in the spring of 2022, we came up with the basic idea for a bird game based on Go Fish type rules. We wanted to design a game that is easy to learn because it's based on a classic game that everyone is already familiar with, and that is relatively simple and fast-paced to play. 

Heidi thought of the name E Lele!, or "Go Fly" in Hawaiian, which we thought just sounded fun, and it stuck.

Scott jotted down the basic idea for the rules, to make bird pairs with nesting habitats as the sets, as well as the added element of threats and protections.

As a kid, Scott played Mille Bornes, a French card game based on a long distance road race. One element of Mille Bornes is hazards that you play to slow down the other players, and remedies that counter the hazards. This is similar to the threats and protections cards in E Lele! (Called "take that" in game mechanics.)

Scott contacted Jay Penniman at MNSRP and shared the basic concept for the game, and asked Jay if he could send a spreadsheet on Hawaiian seabirds. Jay said, "Sounds like a great idea," and provided the spreadsheet. 

From there, Scott developed the rules based on the actual ecological relationships between birds, habitats, threats and protections. 

The game went through a few prototype versions as Scott developed the rules, and started play testing with some friends. 

Once the basic cards and rules were ready, Heidi did the layout and design. 

We debuted a prototype of the game at a workshop at the 2023 Hawai‘i Conservation Conference, and have continued to get feedback and play test to refine the cards and rules.