Rules & How to Play
The full reference for the Māui Card Game — for both the digital game and the physical deck.
Overview
The Māui Card Game is a strategic card game of Toa (warriors) competing across a row of Taonga (treasures) for the favour of the atua. Two players (or one player versus an AI in the digital version) take turns playing warriors onto contested Taonga, forming powerful Ope (formations), and declaring War to seize what the other has built.
- Players: 2 (physical) · 1 vs AI (digital)
- Age: 10+
- Match length: ~20–35 minutes
- Style: bluff, formation-building, and timed aggression
Components (Physical Game)
- 60 Toa cards — 6 colours × 10 Ihi values (0–9).
- 13 Rautaki cards — strategy cards mixed into the same deck.
- 11 Taonga tiles — only 7 are used per match, drawn at random.
- Token set — Ihi Boost (+1 / +2 / +3 / +4 / +5), Instant Kill, Tremor, Stormwind, Tide.
- Rulebook & quick-reference card.
Setup
- Shuffle the 11 Taonga tiles and lay 7 face-up in a row between the two players. Return the rest to the box.
- Shuffle the combined Toa + Rautaki deck into a single 73-card deck. Place it within reach of both players.
- Each player draws a starting hand of 5 cards.
- Decide who goes first (digital: the human player always begins; physical: a coin flip or roll). The first player skips drawing on turn 1.
Goal — Victory Conditions
You win immediately when either condition is met at the moment a Taonga is claimed:
- Five Taonga total claimed by you, anywhere on the row.
- Three Taonga in a row — three adjacent claimed Taonga in an unbroken line.
Anatomy of a Turn
- Play one card. Either play a Toa onto any unclaimed Taonga, or play a Rautaki and resolve its effect.
- (Optional) Declare War on a Taonga where you have at least one warrior. Skip if you wish.
- Draw 1 card at end of turn. Play passes to your opponent.
Banner Bearer free play. Cards with Ihi 0 (the Banner Bearers) are special — playing one does not consume your normal card play. You may play any number of Banner Bearers and Rautaki cards on the same turn, but only one warrior (Toa) card per turn.
See War & Battle → Champion remains for what happens to warriors after a Taonga is claimed.
War & Battle (Whawhai)
Declaring War (Wero). At the end of your turn, after playing a card, you may declare War on any Taonga where you have at least one warrior. Mark the Taonga as War-Locked.
Reinforcement window. Your opponent gets one full turn to play more warriors onto the contested Taonga before the battle resolves.
Resolution. At the start of your next turn, the Whawhai begins. Warriors clash 1-vs-1 by their Ihi value. Higher Ihi wins; ties go to the challenger (the side that declared War). Equal-Ihi clashes that don't favour the challenger result in both warriors falling.
Sacrifice attack. You may send multiple warriors against a single enemy. Sum their Ihi and compare to the target. Win, lose, or fall together by the same rules. Each warrior used in a sacrifice attack dies immediately once the battle is resolved.
Ihi Boost Tokens. Before attacking, you may spend Ihi Boost Tokens from your reserve to add their value to a chosen warrior's effective Ihi for the remainder of the battle.
Wā Kai truce. While the Wā Kai card is in play, no new War may be declared by either side for 2 turns. Battles already in progress continue.
After the battle — Champion remains. When a Taonga is claimed, only the Champion(the strongest warrior left standing — the one with the highest effective Ihi) stays on that Taonga as its guardian. Every other warrior on that row, on either side, is shuffled back into the deck. Warriors that fell during the battle are also shuffled back in — Toa cards are never permanently removed from play.
Ope Formations & Ihi Boost Tokens
When you place a third Toa onto a Taonga that completes one of the patterns below, you immediately earn the matching Ihi Boost Token. Tokens go into your reserve and may be spent during a Whawhai to empower a warrior.
The 11 Taonga & their Atua
Each Taonga is the dwelling of an atua. When you claim a Taonga — either by being the only side with warriors on it after a War, or by completing a formation that flips it — you receive that atua's gift.
Haumia
Atua of uncultivated foods — the quiet abundance the earth offers to those who know how to receive it.
Claim Effect — Wild Harvest. On claim, gather 2 cards from the wild into your hand.
Tūmatauenga
Atua of war and courage — the force that stands firm against conflict, hardship, and opposition.
Claim Effect — On claim, gain an Instant Kill token. Play any time on your turn to destroy any warrior; that card reshuffles into the deck.
Ranginui
The sky father, the great expanse above, inseparable from Papatūānuku and bound to the origins of life.
Claim Effect — Sky's Reach. On claim, peek at the next 3 cards of the deck and keep 1.
Whiro
Atua of darkness and disorder, moving against wellbeing, harmony, and the light that gives life.
Claim Effect — Shadow Strike. On claim, flip the enemy's strongest exposed warrior face-down.
Rūaumoko
The living power beneath the earth, felt in earthquake and fire — the unseen force of upheaval.
Claim Effect — Gain a Tremor token. Play on a row to return all warriors there to their owners' hands.
Rongo
Atua of peace and cultivated growth — the quiet prosperity that flows from harmony.
Claim Effect — Cultivated Bounty. Draw +1 extra card on each of your next 3 draws.
Tāwhirimātea
The breath and fury of the skies, carrying every form of weather from gentle rain to overwhelming storm.
Claim Effect — Gain a Stormwind token. Play on your turn to randomly scatter all the enemy's warriors across the unclaimed Taonga.
Tangaroa
Atua of the waters — depth, abundance, and the vast mystery held within ocean and river.
Claim Effect — Gain a Tide token. Play to discard up to 5 cards from your hand and draw the same number from the top of the deck.
Hineahuone
The first woman, formed from earth — the sacred bond between humanity and the land.
Claim Effect — Whakapapa Revival. On claim, recover the strongest fallen warrior on the field into your hand.
Tāne
Bringer of life to the ngahere, who separated Ranginui and Papatūānuku so light and living things could emerge.
Claim Effect — Forest's Bounty. On claim, reveal 3 cards: place the strongest face-up on any unclaimed row, keep the other 2 in hand.
Papatūānuku
The earth mother — the living foundation that shelters, nurtures, and binds all people through whakapapa.
Claim Effect — Earth's Embrace. After claim, every formation token you earn grants +1 extra Ihi.
The Toa Cards (Warriors)
The 60 Toa cards are arranged across 6 colours (Green, Brown, Gold, Purple, Light Blue, Red) and 10 Ihi values (0 through 9). Every colour has one card at every Ihi tier. Below is one representative warrior at each tier.
The Rautaki Cards (Strategy)
13 Rautaki cards are shuffled into the same deck as the Toa. Drawing a Rautaki is treated like drawing any other card — when you choose to play one, reveal it, resolve its full effect, then shuffle it back into the deck.
Pūkaha
Master engineer of the ope. When he steps onto the field, weapons are reforged and both armies are remade.
Effect — Reveal Pūkaha. Shuffle Pūkaha and BOTH hands into the deck. Rangatira draws 6, opponent draws 5.
Rautipu
A charging warrior who hurls himself into the line as both blade and body, ready to turn any tide.
Effect — Place Rautipu on any unclaimed Taonga as an Ihi 6 warrior of your chosen colour. Gain an Instant Kill token.
E Kata, Pīwaiwaka
The laughing fantail darts between worlds. Where it lands, what was claimed forgets itself and warriors scatter home.
Effect — Triggers on draw. Choose 1 Taonga you control: it returns to neutral and every warrior on that row returns to its owner's hand. If you control no Taonga, nothing happens.
Kuikui
The kuia of the ope. She lifts no weapon, yet where she walks among the young the small flame in each tamariki is fanned into something the enemy will fear.
Effect — Reveal Kuikui. Every face-up warrior you control with base Ihi 1 or 2 gains a permanent +4 Ihi.
Taniwha
Guardian of rivers and tides. When it rises onto a contested Taonga, lesser warriors are swept beneath the churning waves.
Effect — Reveal Taniwha. Choose one unclaimed row: every face-up opponent warrior on it with base Ihi 6 or lower is devoured.
Patupaiarehe
Mist-cloaked tricksters of the high forest. Where their cold mist rolls in, a single treasure vanishes without a sound.
Effect — Reveal Patupaiarehe. Steal 1 random card from the opponent's hand AND 1 random token (Ihi boost or Atua) from their reserve. If either is empty, only the available one is taken; if both are empty the mist fizzles.
Waka Huia
The carved treasure chest of a rangatira. To open it is to revisit what the tūpuna set aside, and to choose with care what is placed back within.
Effect — Reveal Waka Huia. Draw 3 cards, then place 2 cards from your hand on top of the deck in chosen order (last placed is drawn first).
Tamanui Te Rā
The great sun, snared by Māui with ropes of harakeke and slowed across the sky. Where his light falls, no lesser thing endures.
Effect — Reveal Tamanui Te Rā. Choose ONE: (a) burn every opponent warrior with base Ihi 5 or lower across all rows, OR (b) burn every opponent warrior on one chosen row regardless of Ihi.
Pūrua Rua
A Clone grown from Māui's own blood — a second self sent to guard the Taonga while Māui himself moves elsewhere.
Effect — Summon a Clone of Māui (Ihi 15) onto an unclaimed Taonga. It counts as every colour and every Ihi value, and gives +2 Ihi to other friendly warriors in its row. The Clone stands alone and may Declare War on its next turn. This Rautaki is then reshuffled back into the deck.
Pūruā Tahi
The first Clone drawn from Māui's DNA — one body, all of Māui's cunning, standing watch over the Taonga.
Effect — Summon a Clone of Māui (Ihi 15) onto an unclaimed Taonga. It counts as every colour and every Ihi value, and gives +2 Ihi to other friendly warriors in its row. The Clone stands alone and may Declare War on its next turn. This Rautaki is then reshuffled back into the deck.
Wā Kai
The great hākari, where rivals lay down weapons around shared kai. No new challenge may be raised until the last morsel is taken.
Effect — Reveal Wā Kai. For 2 turns, no War may be declared by either side. Battles in progress continue. Draw 1 card.
Nekeneke
Swift movement under wind and shadow. A warrior already committed slips from one stand and arrives upon another, surprising kin and foe alike.
Effect — Reveal Nekeneke. Choose ONE: (a) move one of your cards from an unclaimed Taonga to another unclaimed Taonga, OR (b) move a ready, unused card from a claimed Taonga to an unclaimed one. Moved card lands face-up.
Mana Crusher
A blow that shatters bone and mana alike. Where it lands, an entire warband is scattered — though a Taonga already claimed stands firm against even this fury.
Effect — Reveal Mana Crusher. Choose ONE unclaimed Taonga: destroy every opposing warrior on it. Claimed Taonga cannot be targeted.
Glossary
Game terms
- Toa
- Warrior. The 60 numbered cards.
- Taonga
- Treasure. The 11 atua tiles you compete to claim.
- Ihi
- A warrior's strength rating, 0–9.
- Ope
- A formation of 3 warriors that earns an Ihi Boost Token.
- Rautaki
- Strategy card with a special one-shot effect.
- Whawhai
- Battle — the resolution phase after a War is declared.
- Wero / War
- A formal challenge over a Taonga. (Te reo: Wero.)
- Wā Kai
- A truce around a hākari that blocks new Wars for 2 turns.
- Pūrākau
- Story / lore — the mythic backdrop of the game.
- Rangatira
- Chief / leader; the title given to a warrior who claims a Taonga.
- Atua
- A divine being. Each Taonga is the dwelling of one atua.
Toa (Warrior) names — Ihi 0–9
The te reo Māori name carried by every warrior at each Ihi tier, and what it means.
- 0 · Kaikawe Haki
- Banner Bearer — the one who carries the haki (standard) of the ope.
- 1 · Whitawhita
- A keen, eager trainee child; a small spark beginning to glow.
- 2 · Pūtohe
- Persistent, determined — a promising recruit who keeps showing up.
- 3 · Aumangea
- Resolute, tenacious — an eager warrior who endures.
- 4 · Ika a Whiro
- "Fish of Whiro" — an experienced warrior tested in conflict.
- 5 · Tohunga Taiaha
- Master of the taiaha; expert of the long weapon.
- 6 · Whetewhete
- One who studies and knows — beastmaster, reader of wild things.
- 7 · Pouwhenua
- Both a weapon and a "post of the land"; weapons specialist.
- 8 · Kaingārahu
- Commander; a seasoned warlord who directs the ope.
- 9 · Atua
- A divine being; the demi-god hero tier.
Rautaki names
The te reo Māori meaning behind each strategy card's name.
- Pūkaha
- Bellows / forge — energy and reforging; the master engineer of the ope.
- Rautipu
- A charging warrior who hurls himself into the line as both blade and body.
- E Kata, Pīwaiwaka
- "Laugh, fantail" — the laughing fantail darting between worlds.
- Kuikui
- Kuia — the revered elder woman of the ope.
- Taniwha
- Guardian water-being of rivers and tides.
- Patupaiarehe
- Mist-cloaked tricksters of the high forest.
- Waka Huia
- The carved treasure chest of a rangatira.
- Tamanui Te Rā
- The great sun, snared and slowed across the sky by Māui.
- Pūrua Rua
- "Doubled twice" — the second clone grown from Māui's blood.
- Pūruā Tahi
- "Doubled once" — the first clone drawn from Māui's DNA.
- Wā Kai
- The time of the hākari (great feast) — a truce around shared kai.
- Nekeneke
- Movement / shifting position — swift repositioning under wind and shadow.
- Mana Crusher
- A blow that shatters bone and mana alike.