Kulami Abstract Puzzle Game Review
WBG Score: 8
Player Count: 2
You’ll like this if you like: Wooden abstracts
Published by: Helvetiq, Steffen Spiele
Designed by: Andreas Kuhnekath-Häbler
This is a free review copy. See our review policy here
Some abstract games look intimidating before you even make the first move. Kulami is the opposite. It is inviting, tactile and ridiculously easy to understand, but there is just enough going on beneath the surface to keep each five-to-ten-minute game interesting.
At its heart, this is a two-player area-majority game played across a modular board of chunky wooden panels. Each player has 28 glass marbles, and the aim is to control as many panels as possible by having more of your colour on them than your opponent. The larger the panel, the more points it is worth.
Setup and How to Play
The board is built from 17 wooden panels of different sizes. You can arrange them into a neat 8×8 square or create a more irregular shape, so the layout can vary from game to game. Even before you start, that modular setup gives Kulami a nice bit of replayability without adding any real rules overhead.
The first player can place a marble anywhere. After that, every new marble has to go in the same row or column as the previous marble, but not on the same wooden panel. From then on, the two most recently used panels are both off limits.
That one restriction is basically the whole game, and it is what makes Kulami interesting. You are not simply choosing where you want to score. Every move also dictates where your opponent can go next, so you are constantly balancing your own gain against the opportunities you are handing across the table.
Simple Rules, Interesting Choices
Kulami is one of those games where the rules explanation takes almost no time, but the board starts asking better questions as the spaces disappear. Early on, there is plenty of room and the game can feel quite open. Later, the available rows and legal panels shrink, and suddenly you can start seeing two or three moves ahead.
That is where the game becomes most satisfying. You may spot a move that lets you claim a valuable panel, but it could also send your opponent towards another tile where they need just one more marble for the majority. Equally, a seemingly harmless move might narrow their options enough to force them somewhere they absolutely do not want to go.
The game can even end before all the marbles are used if somebody has no legal move left. That means there is a subtle endgame layer where you can sometimes steer your opponent towards a dead end, or deliberately force the game to finish if you think you are already ahead.
Scoring
Basic scoring is refreshingly clean. At the end, you simply separate the wooden panels and give each one to the player with the majority of marbles on it. A six-space panel is worth six points, a four-space panel four points, and so on, while tied panels score nothing.
There are also advanced scoring options. Level 1 adds points for the larger orthogonally connected area of marbles, while Level 2 also awards points for same-coloured chains of five or more marbles horizontally, vertically or diagonally. These can add another layer if you want it, although I think the basic game already does enough for something this quick.
That is probably one of Kulami’s biggest strengths. It does not need the extras to work, but they are there if you want a little more to think about.
It Feels Lovely to Play
The production deserves a lot of credit. The wooden tiles are chunky, solid and satisfying to handle, while the glass marbles feel equally well made and fit the game perfectly. This is a very tactile game, and that matters.
It also looks really good when set up. In fact, Kulami is exactly the sort of game I would happily leave out on a coffee table rather than pack away immediately. The wooden panels and bright marbles are attractive enough to almost work as decoration, while also making the game immediately accessible whenever someone fancies a quick match.
That accessibility is helped by how little table space and time it needs. Despite an advertised playtime of around 30 minutes, my games are generally more like five to ten minutes. There is virtually no downtime either, because your opponent’s move directly determines your next set of options.
What Might Not Work for Everyone
Kulami is still a very traditional abstract game at heart. There is no theme, no asymmetry and no dramatic card play. If you want narrative, big swings or lots of different systems, this is not going to provide them.
It can also feel quite reactive. Some players may find that you spend too much time responding to the previous move rather than building a grand strategy of your own. That criticism came up repeatedly in other players’ reactions, with some finding the opening especially quiet or symmetrical.
For me, though, that back-and-forth is part of the appeal. Kulami is less about constructing a long-term engine and more about making a series of small positional decisions that are just slightly better for you than for the person opposite.
Pros
Extremely easy to learn and teach.
Fast, with almost no downtime.
Lovely wooden production and tactile glass marbles.
Clever positional strategy from a very small ruleset.
Cons
Can feel reactive rather than deeply strategic.
The opening is less tense than the endgame.
Very abstract, with no thematic hook.
Some players may find the basic scoring too simple without the optional rules.
Final Thoughts
Kulami is simple, but it is simple in a good way. The rules disappear almost immediately, leaving you to focus on the actual puzzle: where can I score, where will that send my opponent, and can I give them a slightly worse option than the one they are giving me?
It also benefits enormously from how quick it is. A bad game is over in minutes, a close game invites an immediate rematch, and the changing board layout keeps the same tiny ruleset feeling fresh enough to revisit. I would much rather play several fast games of Kulami back-to-back than stretch one match out for half an hour.
Add in the excellent production and you have a game that is easy to leave out, easy to pick up and easy to recommend. It is not trying to be the deepest abstract ever made, but it is attractive, satisfying and consistently fun.
