Mana Palapala games are built to engage kids in Hawaiian culture, and allow them to practice vital math and reading skills. When booking game sessions with us, we will tailor the gaming experience specifically to your groups needs. This means we can add custom curriculum (science, social studies, math, language arts, and Hawaiian studies), cultural content, and stories to specifically cater to your needs.

We have specifically designed our games with social emotional learning in mind for keiki of all ages. Compared to other systems, our gaming system, Ka Pala, focuses on community connection, teamwork, positive discussion, developing confidence, and self-reflection. This means just by playing our game keiki learn how to better connect with themselves and those around them.

We would love to work with you! If you are interested in booking us for a campaign, we will work with you on developing content that fits your specific needs. All of our booked session come with a beginning consultation, and weekly “office hours” to discuss the content of the game with players and parents.

Our game system, Ka Pala, was developed by consulting with educational professionals, collaborating with cultural leaders, and by incorporating behavioral analysis techniques. We currently reference studies done on Table Top Role Playing Games (TTRPGs) and learning to inform our content, and in the future we hope to do a study of our own. All together, we try our best to make sure all of our content is based on up to date research that is scientifically or culturally backed. Below are some links to some of our favorite research articles regarding gaming and learning:

• Richard Stubbs, Nikolas Sorensen, “Tabletop role-playing games and social and emotional learning in school settings”, Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy, Volume 5, 2025, 100090, ISSN 2773-2339,

  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sel.2025.100090.

  (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773233925000142)

• Yuliawati L, Wardhani PAP, Ng JH. “A Scoping Review of Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) as Psychological Intervention: Potential Benefits and Future Directions.” Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2024 Aug 1;17:2885-2903. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S466664. PMID: 39104766; PMCID: PMC11299717.

  (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11299717/)

• Kaylor, Stefanie L. B., "Dungeons and Dragons and literacy: The role tabletop role-playing games can play in developing teenagers' literacy skills and reading interests" (2017). Graduate Research Papers. 215.

  (https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp/215/)

• Allen, Moses. "DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS AS GAME-BASED LEARNING." (2026).

  (https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/educ_llss_etds/185)