We here at Slow Your Roll believe that every language in the world is beautiful. But we also believe that, in essence, language is kind of… the same. And that’s kind of a cool thing.

So we created a game that we hope can play a small part in celebrating all things unique and similar between the many languages of the world. By using super cute art as a bridge between common words and phrases, we hope to connect players of all ages with a fun and inventive way to not only play some of their favorite classic games, but to learn the languages of the world!

Our game is called Same Same and it was created in Hilo, Hawaii and produced by us here at Slow Your Roll. Same Same mixes up different languages from across the world for a fun and inventive game with an educational twist! The main idea is to combine cards from multiple different languages to make a matching set of four cards. Play classic games like Go Fish, Old Maid, Memory, Slap Jack, Kemps, and more. Our first edition will be in English and ‘Ōlelo Hawaiian but we hope to include many more languages in the future!

Ages 5+ Gameplay Varies

How To Play

Same Same (or, our version of Kemps)

2-6 players (even teams) 15 minutes

The goal is to obtain four-of-a-kind and then use a secret signal to get your partner to call out “Same Same!”

The game is played with a pair of partners, so be sure to keep the number of players even. Have each pair meet to determine a secret, subtle, signal. The signal needs to be non-verbal and nothing too obvious. Some examples might include puckering lips, winking one eye, scratching one’s ear, etc. Once all pairs have decided on a good signal, have everyone sit in a circle facing each other. Partners should be seated across each other.

Shuffle the cards and deal four cards to each player. Each player holds a maximum of four cards in his or her hand at a time. Deal four cards to the middle of the table, face up.

Say, “Ready, set, go!” and begin the round. Each player can discard a card from their hand and then grab any card from the center of the table. It is an ongoing process without structured turns; players simply exchange single cards from their hand with cards that show up on the table. Again, a player cannot have more than four cards in their hand at the same time.

The goal is for you (or your partner) to get four of the language cards (e.g., two Wahine cards and two Women cards, two Mahalo cards and two Thank You cards, etc.). If no players want any of the four cards that are in the center, the dealer can remove the four cards and deal out four new cards and the process continues. Once you successfully have four-of-a-kind, use your secret signal to try to get your partner to yell “Same Same!”  If “Same Same!” is called on a person, that person must reveal their hand to show whether or not they have four-of-a-kind.

If your partner yells “Same Same!” and you have four-of-a-kind (or vice versa), then your team gets a point and wins the round. If your partner yells “Same Same!” but you don’t have four of a kind (or vice versa), then your team loses a point. You can also yell “Stop Same!” and point to an opponent if you think they have four-of-a-kind. If successful, you also win a point, but if you are wrong, you lose a point.

The first team to four points wins.

Go Fish

2-4 players 15 minutes

Shuffle the cards and deal the out to each player. For two players, deal each player seven cards; for three players, deal six cards; for four or more players, deal five cards. Place the remaining cards in the middle of the table.

Each player takes a turn and chooses another player and asks them if they have any language cards (a language card is the same regardless of any language; e.g. an Ohana card is the same as a Family card).

If the player who is asked has any cards of the name requested, they must hand them over. The player who asked for the cards can then take another turn and ask for another card. But if the player who is asked has no cards of the requested name, the must tell the player to, “Go Fish.” Then that player takes a card from the center deck.

At any point, if a player collects a set of four of the same kind (two in English and two in Ōlelo), they win the cards and put them aside in their winner’s pile. Play continues until all sets of four cards have been collected. The winner is the player with the most sets of four at the end of the game.

Want to make it more challenging? Have players ask for language specific cards. In other words, players must ask specifically for a Wahine card or a Woman card.

These are just a few of the games you can play with Same Same! We’ll post more games and rules on our website and include them in the rules book, too. Also, if you come up with a fun way to utilize the Same Same deck be sure to let us know and we’ll publish the idea so other gamers can experience the fun!

 Expanded Vocabulary

Our goal is not only to add more words with every expansion but to add more languages too! So hopefully one day you’ll be able to play with a deck that’s mixed with English, ‘Ōlelo, Korean, Japanese or whichever languages you want to learn. Maybe one day you won’t even need to play with English cards at all!

Each time we add a language we will work closely with a language consultant to make sure we get every nuance correct.

Meet The Team

Slow Your Roll is a small board game lounge located in Hilo, Hawaii. Slow Your Roll was founded in September 2018 by Anthony Vizzone, an avid gamer in the Hilo gaming community. Originally founded as an online gaming store, Slow Your Roll features island-inspired gaming apparel, along with offering a vast collection of collectibles from games such as Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, YuGiOh, and Force of Will on TCGPlayer. It’s just a great place to hang out and play some board games or play in a D&D session. Same Same is Slow Your Roll’s first game but we’re working closely with a group of experienced game creators.

Nikki Smits is the lead illustrator for Same Same. She is an illustrator from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Her work is influenced by fairytales, nature and Japan and she likes to create imaginary worlds. Her favorite things to draw: Animals, giants, tiny things and cute characters.

Landon Ballesteros is the lead language consultant for Same Same. He was born and raised on the island of Maui. A graduate of the Kamehameha Schools, Landon moved to Hilo in 2013 to study Performing Arts along with minors in Hawaiian Studies and Biology. He is the first in several generations of his ‘ohana to learn ‘Ōlelo Hawaiian, and he enjoys learning and practicing language, history, and culture through the performing arts. He thanks his kumu (teachers) and mentors who have made Hawaiian language accessible and visible throughout his educational path, and hopes that others will be inspired to learn and perpetuate Hawaiian language and culture.