In Karekare, 2 to 4 players become leaders of different Maori iwis that reached Aotearoa in search of a new home. The players explore the territory by adding new land tiles, which gives them the opportunity to perform specific actions that will help their iwi expand and settle new lands. When a player lays a tile on the table, that triggers a reaction depending on the other tiles adjacent to the freshly placed one. These reactions will generate resources, will allow players to place control tokens on the board and eventually grant them mana points. The winner is the player whose iwi can acquire the most mana before the end of the third era.