Introducing Marīkī 

Marīkī was born from a passion for making structured literacy accessible in both English and Te Reo Māori. It all started when I attended a conference where Mahina Selby-Law from Mahi by Mahi spoke about the challenges of finding structured literacy games in Te Reo Māori. Her words stuck with me, and I saw an opportunity to make a difference. I contacted my good friend Tiana from Pānui Me Te Tuhi, a dedicated structured literacy educator in both languages. Together, we set out to create something new—and now we can share it with you!

What is MarīkīMarīkī is a fun, fast, kēmu pānui that supports building literacy skills. Have fun and learn at the same time! Shuffle the deck, draw a kari, pānui out loud, and when a kari marīkī is drawn, steal kari from another player! The winner is the one with the most kari, after all kari have been drawn. Fun for all the Whānau, Marīkī has tamariki on the edge of their seats and puts the thrill into ako ki to pānui.

Here's What You Need to Know About Marīkī

The name Marīkī is a play on words that empowers tamariki to pānui (read) and kōrero (speak) through kēmu (games):

  • Ma stands for Mana (power) and acknowledges the incredible work of Mahina Selby-Law, as we’ve followed her scope and sequence.
  • Ri comes from Riti (to read).
  • Ki comes from Kīkī (to speak).

Shop the new Marīkī Game Now!

  • There will be nine packs in total, split across three stages: Kupu (words), Oro (sounds), and Kuoro (syllables).
  • Each pack will include 54 cards, including Marīkī cards, a translation card (in some packs), and an instruction card.
  • If you’ve played the Yeet game, you’ll already know the format—it’s fun and fast-paced!