Ruler of the Islands (Kahuna)

HELLO!  I was the previous ruler of this island, and yes, it does look like a hand, deal.  But I have grown tired of the crown, what with the remaining on the island, the treasure, the neighboring war, and the tribute.  So, I have decide to leave, to adventure and explore beyond the horizon, and will name you the next ruler of the island.  And don't worry too much about that war I mentioned, they only want control over all the islands.  Have fun being the next Kahuna!

BACKGROUND:  Kahuna is a strategy board game for 2 players, and was created in 1998 by Günter Cornett, and published by KOSMOS.  2 players attempt to take control of the most islands in a game of strategy and timing.

GAMEPLAY:  Each turn, the turn player may play up to 5 cards from their hand, or secretly discards 1 or more cards under the discard pile.  A player may choose not to play or discard any cards.  When a card is played, the player puts a Magic Bridge token from the island printed on the card onto a dotted line connected to any neighboring island.  The player may then draw 1 card or pass, discarding 1 or more cards if they have 5 cards in their hand.  If a player chooses to pass, the opponent must draw on their turn.

ISLANDS:  Once a player has more than half of their Bridges on an Island, they take control of that island, marked with a players Kahuna Stones, and remove all of the opponents Bridges connected to that island.  A player may also remove an opponents Bridge by playing two cards that only name 1 of the 2 islands the Bridge is connecting.

ROUNDS:  The game is played in 3 rounds.  When all the cards have been taken, the player with control of the most islands scores 1 point in the first round, or 2 points in the second round, with no points scored on ties.  All cards in a players hand, as well as all Bridge and Kahuna tokens, remain.

WINNING:  On the third round, the players count how many islands they control, and the player with the most scores the difference between both players' scores.  Scores from all 3 rounds are added up, with the player with the most points winning.  Ties are broken by \whoever scored the third round, with a tie there broken by who had the most bridges at the end.

CONCLUSION:  Every time I play Kahuna, I start out liking it.  There's a huge strategy element here about when to take cards, when to make your opponent do so, where to play and what to discard.  The game is incredibly promising, then the 2nd round starts.  The scoring isn't too bad, but it's the games utter lack of care about who's in the lead that's the problem.  Once a player is far enough ahead, they enter what I like to call Psuedo-Star Mode.  Like the Power Star in Mario, once a player is far enough ahead, it really doesn't matter what you do, and that's the problem.  Rather than start fresh, or give the player falling behind any advantage, the board state remains the same.  This means that a player who is winning will likely continue to win, because they already have a lead on the opponent.  Even if the other player somehow manages to take the lead the next round, they now have that huge lead on the opponent.  I like this game, but I only want to be the Kahuna in one shot, not three.