Hive

I really don’t play abstract strategy games. I have a few, but they rarely hold my attention more than a few weeks after I purchase them. I know how to move each of the pieces in Chess, but never cared to play it enough to figure out any kind of strategy. The same could be said for Checkers – such an easy game in comparison, yet I’d lose to any 8-year-old I’d play against. But I was pretty hopeful that Hive would be different, so I purchased it shortly after its appearance in our weekly Explorable Favorites last November. Is this the abstract strategy game that will finally hold my attention?

Observed Set-Up and Play Time
The game is ready to go immediately upon opening, and the rulebook can be devoured in under 15 minutes. It is so easy to get Hive to the table. No board to set up. No cards or cardboard bits to prepare. Just two mirrored sets of 11 oversized domino-style pieces to separate and you’re off. Even if you and your opponent are prone to analysis paralysis, it’s unlikely a game of Hive will reach the advertised 30 minutes – my games tend to last around 20 minutes.

My Learning Curve and Teach Time
You will be able to teach Hive to a new player in under 10 minutes. Then you will be able to destroy them. While the rules learning curve is next to nothing, the strategy learning curve is quite steep. Like Chess, it will take you dozens of games to start seeing all the possibilities and planning for moves 10 turns in advance.

Group Dynamics
Several of the people I play games with won’t play Hive with me. For some it’s the complete lack of story inherent to abstract strategy games that turns them off; for others, it’s not wanting to feel stupid. This is by far the greatest setback of games like this… unless you’ve played the game less than your opponent has, it’s pretty hard not to feel mentally inferior if you lose (particularly if you lose handily). There is absolutely no luck involved, and the only variables are experience and skill. I have one person I regularly play this with and one other who will occasionally play with me. Everybody else gave it a shot but prefer anything else.

Objectionable Material
Hive is objection-free. There is also no reading involved, and I see no reason why this couldn’t be offered as a Checkers alternative to a 6-year-old. You would need to try to lose to keep them interested, though.

Comparable Titles
Chess is a really good comparison for Hive. They both focus on unique movement between the piece types (Hive has 5 unique pieces (up to 8 with expansions) compared to Chess’s 6) and capturing your opponent’s King/Queen Bee. The principal differences are the lack of board and “outward” approach in Hive (in Chess you start on the outskirts and move in; with Hive each player starts with a piece touching their opponent’s and branches out from there). I have a STRONG preference for Hive over Chess. This may be because Hive isn’t many centuries old, so there’s far fewer players out there that can make me feel like an idiot. It’s certainly due to the drastically lower playing time. And I probably like bugs more than medieval-type stuff. Another game that is likely quite similar to Hive is Arimaa. One abstract strategy game is enough for me, but if and when I want another one Arimaa may be it (I think it’s out of print, so there will be some mark-up to track it down).

While it doesn’t make me want to rush out and expand my selection of strategy games, I am very happy to have Hive in my collection. It is outstanding fun, and gives you a great opportunity to flex a little brain muscle. It’s also quite easy to knock out 3 or 4 games on those low-key two-player nights. I would definitely recommend that experienced players try not to win when playing with less-experienced players lest you run them off like I did. Let them get up to speed and confident before you hammer them.

Hive is often described as “chess with bugs.” I won’t lie, I’ve used that description with uninitiated players as well. It does borrow several game mechanics from chess. The different bug pieces all have individual rules that govern how they can move and the goal of the game is to trap the other queen bee of the other player.

As far as strategy goes, the game is top notch. It seems that every time I come up with a new tactic for attacking my friend’s queen, he is able to figure out a way to counter my method within a game or two (and vice versa). This is a testament to just how balanced and well thought out the allowed movements for each piece type are. Nothing is “broken” here. Games typically last less than 20 minutes so it definitely invites playing several times in a row.

One thing worth noting: A common rule variation states that the Queen cannot be placed on the first move. This will make more sense once you’ve fully learned the rules of the game. I’ve found that when playing without this rule a few too many games end in draws for my liking, so I’d definitely recommend using this variant after you get more familiar with the game.

The game also comes with very nice, thick ,and sturdy pieces to play with as well as a nice zipper bag that is perfect for travel.

Two expansions have been released: the lady bug and the mosquito. These are just two new bug types with their own movement patterns and do add quite a bit to the game. Because of this I would recommend buying the Hive Carbon edition, which includes these two expansions and generally does not cost much more than the original edition. The Carbon edition is also all black and white, as opposed to the multicolored pieces included in the original. I think these black and white pieces look much nicer but that’s just a personal preference so you may think otherwise.

The bits in this game are hefty bakelite hexagons, each one depicting a bug. There’s one bee, there are a few spiders, a few ants, a couple beetles, and so on, black ones for one player and white ones for the other player.

On your turn you either lay one of your tiles down, connected to the rest of the other tiles, or you move one of the tiles already placed. Each piece moves in a different way: the spider moves three spaces, the grasshopper leaps over a row, straight in any direction, and so forth.

There is no board; you just lay the tiles next to each other on whatever surface you’re using.

The goal is to trap your opponent’s Queen Bee, the bee piece, surrounding it with your pieces and, perhaps, your opponent’s as well.

The game is frequently compared to chess for good reason: there are sets of distinct pieces that move differently from each other and the game is *very* abstract.

It has a few major advantages over chess, though, and I write these words as a chess player of many years. First, it plays very fast. There are only so many pieces in the bag and you go through them fairly quickly. My games normally last about 20 minutes, sometimes faster, sometimes not.

Second, this game does not feel broken, like chess does. Chess is thrice plowed ground: between computers and centuries of learning, there just isn’t much unexplored territory.

Third, this game is much more accessible for non gamers.

Yes, there is still wonder and excitement and there is much to cherish about chess. And I still love it and play when I can. But in my little world of 2 player abstract games, this is normally #1 now.

When I first played Hive, I was a little overwhelmed with everything. I had no idea what was considered a good move and what was considered a bad move. Hive is a game that is completely strategy based, meaning that you are always assessing not only your moves, but your opponent’s moves as well. You always have to stay one step ahead of your opponent if you really want to win. While Hive isn’t my favorite game out there, I still feel like it is a great game for a variety of different reasons. One of the things that makes Hive such a wonderful game is that it takes up very little space and it can be played on any flat surface, making it a great travel game. Another thing I really like about Hive are the tiles themselves. The pieces themselves are really durable, and the colorful insects inscribed on each tile are just really well designed. Also, Hive is really simple and easy to teach, but it also keeps players entertained from beginning to end, as they plan out their strategy that will hopefully make them victorious! In conclusion, Hive is small enough to play virtually anywhere, simple enough to teach to just about anyone, and fun to play. Personally I prefer games that have more elements to them than just strategy, but that is just my opinion. I would recommend Hive to anyone who loves strategy games, or is looking for a great game to play with their partner on the go!

that is a nice game.
there is 3 additional pieces : Ladybug , Mosquito & The Pillbug.

Hive: The Mosquito – 2007

During the game, they are placed in the same way as the other pieces. Once in play, the Mosquito takes on the movement characteristics of any creature it touches at the time, thus changing its characteristics throughout the game.

Exception: If moved as a Beetle on top of the Hive, it continues to move as a Beetle until it climbs down from the Hive.

Hive: The Ladybug – 2010

The Ladybug moves three spaces; two on top of the Hive, then one down. It must move exactly two on top of the Hive and then move one down on its last move. It may not move around the outside of the Hive and may not end its movement on top of the Hive. Even though it cannot block by landing on top of other pieces like the Beetle, it can move into or out of surrounded spaces. It also has the advantage of being much faster.

Hive: The Pillbug – 2013

The pillbug moves like the queen bee—one space at a time—but it also has a special ability that it may use instead of moving. This ability allows the pillbug to move an adjacent unstacked piece (whether friendly or enemy) two spaces: up onto the pillbug itself, then down into another empty space adjacent to itself. Some exceptions for this ability:

The Pillbug may not move the piece most recently moved by the opponent.
The Pillbug may not move any piece in a stack of pieces.
The Pillbug may not move a piece if it splits the hive (violating the One Hive Rule).
The Pillbug may not move a piece through a too-narrow gap of stacked pieces (violating the Freedom to Move Rule).

Any piece which physically moved (directly or by the pillbug) is rendered immobile on the next player’s turn; it cannot move or be moved, nor use its special ability. The mosquito can mimic either the movement or special ability of the pillbug, even when the pillbug it is touching has been rendered immobile by another pillbug.

I am a pretty avid gamer, however my wife is not. She likes to play card games, maybe Yahtzee with the kids, and that’s about it normally. However, Hive is one game she will play again and again.

Hive is an abstract tile laying/movement game, the purpose of which is to completely surround your opponent’s bee tile with other hexagonal bakelite tiles that have various bugs on them, and each bug has a different movement ability. There is no capturing involved, just placement and movement. My wife likes it because the rules are not complex, yet there is strategy there and she quickly got to a point where we were equally skillful at the game.

I like this game because it is easy to teach to someone, and it can really get you thinking. You have to be careful not to let your own bee get surrounded while trying to maneuver your tiles to surround your opponent’s bee. You can pretty quickly get yourself in a spot if you’re too focussed on your opponent.

The pieces are great, too – very solid bakelite pieces with vibrant colors for the bugs that are etched on them. I highly recommend Hive for a quick pick-up game, or for that gamer in your life who wants something they can sink their teeth into without having to memorize a lot of rules.

Hive is a nice little strategy game. The object is the capture your opponent’s queen bee with a wide array of assorted insects. Each insect has special movement abilities much like chess pieces. You move your pieces about trying to surround the opposing queen. Once surrounded, the game is over.

The pieces are nice and hefty, and the bugs appeal to kids. The game comes with a nice zipper bag for carrying anywhere. It’s a quick game, so it makes a nice filler for a game night between games.

Hive is one of those games that is genius in it’s simplicity of design. Get a few hex blocks. Make up a few pieces that, similarly to chess, have easy to remember but unique movement rules. Set a goal of capturing the queen.
Similarly to chess it falls into the “easy to learn, tough to master” category, and serious kudos to the designer for this one.

I am not usually a huge fan of abstract games, but for some reason Hive hits all the right spots. The goal of the game is simple, surround the opponents queen bee. The execution is more complicated than it seems at first glance. Each game I play I see more depth to it.

It will definitely appeal to people who like Chess or Go. It may also appeal to people like myself, who aren’t huge Chess fans. Hive starts out less overwhelming because there are fewer pieces and each turn you move a piece or place a piece. However, as you play there are always interesting choices to make.

As a bonus since there is no board, the game consists of only tiles, the game does travel very well.

There’s not much to dislike about Hive: simple rules, cool abilities for the insects, great bakelite pieces, bugs…can’t get much better than that. Lots of strategy in there with great replayability.