Hive
Hive is a strategic game for two players that is not restricted by a board and can be played anywhere on any flat surface. The base game of Hive is made up of twenty two pieces, eleven black and eleven white, resembling a variety of creatures each with a unique way of moving.
Number of players: 2
Game duration: 12 mn
Complexity: 3 / 5
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Play Hive and 1183 other games online.
No download necessary - play directly from your web browser.
With your friends and thousands of players from the whole world.
Free.
Rules summary
Overview
- 2 player abstract.
- Players compete to gain control of a hive by surrounding their opponent's queen bee.
- One player plays the black pieces, the other player plays the white pieces.
- Play area starts empty.
Player Turn
- Must make a move if possible, otherwise their turn is skipped.
Each turn choose to either:
- Place a new piece.
- Move a piece.
Place a piece
- Must be on the edge of the hive.
- Queen bee must be placed in your first 4 turns.
After each player has placed their first piece:
- Must touch a piece of the same color.
- Cannot touch a piece of the opposite color.
Note: Stacks are the color of the top piece.
Move a piece
- You cannot move pieces until your queen bee is placed.
- Imaginary hexagonal grid.
- Adjacent pieces always touch a complete edge.
- All pieces must form one contiguous group at all times (One Hive rule, see below).
- A piece cannot move through a gap that is too narrow (Freedom to Move rule, see below).
- Cannot be first placed on top of the hive.
- Any covered pieces cannot be used.
- Can drop down into any space.
- Moving to the space would violate the Freedom to Move rule (see below).
- When adjacent to more than one part of the hive, it may continue on any side of the hive.
- Cannot move a piece moved in the previous turn.
- Moved piece cannot move in the next turn.
- Cannot move a piece in a stack.
Pillbug movement
Pillbug special ability
Freedom to Move
- Beetle: remains a beetle until it moves to the edge of the hive.
- Cannot copy pieces underneath a beetle.
- Cannot move when only adjacent to the other mosquito.
Game end
Draw
- By agreement / repetition.
- Both queen bees are surrounded on all sides in the same move.
Win
- Only the opponent's queen bee is surrounded on all sides.
Variants
Expansion pieces:
- Ladybug
- Mosquito
- Pillbug
Opening:
- Standard: no restriction
- Tournament: The queen bee may not be placed in the first turn.