Cardboard Corner: Review of Hive

Do you like Chess or Go but don’t like the commitment—the weight of tackling brain burning hours of iterating if/then scenarios? Do you think the idea of kings and queens, soldiers and knights on a battlefield is a hoary, outdated notion? Or maybe, you think the idea of a grid is too limiting? <cue salesman voice> Well then, do we have a game for you! Hive (2000)!!

A tight-tight package, Hive is an abstract strategy game for two players that plays out in half the time of chess, and in significantly less time than go. Combining elements of both those games and simplifying them, players take turns laying hexagonal pieces in hive formation in attempt to surround their opponent’s queen. The game is insect-themed, meaning it is in fact a queen bee.

Like chess and go, Hive features black and white sides, with each side having the same pieces and starting conditions. Like chess specifically, each type of piece in Hive has its own unique move set (more in a moment), but unlike chess they do not start on the board in ready position. More like go, Hive’s “board” begins empty. I put “board” in quotes given Hive has no board. Any small, flat space will do—even airplane trays. The board creates itself as players lay pieces, making for an open, evolving experience.

And it's the pieces and their movements where Hive distinguishes itself. Like the rook, knight, bishop, etc. in chess, the ant, beetle, grasshopper, queen, and spider each have their own unique move in Hive. The grasshopper can jump in a straight line in any hexagonal direction. The beetle, the only piece able to move vertically, can clamber over connecting pieces in an attempt to plop itself down beside the opponent’s queen. The spider moves three times in any direction—not more, not less. The ant can move anywhere on the perimeter of the hive, a powerful piece. And the queen bee herself, like the king in chess, can move one edge at a time.

The primary controller of this squabble of insect movement is two golden rules: 1) the hive can never be broken, and 2) the first time a piece is placed on the table it cannot touch an opponent’s piece. This means, at all times all the pieces on the table must be touching by at least one of their sides. There can never be two hives—two groups of tiles. Only one group, no matter how tentatively connected. And, at no time can a player introduce a piece to the game touching an opponent’s piece. They must lay the piece touching their own piece(s) first, and on a later move, reposition.

In the end, I get the same vibes from Hive as I do from chess, just sweeter due to the smaller time commitment. The player must still go through brain-burny iterations of if/then, but within a much smaller scope. A game takes 10-15 minutes, after which it’s very likely you’ll want to play again—especially if you lost. There are multiple versions of Hive available, some which include additional insect types. Of the two I’ve played (standard Hive and Hive Pocket), the pieces were made of an extremely solid material (epoxy?) and felt chunky and good in the hand. Setup time is literally the time it takes to open the box/bag and dump the pieces on the table. And the rules are quick and easy to learn. One 5-minute example game and most new players are good to go. And it travels so well... Just a good, small game with multiple, multiple layers to uncover.