Hive board game

by Gary Sonnenberg

(Waukesha, WI)

Hive
Board game manufacturer:
Gen: Four.Two
Number of players:
2
Ages:
8yrs+
Time:
20mins

Quick verdict

If you like a quick abstract games, then Hive is just the game for you.

The game and gameplay

Hive is a tile placement board game that uses hexagonal wooden blocks (now heavy plastic ones — ed.) with pictures of various insects on them. You have a Queen Bee, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, and spiders. Each insect has a unique pattern in which it may move.

The Queen Bee may only move one space at a time. Beetles can move one space and can hop on top of other pieces. Grasshoppers may jump over a row of pieces, stopping at the first empty space. Ants can move any number of spaces around the edge of the hive. Spiders can move three spaces along the perimeter.Hive is a two-player game that has some similarities to chess. The biggest difference between the two, however, is that the Hive board game doesn’t actually use a board.

You can move your insects anywhere on the table as long as all pieces remain part of the hive; that is, stay connected.

The object of Hive is to completely surround your opponent’s Queen Bee, thus preventing her from moving. Part of your objective then too is to keep your own Queen Bee from being surrounded. You need to think ahead a couple of moves to be sure she always has a way out.

Hive is a game with a delicate balance between offense and defense. You need to press the attack on the opposing Queen Bee while maintaining a safe haven for your own.

Pros and cons

Hive plays very quickly. If you like it, you’ll often want to play more than one game per sitting.

If you don’t care for abstract games, you probably won’t like Hive.

The verdict

Hive is lots of fun for a short time for those who like abstract, chess-like games. Tournaments are widely available for those who like that kind of competition.

If you’ve played Hive, please leave a rating and comments using the link below.