Hive is a classic two-player strategy game which plays like a form of chess. Designed by John Yianni and published by Gen42 Games as long ago as 2001, it remains popular with many fans (see BoardGameGeek page here) and has bred a whole sub-culture of strategising, analysis and tournament play which I won’t go into here. For players new to Hive who might know a bit about chess, here are my thoughts about links between the two games.
The pieces are hexagonal tiles, eleven white and eleven black in the base version, which feature a range of insects (and an arachnid), each with a unique move. Players take it in turns to place (or ‘spawn’) a fresh piece onto the board or move a piece that’s already on the board. The aim is to get your opponent’s Queen Bee completely surrounded by pieces of either colour. Sounds pretty much like chess so far? To help you get started on Hive’s absorbing battle between evenly matched sides, I’ll look at some connections to chess.
Where’s the board?
There is no playing board in Hive – the first major difference from chess! Use any flat surface to play on and place your pieces however you wish in accordance with the two key rules below. The physical shape of each game can thus vary quite a bit, depending on what you and your opponent choose to do each turn, and there are no board edges to restrict you. You can place a tile wherever you like although, after each player’s first piece is laid, a piece entering the game may not be placed touching an opponent’s piece. You have to calculate where to lay a piece so that its subsequent move will be effective.
What are the two key rules?
One of the attractions of Hive is that it has few rules. The two central rules are:
· One Hive rule: all pieces in play must remain linked at all times – you can’t leave a piece stranded on its own, or separate the Hive into two. In practice, this means you can ‘pin’ an opposing piece by moving to its far side, and it then can’t move away to leave you stranded – much like the pin in chess
· Freedom to Move rule: creatures can only move in a sliding motion – if a piece can’t physically slide into a space, it may not be moved there. The only exceptions are the Grasshopper which can jump into and out of a space, and the Beetle which can climb up and down. These pieces are valuable in triggering or escaping a threat to the Queen Bee.
What unique moves do pieces have?
· Queen Bee (one piece per player): like the king in chess, in Hive the Queen Bee can move only one space per turn. She can escape from a potential encirclement, but don’t leave it too late. Each player must place the Queen Bee onto the board no later than the fourth turn, but it could be earlier if you have a cunning plan
· Beetle (two pieces): also moves one space per turn, but the Beetle’s unique ability is to climb on top of the Hive and move across other pieces. It’s like a chess knight’s move but limited to one space at a time: the Beetle can move (slowly) over other pieces and drop into a surrounded space. A piece underneath the Beetle can’t move, and the stack counts as the colour of the Beetle on top. The Beetle can only be blocked by another Beetle climbing on top of it, possibly leading to a stack of Beetles
· Grasshopper (three pieces): it doesn’t move around the outside of the Hive like other creatures, but instead jumps in a straight line over connected pieces into the next unoccupied space. Again a bit like a chess knight, this means it can jump into or out of a space which is otherwise blocked
· Spider (two pieces): this creature could be thought of as a chess pawn with a slightly longer range. In Hive, the Spider has to move exactly three spaces around pieces that it’s in direct contact with, not backtracking on itself. I’ve found it the least flexible of the creatures, so it might be best to use it early in the game to pin an opponent’s more mobile piece
· Soldier Ant (three pieces): probably the most valuable piece in the base version of Hive, the Soldier Ant can move any number of spaces around the board provided that the two key rules (see above) are observed. It has the range of movement of the queen in chess, and you get three of them! But be careful not to commit them too early, in case they’re pinned by a less valuable piece (scuttle forward please, the humble Spiders).
What are some basic tactics for Hive beginners?
· Maintain both Mobility and Control: you’ll need to make sure your own pieces are free to move (‘mobility’) while at the same time immobilising your opponent’s creatures (‘control’). Essentially this means controlling the outside of the Hive and keeping your opponent’s pieces stuck inside. Two basic tactics to achieve this are…
· Pin and One Hive rule: if you move a piece such as a Soldier Ant or Spider around the outside of the Hive, or jump a Grasshopper into a free space, you can ‘pin’ one or more opposing creatures because of the One Hive rule – they won’t be allowed to move if that would break the Hive – and you’ve taken at least one opposing piece out of the game
· Gate and Freedom to Move rule: you can create a blocking ‘gate’ by positioning two pieces one space apart to leave a small gap between corners of the hexagonal tiles – the Freedom to Move rule means that no piece can then pass between your ‘gate-keeping’ creatures because there’s not enough room to slide through. This tactic can protect your Queen Bee from encirclement, especially if you’ve already immobilised your opponent’s Grasshoppers, or can set up an attack on your opponent’s Queen Bee which can’t escape through the gate
· Know each creature’s unique abilities: think about how and when to use the various powers of your creatures – for example, the Spider is good for early trapping or replacing a Soldier Ant in a pin, while the Beetle can immobilise the enemy Queen Bee by climbing on top and it can then spawn other creatures directly next to her. The Soldier Ant’s mobility means it can pin opposing creatures quickly, but it’s also useful in defending your own Queen Bee. By the way, there are three further creatures available as expansions to the base game, which I’ll tackle in a future post
· Tempo and Strength: time is crucial in Hive – games are often won or lost by only one turn – so you need to make every turn count and not waste any placement or move (‘tempo’). In terms of ‘strength’, six creatures of either colour are needed to encircle the Queen Bee, so be sure to get enough of your pieces onto the board, and keep them free to attack (see ‘mobility’ above). Also try to limit the number of enemy pieces that can move (see ‘control’ above). If you can get more pieces into active play more quickly than your opponent, you’ll probably win. Just like chess, in fact!
Is Hive suitable for a range of ages?
The makers bill Hive as suitable for ages 9+, though I’d say that younger children could play the game quite happily without paying too much attention to details of strategy – insects always seem to be a magnet for younger children! Indeed, it strikes me as a great game for grandparents to play with grandchildren. The hexagonal Bakelite tiles are attractively designed, showing clear colour illustrations of the various creatures, and they feel pleasantly weighty in the hand. Whether you start with chess and move onto Hive, or vice versa, it seems to me that thinking about the two games as variants of the same idea is helpful. I hope you enjoy exploring both the basics and the considerable depths of Hive as much as I have.
