How to play
Hex is played on a diamond-shaped board of 11 × 11 hexagons. Red owns two opposite edges of the diamond and Blue owns the other two; the edge cells are tinted in their owner’s color. Red moves first. On a narrow phone screen the board is turned upright so the hexagons are bigger; the tinted edges turn with it.
- Place a stone. On your turn, tap any empty hexagon to put one of your stones there. Stones never move and are never captured.
- Connect your sides. Make an unbroken chain of your stones from one of your tinted edges to the other. Stones are connected when their hexagons share a side.
- Someone always wins. It is impossible to block both players at once, so when the board fills up, one chain is always complete. Hex has no draws.
The last stone placed has a gold ring, and the winning chain lights up at the end.
At the top, choose your Opponent. Against the Computer you play red and move first, at Easy, Medium or Hard. Choose Friend to play two people on one device, taking turns on the same board. Hint shows a good hexagon for the player to move, and Undo takes back one move against a friend, or your move together with the computer’s answer.
Strategy
- Start near the center. A central stone helps in every direction and is hard to cut off. The first move is a real advantage in Hex.
- Use the bridge. Two of your stones with two empty hexagons between them that touch both are already as good as connected: if your opponent takes one of the two, you take the other. Bridges let you cross the board fast.
- Block from a distance. Placing a stone right in front of an enemy chain is easy to walk around. Block a few hexagons ahead, where you also build your own chain.
- Every stone attacks and defends. Because the two goals cross each other, a stone that blocks your opponent is usually also part of your own path.
- Watch the edges. Near your own edge, a stone on the second row can be joined to the edge in two ways, just like a bridge.
The computer measures how many stones each side still needs to connect and looks a couple of moves ahead among the most promising hexagons. In our tests, Hard beat Medium in all 6 games and Medium beat Easy in all 8, whichever color they played.
For another game where the board fills and the first big line wins, try Five in a Row, or capture boxes in Dots and Boxes.
If you enjoy Hex, try International Draughts or Kızma Birader next.
