Hex

emoji_eventsGoal

Two players, one board, and no way to tie. Blue joins the top edge to the bottom, Red joins the left edge to the right. However the board fills up, exactly one chain ends up crossing it.

sports_esportsHow to Play

• Blue goes first, then the players take turns
• A turn is one stone on any empty cell — nothing ever moves and nothing is ever taken
• Cells are joined along their six sides; two that meet only at a point are not joined
• The board is framed in each player's colour along the two edges they are joining
• Keyboard: arrows move the cursor, Space places a stone, Z undoes

gavelRules

• A stone is placed once and stays where it is for the rest of the game
• Blue wins with an unbroken chain of blue from the top edge to the bottom
• Red wins with an unbroken chain of red from the left edge to the right
• A corner cell counts as being on both of the edges that meet there
• There is no draw and there cannot be one: fill the board any way at all and exactly one player has crossed it

lightbulbTips

• The bridge is the whole game: two stones set a step apart with two empty cells between them cannot be cut, because if your opponent takes one you take the other
• Playing bridges instead of touching stones covers twice the ground for the same move
• Every stone you place to connect also blocks — the two are one act seen from either side
• The middle is worth more than the edges: a chain through the centre has more ways left to finish
• Moving first is a real advantage in Hex, so take Red when you want the harder game

infoGame Over

The game ends the moment one chain spans the board. There is no draw in Hex and there never can be — the board cannot fill up without somebody having crossed it.