Smart Zone Games Hive- A Game Crawling With Possibilities, (5525890)

Overview: Hive is a two-player abstract strategy game centered around the placing and manipulation through movement of hexagonal shaped tiles representing various insects. Like the pieces in Chess, each insect tile has specific rules that govern when and where it can move. The object of the game is to be the first player to manipulate the opposing player's Queen Bee tile in such a manner that it is surrounded on all six of its sides by other insects. Setup Time Required: There is almost zero setup time required to play outside of first reading the brief rules foldout for the first time. Hive does not have a game-board in the traditional sense of the word, nor does it have cards or chits to worry about. The insect tiles are the game: the tiles function individually as the playing pieces, and collectively as the board. The game can begin just as soon as the tiles are removed from the box or bag and distributed to each player. Components: Hive - The Original includes 22 insect tiles (11 for each player) and a nylon-zippered case for those that want to game on the go. The tiles are quite chunky in size and are made out of Bakelite. They have a very nice, sturdy, feel to them. The insect illustrations are etched into each tile and are painted. Extended use may lead to some chipping of the paint. Target Audience: Hive is relatively cheap and it is portable, so anyone looking for either a quick strategic game or a game they can take with them on their travels may be interested in giving this game a shot. Hive should also be considered as a gateway game before introducing someone to the similar, but more complex, game of Chess. If you found this review helpful, please let me know below.

Hive struck me like a fresh new concept in tabletop gaming when I first ran into it at the manufacturer's own website. There, you could play the game against a robot that they said wasn't all that good a player. He taught me so much, beating me 15 consecutive times before I finally beat him. Hive has tiles with special movement rules, like chess, but there is no "board". The first tile played in the game initiates "The Hive", and all subsequent play takes place on, or adjacent to, The Hive. The tiles depict bugs, and both players get a queen bee, 2 spiders, 2 beetles, 3 grasshoppers, and 3 ants. An expansion set gives each player a mosquito too. Players take turns adding tiles to the hive. When adding a tile, it must touch already-laid tiles of your color and no tiles of the other color (except for player #2's first tile). During the first 4 moves, both players must add their queen bee to the hive. Once a player's queen bee is played, they may elect to move a tile rather than play a new one. Moving tiles are allowed to land next to the other color in a way that newly played tiles cannot. This decision about bringing a new piece into play or working with the pieces already in play is one small example of the strategy at play here. The object is to completely surround the opponent's queen bee. Doesn't have to be all your tiles, but if she is surrounded you win. Don't let it happen to your queen bee! The game play is strongly oriented towards "1) Don't lose, 2) Win, if you can" That was the lesson of my first 10 games against the robot at the Hive site. Ants can move anywhere on the outer perimeter of the hive - any distance. Spiders can do the same thing, but they must move exactly 3 hexes, no more, no less. Grasshoppers leap over the hive along hex lines to the first vacant space. Beetles can only move one hex in any direction, but they can crawl up onto the hive itself and move around on it. The piece they are sitting on is immobilized until they leave. The optional mosquito can move like any tile of either color that it is touching at the beginning of it's turn. Enough about the game - it's a brilliant invention in game-play with really thought-provoking strategy. Its not a quick learn-and-play game. That said, it is a delicious long-term learn-and-play game - lots of "ah ha!" as I witness my own improvement as a player. This product tho - WOW! These tiles are bigger than I expected - you can squint one like a monocle - and substantial like well-made dominoes, finger-tall. The hexes are white and black, each type of bug is painted into the recessed image in it's own color. The green-on-black grasshopper contrasted with the green-on-white grasshopper is very cool - these pieces are lovely.

This is honestly the best game I’ve tried in years. It’s so absurdly simple to learn for a game that can be easily as strategic as chess—it took myself, my spouse, and our 11 year old about 10 minutes to go from reading aloud the rules and how each piece works to playing the game. We only once referred back to the rules some 2 days later. It’s a two-player game so you’d think it’s not a family game, but my boys don’t mind spectating and neither do I. The hardest part is not piping up to offer advice to the players or commenting, “oooh, that wasn’t the best move bae…” “Daddy’s got you in two turns…” or “You SURE about that hun? His beetle is right there…” and getting dirty looks from players. The pieces are reminiscent of dominoes, with smooth and medium weight hexagons engraved with nicely detailed bugs of the varied types and colors. The artwork is well done, being colorful and vibrant on both black and white pieces with enough detail to appeal to science fans but not so much details that it would aggravate someone with an average bug or spider phobia. The gameplay is much faster in our experience than chess, lasting between 15-20 minutes average, sometimes a bit more if you are in a complex match. The gameplay is very different from match to match as long as players aren’t using the same style and tactics every time. Overall, this is a game I would recommend for everyone’s game library. It does not disappoint at all. I’m only sad that I haven’t gotten the expansion packs for it yet.

This may be the best designed game I have ever seen. I mean, like the best table top game since chess. It's a little more laid back than chess and quicker, both of which are nice from an enjoyment point of view. And pieces are never taken out of the game, so it doesn't simplify as the game progresses. Further, defense is very difficult, which means that the games don't go on and on for too long. Wonderful ideas and execution. I don't consider myself real skilled at it but I'm always happy to play with my wife or one of my kids. It's simple enough for kids and interesting enough for anyone. The pieces are also very well designed and constructed. Very robust and satisfying to play with. Nice designs and colors. Overall this game is quite an accomplishment. Ok, so where's the downside? Well, if you have read any reviews you know that the makers also sell a "carbon" version, which is black and white. It's a little cheaper than this version but it comes with two expansions (which are like $10 each). So it's a lot cheaper. I thought about getting that one but decided I wanted color in my game. After playing with the base set, I was convinced that I had made the right choice. Worth spending some extra for a set with color. However, the color expansions are not as nice as the set. In particular, the mosquito is dark grey, which is very hard to see and unsightly on the black tile. And the white tiles for both the mosquito and pillbug are a different color than the main set: they are greener and a little darker. It doesn't affect gameplay but it's an eyesore. Given the cost of these expansions it's silly that they can't color match. If I had bought the carbon edition two expansions would be included and certainly match and I bet the pillbug would match too. I mean, at the end of the day we are going for aesthetics. You miss some color with the carbon, but at least everything matches. That's my only issue with this set. If you are only sticking with the base set, I'd say color is better.

I read a rave review about this game in the May 8, 2015 Wall Street Journal and decided to buy it. I bought the basic game with black and white tiles. For now, I think this is all I need, although I have seen versions advertised with extra pieces. It is a two player strategy game, with both players able to see all the pieces played and unplayed while the game is going on. The game quickly becomes very complicated, although it is easy to learn and there is only a small number of different types of pieces. It is similar to chess in that different types of pieces can move in different ways, but dissimilar in that there is no board, just tiles that are placed next to each other, and sometimes on top of each other. If you are the sort of person who loves chess, as I do, but also likes to play a variety of different strategy games, this is a good alternative. So far, I have not seen that the person who moves first has a particular advantage, but maybe I will find out more as I play more. Another advantage as a beginning player, is that the games seem to last about 15 minutes each-- easy to get several games in at a sitting. The goal is to surround the enemy queen bee, and sometimes one player can come up with a surprise move, just as in chess. There appears to lots of room for different types of strategies. In the Wall Street Journal review it said some people have even written long books on strategy. I am not going to go so far as to buy a strategy book, but I have been very satisfied so far owning it over the last few months.

My husband and I were looking for a 2-person strategy game that had play time of less than 20 minutes. You know, something to keep our minds sharp, something entertaining for when nothing good is on tv (so all the time). For whatever reason, my husband specified that the game could NOT be chess. I have no idea why, but when I saw Hive was like chess, but with bugs, I knew it would be the perfect choice for us. We have been playing for two months now, and we've been enjoying the game. That said, I do kind of wish my husband would have been ok with chess. On the upside, this game is excellent in quality. Hive will last you a lifetime. The pieces are sturdy and thick, no weak papery pieces here. It's also a great game for travel, because everything you need fits inside an included pouch. I went ahead and tossed the box. This game is easy to store in a small space. I appreciate that this is a competitive game, none of that co-operative game bs. My husband and I aren't built for the kind of games where you help each other fake farm or whatever-- there must be a winner (and the winner must be me!). These are the reasons I've given it 4 stars. But there are downsides to this game, that may or may not be a deal breaker for some. First, the cost. Hive isn't cheap. If you buy the three expansion pieces (which we are finding necessary, more on that later), you'll have invested about 60 dollars into this game. Be sure you really want a competitive strategy game and will play it often before buying this. Once me and my husband mapped out our favorite strategies with the included pieces, the game gets a bit stagnant. This is where the expansion pieces come into play. I really think they should be included to begin with. They expand the possible strategies to where you can get years of exciting game play instead of months. It is super easy for the queen bees to get close enough together where it creates a drawl (because to put in that last piece that surrounds the opponent's bee, you're surrounding your own at the same time). One way to prevent this is to play under an unofficial rule that you can't put down the bee as your first piece. It still happens, though, and ties are no fun. The player who goes first has an advantage. If you're evenly matched with your opponent, it's a noticeable advantage. That said, if you're playing against a weaker opponent, or someone newer to the game, it can keep things competitive to let that player go first every time. Engineers and computer science majors seem to be masters at this game. This is the perfect gift idea for that special programmer in your life. I imagine we'll be playing this game for years to come.

This maybe the most fun abstract strategy game I've ever played. It's a lot like chess in that each piece has a different movement, but it is also definitely one-of-a-kind. The strategy is deep, but the game is much simpler and plays faster than chess. If you want a more complex game, you can buy the expansions. The object of the game is to surround your opponent's queen bee (a hexagon stamped with a bee graphic). The other hexagonal tiles (with bugs imprinted on them) have unique movements. The pieces are really beautiful and are much improved from the original wood pieces. I'd recommend getting this version, NOT the carbon version. Sure you save a few dollars on the carbon version, but there are a few caveats with the carbon version. With the carbon version there are only 2 colors (black and white), which makes it harder to tell the playing pieces apart than the Original version of "Hive," where each playing piece (bug) is a different color, making it much easier to tell the difference between the pieces. Second, and this is just an opinion, the carbon version gives it a very serious look, like chess. Some people like that. I do not. The colors create a playful, easy-going flavor. One of the big benefits of the game is that it is much more accessible to people than chess. The serious look of the carbon version makes it look...like chess, decreasing the possibility that people will try out the game because they think they're playing the difficult, serious and complicated game of chess. My recommendation is get this set.

Its very great quality, the pieces are satisfying themselves lol. Gameplay is very simple to pick up and play, rules are very straightforward and i loved especially how they show pictures of how individual pieces move. So much more fun with the expansions as well. Perfect for someone who likes chess or someone who wants to get into those mechanics as well. Overall just a great simple and quick game to bring anywhere. Only objective is to surround the queen bee with the tiles...would 100% recommend and would buy again if needed.

Estaba indecisa entre este formato o el Pocket. La verdad que estoy muy contenta con el juego, llegó todo en perfecto estado. Lo que más me ha gustado es que te viene con un estuche que entiendo que o bien es para guardarlo y poder tirar la caja, o bien para llevarlo de viaje. Hay que tener en cuenta que las instrucciones no vienen es español, pero en internet se pueden encontrar fácilmente.

Es mag schon einige Rezensionen zu diesem Spiel geben, aber bei Hive bin ich sehr verführt, den bestehenden Bewertungen auch noch meine Beschreibung dieses 2-Personen Spiels hinzuzufügen. Obwohl der Vergleich als überstrapaziert gilt, ist Hive für mich ein Spiel wie Schach. Man hat fünf unterschiedliche Insekten-Spielfiguren, die bestimmte Züge ausführen können und verfolgt das Ziel die gegnerische Biene "matt" zu setzen. Allerdings wird bei Hive ein Spielstein nicht geschlagen, sondern man kann Figuren lediglich festsetzen bzw. die gegnerische Biene versuchen einzukreisen. Gelingt letzteres hat man gewonnen. Wie beim Schach ist jedes Spiel komplett anders, jeder Zug erfordert eine Planung wie man mit seinen Figuren an den Gegner herankommen kann und Angriffe auf die eigene Bienenkönigin abwehrt. Das Spiel ist dabei unwahrscheinlich herausfordernd. Allerdings hat Hive auch in den Bereichen Qualitäten, die Schach bei Vielen unattraktiv macht. Es gibt nur 5 Spielfiguren deren Züge sehr leicht zu erlernen sind und das selbst für Kinder. Eine Partie dauert in der Regel nur etwa 20 Minuten, nur bei sehr erfahrenen Hive-Spieler kann es auch schonmal länger dauern. Man muss gegenüber Schach deutlich weniger Figuren im Blick halten und dennoch sind Komplexität und Möglichkeiten ebenfalls unwahrscheinlich hoch. Genial ist zudem, dass Hive anders als Schach kein Spielbrett benötigt, da sich die Figuren immer am namensgebenden "Schwarm" (engl. Hive) bewegen. Der meines Erachtens einzige Nachteil von Hive ist ebenfalls ähnlich zu Schach. Bei geübten Spielern hat derjenige der angefängt einen leichten aber manchmal entscheidenden Vorteil. Hive ist ein phantastisches 2-Personen Spiel, dessen Tiefgründigkeit und Kurzweil mich immer wieder begeistert. Es gibt auch eine Erweiterung mit zwei "Moskito-Figuren", die laut anderen Rezensionen sehr empfehlenswert sein soll aber von Amazon leider nicht geführt wird. Natürlich muss man für Hive strategische Spiele mögen. Wer eher seichte und glücksabhängige Spiele wie das gute alte "Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht" mag, für den könnte Hive zu anstrengend sein. Für alle anderen ist der Kauf es unbedingt wert.

By girlfriend normally gets sick of board games because I keep beating her at them. Not so with Hive! It's completely deterministic, all down to skill, and she is far better than me at it. Though obviously my pride is in tatters I do still admire the game greatly for being very accessible to anyone - especially with its big clunky pieces - and for really surprising with its depth of play. Lots of emergent tactics can come about, and a game that seems a foregone conclusion can quickly turn around with a clever move. Games are quick, over in about 10 minutes, and really satisfying with their density of decision making. Every action feels like it matters, and a move made at the start of the game can become a significant factor later on. I highly recommend this game. One of the best 2-player games I've ever played, and easy to pick up no matter how experienced you are.

A perfect game for the whole family. Simple but so much potential for strategy. Great for a travel game.

Fun and fast paced. I’d like to get the add on piece to add more complexity but it is a great game as is.