Game Review: Hive

Hive - Gen42 Games
2 players; ages 8+
20 minutes to play
~$30

Hive is a head to head game that can easily be described as a game with elegantly simple rules with deep chess-like strategy.

Each player has a tile set consisting of 11 tiles made up of 5 different insects (1 Queen Bee, 3 Grasshoppers, 3 Soldier Ants, 2 Spiders, 2 Beetles), each with it's own style of movement. The object of the game is to get your opponent's Queen Bee completely surrounded before he does the same to you.

In this game, the playing pieces actually form the play area as they are brought in a moved around (called the Hive). The game begins with each player having all their tiles in reserve, and on your turn you can bring another tile into the game or move tiles that are already in the game. The unique movements of the insects create for some very diverse strategies and options making each game very unique.

Another great feature of this game is the playing pieces themselves. These are nice heavy tiles that are easily portable and washable, which means you can take this anywhere (I'm sure mine will get some play this summer on the beach) without worrying about ruining your game.

There is also an expansion tile set called The Mosquito which brings even more devious tactics into the game.

I can't even begin to express my love for this game - it brings many elements together that I like in a game, not least of which is quick, relaxed head-to-head style play with a monstrous replay factor (most of the time several games in a row are played). This is a must have for a game collection that includes two-player only games.

You can learn how to play and even play online by following the link to the Hive website.