How to play Hive

Hive is a game for two players with no board — tiles interlock to form a growing cluster called the Hive. The goal is to completely surround your opponent's 🐝 Queen Bee while keeping yours free.

The tiles

Each player has 11 tiles (one colour each):

🐝 Queen Bee ×1
🪲 Beetle ×2
🦗 Grasshopper ×3
🕷️ Spider ×2
🐜 Soldier Ant ×3

Optional expansions add one each of the 🦟 Mosquito, 🐞 Ladybug and 💊 Pillbug.

Placing tiles

Players alternate turns. On a turn you either place a new tile from your hand or move a tile already in play.

White places first, anywhere. Black's first tile joins it edge to edge.
After that opening, a new tile must touch one of your tiles and may not touch any enemy tile.
Your Queen Bee must be placed by your fourth turn.
You can't move any tile until your Queen is on the board.

It's White to place. Green cells are legal — each touches a White tile and none touches a Black one. The cell marked ✕ sits next to White's Queen but also touches Black, so it's off-limits.

The two rules behind every move

Before learning how individual tiles move, two rules govern all movement. Almost every "can it go there?" question comes down to these.

1. One-Hive rule

The Hive must stay a single connected group at all times — during and after a move. A tile that is the only link holding two parts together cannot move at all.

The middle tile is the sole bridge between the two ends, so it's pinned (✕). Either end tile can be picked up (✓) because the rest stays connected without it.

2. Freedom to Move

Sliding tiles physically slide around the Hive. A tile can't squeeze through a gap that's blocked on both sides — there has to be room to slip through. (Grasshoppers jump and Beetles climb, so they ignore this.)

This Queen wants to reach the cell marked ✕, but the two tiles flanking it close the gap — she can't slide through. The green cells stay open to her.

How each tile moves

the tile to move where it can go ⬆ climb on top a tile it can move ✕ not allowed

🐝 Queen Bee — one step

Slides exactly one space around the Hive. Slow but vital: it's the tile you must defend.

🪲 Beetle — one step, and it climbs

Moves one space like the Queen — but it can also climb on top of an adjacent tile (the ⬆ cell). While on top it pins whatever is beneath, and the stack's top colour controls that cell.

🦗 Grasshopper — jump in a line

Jumps in a straight line over one or more tiles to the first empty cell beyond them. It must hop over at least one tile, and it doesn't slide — so gaps don't stop it.

🕷️ Spider — exactly three

Slides exactly three spaces around the Hive — no more, no less — and never doubles back. The numbered path shows one route; it can also wrap the other way.

🐜 Soldier Ant — anywhere

Slides any number of spaces around the outside of the Hive. It can reach almost anywhere, which makes it the most flexible tile in the game.

Expansion tiles

Toggle any of these on when you create a game.

🦟 Mosquito — copies its neighbours

Takes on the movement of any tile it's touching. Beside this Grasshopper it can jump; beside a Spider it would move three; and so on. On top of the Hive it acts only as a Beetle, and touching nothing but another Mosquito it can't move at all.

🐞 Ladybug — two on top, then down

Moves exactly three: two steps across the top of the Hive, then one step down into an empty cell. It always lands beside the second tile it crossed and never ends up on top.

💊 Pillbug — moves its neighbours

Slides one space like the Queen — or, instead of moving, it lifts an adjacent tile (friendly or enemy, blue) up and over itself into an empty neighbour (green). A tile that moved on the previous turn is "stunned" and can't be moved or move this turn.

Winning

Surround an opponent's Queen on all six sides — with tiles of either colour — to win.
If a single move surrounds both Queens at once, it's a draw.

Playing here

Games are asynchronous — close the tab and come back; your seat is saved in this browser.
Click one of your tiles (or a reserve tile) to light up its legal targets in green, then click a target.
Share the game link to invite an opponent; extra visitors spectate.
Sign in (optional) to track your wins, losses and draws.

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