Hex

Hex is a two-player abstract strategy game played on a rhombus-shaped board of hexagonal cells. One of the purest connection games, it has extremely simple rules but deep strategy. Unlike most games, Hex cannot end in a draw.

Connect your two opposite sides of the board with an unbroken chain of your pieces.

The game is played on an 11x11 diamond-shaped board of hexagons (sizes vary from 7x7 to 19x19). Each player is assigned two opposite edges of the board. Black connects top-to-bottom, Red (or White) connects left-to-right.

1. Players alternate placing one piece of their color on any empty cell.
2. Once placed, pieces never move or get captured.
3. Try to build a connected path from your edge to your opposite edge.
4. Block your opponent from completing their connection.
5. Adjacent hexagons share an edge (each hex has six neighbors).
6. The swap rule may be used: after the first move, the second player can choose to swap colors instead of placing a piece.

Win by creating a continuous chain of your pieces connecting your two opposite sides. It's mathematically proven that the game cannot end in a draw - one player must win.

• *The center is powerful - it can potentially contribute to paths in any direction.
• *Build bridge connections (two pieces separated by two cells) - they create virtually connected chains.
• *Look for forcing moves that threaten two connections simultaneously.
• *Edge templates are reliable patterns for connecting to your edge regardless of opponent's moves.
• *When defending, focus on which connections you can still block, not on saving every threatened piece.
• *The first player has a theoretical winning strategy, hence the swap rule is used for balance.

Hex was invented independently by mathematicians Piet Hein (1942) and John Nash (1948). Nash proved that the first player has a winning strategy, though finding it is computationally hard.