#gen42

È la trasposizione più moderna, riuscita e dinamica del gioco degli scacchi, nonché il miglior gioco astratto degli ultimi anni: la scacchiera si genera in modo fluido, in base agli spostamenti delle tessere, mentre le strategie sono meno mnemoniche e codificate, grazie alla possibilità di scegliere di volta in volta quale pedina calare. Ottima la versione "pocket", facilmente trasportabile e realizzata con ottimi materiali.

RSVP: "Scacchi", "Qwirkle".

Of all the games I own, Catan is my oldest, of course, but which have I played the most? It would be hard not to argue that Hive, the Gen42 game of ants, beetles and bees would be #1 on that list. If I've played less than 50 games of it, colour me surprised. The longevity is partly that it is one of the few truly portable 2-player games I own, but the other part  is that it's a fiendish, brilliantly designed and beautifully executed puzzler, and I love it dearly. 

But enough about that - How are the mechanics?

The strategy is the key

It's hard to talk about the mechanics of a game as rigidly abstract as Hive without also talking about the strategy, entangled as they are, so to avoid that trap I'll just begin by talking about how it plays.

The game is, as I said, an abstract game about the surrounding of an opponent's queen bee. During the game your spiders, ants, beetles and grasshoppers move around the ’board’ (you will see the purpose of the quotation marks in just a second), trying to pin down the opponent’s bee.

Each type of bug moves in a different way. The spider, for instance, can move three spaces in either direction, and the beetle can clamber over other pieces, but can only go one space on a turn. If you can make your opponent's hexagonal bee have a piece (your’s or your opponent’s) on each of her six sides, the game is over, and you are victorious.

I said “board” in that patronising quotation earlier because there is no board. But I think that is so important it deserves its own section.

There is no board

Yes, it's true. Hive does not have a board, which is what makes it so incredibly devious, and brilliantly portable. Each hexagonal piece you place must be attached to a piece you have already placed (except the first, of course, or the game couldn't begin). This repeated action makes up a network of connected hexagonal pieces, which in turn make up the board.

This is so beautifully designed because this created honeycomb board is now the playing arena, so every placed piece actually affects the game in at least 3 ways:

1. Each piece that is played is now an attacking piece in your army, and can be moved each turn.

2. The piece that is played affects the make-up of the board, helping or hindering other pieces' movement. 

3. Pieces played can stop other pieces moving at all, because of the “one hive” rule, which pretty much affects everything in the game at all times.

The “One Hive” Rule

The 'one hive' rule is what makes the game tick, its beating heart. The 'board' you are creating cannot be split in two - any piece that would cause it's split by being moved cannot be. It takes a few games to understand how crucial this aspect of the game is, but it effectively dictates everything you do because:

1. Pieces can easily become trapped by being a supporting pillar of the game board.

2. Opponents will take advantage of this fact by forcing 4 of your pieces to take this supporting role in one move (if you are very careless). Trapping pieces in this way becomes the principal method of attack in a game where there is no "taking" of pieces (you cannot remove an opponent's piece from the board in any circumstance). 

The game becomes a tense game of cat and mouse (spider and fly?) as you try to trap as many opposing pieces as is physically possible. In broad strokes? The person with the most freely available pieces will win the game. It's that important.

It would be easy (and could even seem lazy) to say that Hive's closest relative is Chess. But it has to be said because it is true. Not only do the piece's movement feel familiar - each bug moves in a specific way, and each has a task to perform - but there are other similarities. Both games mix tactics and strategy, with short term moves revealing larger ideas as the end games come into sight. Both have "cluster-fights", where small areas of the board become very important as you pile pieces in to help with the fight. And both brilliantly reward cleverness with a delightful feeling of IQ-superiority. 

Personal Opinion: Hive is an abstract, and so by it's nature can seem the smallest bit dry, and you need to be in the correct mood for it. But when you are, games can be electric. It's a game that removes everything but pure skill from the equation - it's your brain against your opponents. This is stressful, and so not for everybody, but the satisfaction from holding fort against a swarming enemy is next to almost none on my gaming shelf. It's amazing how long you can hold out in what seems a hopeless situation. Get good at pinning enemy pieces, and a game will never be truly over until it's over.