Hive is a two-player-only abstract strategy game from Gen42 Games, listed at 20 minutes for ages 9 and up. It has no board: 22 tactile tiles form the playing surface as they are placed. The published box is 210mm x 210mm x 50mm. Surround the opposing queen bee to win.
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Hive is the most durable game on this site. There is no board, no cards, no dice and nothing to lose -- 22 tiles in a bag, and the rules take two minutes. It has been in print for two decades on the strength of the design alone.
It is also the only game here you can genuinely play anywhere: a table, a bed, a rock, the ground. The pieces build the board as you place them.
The one-hive rule does the work
Every piece must stay connected to every other piece at all times. You may not make a move that splits the hive, even for an instant.
That single constraint is what turns a simple placement game into something with real depth. Pieces become pinned not by being attacked but by being structurally load-bearing -- move that beetle and the hive breaks, so it cannot move at all. Half of good Hive is manoeuvring so that the opponent's most useful pieces are the ones holding everything together.
The queen bee rule closes it. You must place your queen within your first four turns, and she is the piece you are protecting, so you are forced to commit your most vulnerable piece early.
02Published dimensions, and the pocket question
Gen42 states the standard set at 210mm x 210mm x 50mm with 24 parts in total, including a travel bag and the rules leaflet. Hive Pocket is 140mm x 140mm x 50mm with 28 parts.
The pocket edition is smaller and includes pieces the standard box does not, at roughly the same price. Unless you specifically want the larger tiles in hand -- and they are noticeably nicer -- Hive Pocket is the better buy, which is an unusual thing to be able to say about a travel edition.
03Who should skip it
Skip it if abstract games leave you cold. There is no theme to carry you through a bad position: when you are losing at Hive you are simply losing, visibly, with nothing to blame.
Skip it too if there is a real skill gap and it bothers you. Perfect information and zero luck means the better player wins essentially every time. That is the game working as designed, and it is exactly wrong for some households.
What we would buy
Picks drawn from the games covered on this site, chosen against the criteria above.
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2 players · 20 minutes · ages 9 and up
Chess without a board, in tactile tiles, and it survives the hundredth game better than most.
A two-player-only abstract strategy game with no board: 22 tactile tiles that build the playing surface as you place them. Surround the opposing queen bee to win.
- 2
- 20 minutes
- 9 and up
- Gen42 Games
- 210mm x 210mm x 50mm
Skip it if abstract games leave you cold. There is no theme here to carry you through a bad position.
Specs from Hive - Gen42 Games (publisher).
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2 players · 20 minutes · ages 9 and up
The same game as Hive in a box barely wider than a postcard, and it ships with two extra pieces.
The travel edition of Hive. 26 tactile pieces in a 140mm box with a soft travel bag, including two pieces the standard set sells separately.
- 2
- 20 minutes
- 9 and up
- Gen42 Games
- 140mm x 140mm x 50mm
Skip it if you play at a real table every time. The full-size tiles feel better in the hand and cost about the same.
Specs from Hive Pocket - Gen42 Games (publisher).
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2 players · 15 minutes · ages 14+
Perfect information, sixteen move cards, and a rules explanation that takes under two minutes.
A two-player-only abstract on a 5x5 grid. Five move cards are in play at once and they physically pass between the two of you, so arming yourself always arms the opponent.
- 2
- 15 minutes
- 14+
- Arcane Wonders
Skip it if you dislike losing to a mistake you can see clearly in hindsight. Nothing is hidden, so every loss is yours.
Specs from Onitama - Arcane Wonders (publisher).
