How to play hive, with John Yianni
How to play Hive: Novice play-through, with John Yianni
Is the Game Hive the Next Chess?
The game Hive, in which players control bugs of different types, has unique tactics, but it echoes some concepts from chess. - WSJ
Hive is a two-player abstract strategy game played with hexagonal tiles representing insects. There is no board—players build the playing area by placing pieces that must stay connected (“one hive” rule). The goal is to completely surround the opponent’s Queen Bee. Each piece has unique movement:
Queen Bee moves one space
Ants slide any distance along the edge
Grasshoppers jump over the hive
Beetles climb on top of other pieces
Spiders move exactly three spaces
Hive delivers chess-like depth—perfect information, foresight, piece coordination, and tactical pinning/blocking—while offering major modern advantages: rules learnable in minutes, games typically last 10–20 minutes, extreme portability (especially the Pocket edition), and an engaging bug theme that feels fresher than medieval chess. The article argues these qualities could help Hive gain cultural ground in today’s faster-paced world.
