Review #2: Hive

# of Players: 2

Playtime: 0-30 minutes

Core Mechanic: Tile Placement

Theme: Insects
Type: Abstract

Weight: Light-Medium

Year: 2001

Rating: 8*

Place a tile or move a tile you've already placed. Protect your queen. Surround your opponent's queen. That's it. Very simple rules but underneath these rules is a very deep and tactical experience. This abstract tile placement game has held off most newcomers and as of this review sits just outside of the Top 10 Abstract Games and Top 200 Games of All-Time on BoardGameGeek over 15 years since it's release. Impressive.

This game is themed around a hive of insects protecting its own queen and attacking the enemy's (by surrounding it). As mentioned already, you and your opponent will be alternating turns, either placing a new hex tile into hive or moving an old one, until all six sides of one queen is surrounded either by friend or for and loses the game. With the exception of the first turn, new tiles can only placed in such a way that they only can touch friendly tiles. When moving tiles, you follow the rules of the tile without breaking the hive into multiple pieces.

Each side has the same team of insects that move in their own unique way to attack and defend. For example, in the base game, grasshoppers can jump over tiles, beetles can sit on other tiles to prevent them from moving, and ants can move anywhere. The way you take advantage of the special movements will determine if you're victorious or not. Remember, your queen just needs to be surrounded on all six sides whether they are your own tiles or your opponents. Placing a couple of your own tiles next to your queen might be a good idea so that you can move them away near the end game, but if they are trapped or moving them would break the hive then they are contributing to your own downfall.

There are a few different versions of this game available. Hive is the original version while Hive Carbon is a black and white version of the game. The version I recommend is Hive Pocket as it is highly portable, making it the perfect travel game thanks to it's quick playtime and small footprint since there is no board that needs to be carried around. If you ever get bored of the base game, there are three mini expansions that each add a new insect to spice up those movement rules, such as the mosquito that allows you to copy the ability of any adjacent insect. Note that Hive Carbon & Pocket include two of the expansions (Ladybug & Mosquito) with only Pillbug needing a separate purchase.

This game has been available for as long as I have been playing board games for but I only got around to playing it this year, even though it has long been on my radar and in my collection. It is a fantastic game worthy of anyone's collection and easily in my Top 100. It is a classic, so easily fits into the Essentials and Collector collections. Even though the rules are simple, I think there is enough depth that it can fit into a Heavyweight collection, but those simple rules make it a good Middleweight collection game as well. I've mulled a bit about using it as a gateway game because it is so straightforward, but after giving it some more thought there are some other good two-player games that would fit that category better. This game also could potentially be the leader in a new travel category!