Sunday, January 1, 2012

Quick Review - Hive

First post of the new year

So we've been having plenty of fun post-XMas. The boys got Hive, from a gramma. Hive is a great game. It's simple to learn, but with all the permutations, it has some interesting depth to it.


The pieces are made from bakelite, giving them some nice weight and durability. The set comes with a vinyl travel case making it idea to play pretty much anywhere, any 2' square or circular table should be sufficient.





The goal is to surround your opponent's queen bee; though the queen can be surrounded by either players pieces, if she's completely surrounded, it's game over. The other 4 pieces are as follows: The grass hopper of course jumps, it can jump any number of spaces, but can move around the hive, or over open space, it only jumps over tiles. The spider moves 3 spaces, no more, no less. The beetle is the most specialized piece, it can move over the top of the hive, locking pieces into place, especially useful for pinning down the queen to surround her. The last piece it the workhorse, or workant, the soldier ant can move any number of spaces around the hive, it is the equivalent to the Queen in chess. The ant is good for pinning other ants and making quick strikes into enemy territory. 

The game is for ages 8 and up, it says playing time is 20-30 minutes on the box, but I think only the first learning games we played ever lasted close to 20 minutes. The game is also a MENSA select winner. It's quickly become a favorite in the house, and I'm sure it will be popular at gaming club as well.


The game seems to just be getting better, with 2 expansions available, the doppleganger like mosquito, and the flitting Ladybug, which moves similar to a knight in chess, but hive-like as it moves on 2 on top of the hive, then back down.

This is an awesome game, that isn't that expensive. Running around $29.99 for the Color edition, or $33.99 for the Carbon edition, (black & white edition, that INCLUDES the mosquito and lady bug pieces). 

I know I've seen it at At Ease Games, going to look around to see if it's a the other stores. 




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