The game of Hex

Hex rules

1. Players choose a colour and take turns. On each turn one counter is placed in an empty hexagonal cell.
2. Counters may not be moved except with the swap rule.
3. The first player to form a connected path of their counters linking the opposing sides of the board marked by their colour wins.
4. The four corner hexagons belong to both adjacent sides.
5. Swap rule: on their first move the second player may move normally, or choose to swap their piece with that placed by the first player. [This encourages the first player to only choose a moderately strong first move and so reduces any advantage of going first. Ignore the swap rule for the first few games.]

Basic strategy

• Play defensively: defence is also attack.
• Use bridges to make connections between your pieces and simultaneously to block your opponent.
• If you can think of a strong response to your own move then look for a better one!
• Never give up the game until it is clearly over but abandon areas of the board which are hopeless.

More strategy

• Further discussion of strategy.
• Templates are the most important strategic units.
• For more information see
  • C. Browne. Hex Strategy: Making the Right Connections. A K Peters/CRC Press, 2000.
  • R. B. Hayward and B. Toft. Hex: The Full Story CRC Press, 2019.

Hex resources

• A4 paper hex board (PDF), for 15mm diameter counters.
• Hex set from Nestor Games
• Hexy, is available from http://vanshel.com/Hexy is a worthy opponent.
• Hexomania is available for the Mac.