HIVE

How to play Hive

Hive, by John Yianni, has no board: the pieces themselves are the playing field. Two players, eleven bugs each (fourteen with the expansions), and one goal. These pages follow the official rules and their tournament clarifications. Every board here is live, so tap around.

the Queen Beesurround her to winSoldier Antgoes anywhereGrasshopperjumps in a lineBeetleclimbs on top

The aim

Surround your opponent's Queen Bee on all six sides. Pieces of either colour count. If both Queens are surrounded by the same move, it's a draw.

There's no luck and no hidden information. On each turn you either place a new piece from your hand, or move one already in the hive.

Each player has 1 Queen Bee, 2 Spiders, 2 Beetles, 3 Grasshoppers and 3 Soldier Ants. The Mosquito, Ladybug and Pillbug expansions add one of each.

Placing

  • White places first. The second piece of the game just has to touch the first.
  • After that, a new piece may only touch your own colour, never an opponent's.
  • Your Queen must be in the hive by your fourth turn.
  • Tournament opening (on by default): neither player may place their Queen on their very first turn.
  • Placed pieces never leave the game.
1234
Queen down by turn 4

Moving

You can move pieces once your Queen is placed. Every move must obey two laws:

One Hive

The hive must stay in one connected piece, even while a piece is moving. A piece holding two halves together is pinned.

lift it: the hive splits

Freedom to Move

Pieces slide; they can't squeeze through a gap between two pieces. Climbers and jumpers (Beetle, Grasshopper, Ladybug) get over it.

too tight to slip in

The bugs

Each specimen below is a real position. The coloured cells show where the highlighted bug can go; tap one to watch it move.

Queen Bee

Apis regina · 1 per player

Moves exactly one space around the edge of the hive. Must be placed by your fourth turn, and nothing of yours can move until she's down.

Field note. Keep at least two open sides around her. A Queen with room can step out of a closing trap, a Queen boxed in by her own pieces cannot.

Beetle

Coleoptera scandens · 2 per player

Moves one space, but can climb onto the hive and walk along the top. Whatever it sits on is pinned, and the stack counts as the Beetle's colour.

Field note. A Beetle on top of the enemy Queen both pins her and fills one of her six sides. Beetles can also climb onto Beetles.

Grasshopper

Saltator rectus · 3 per player

Jumps in a straight line over one or more pieces and lands in the first empty space. It ignores the Freedom to Move rule.

Field note. The finisher. It can leap into a gap next to a Queen that no sliding piece can reach.

Spider

Araneus tripes · 2 per player

Slides exactly three spaces, no more and no less, never backtracking, staying in contact with the hive.

Field note. Slow but surgical: count three steps and it often reaches a pocket the Ants have overlooked.

Soldier Ant

Formica militaris · 3 per player

Slides any number of spaces around the outside of the hive. It can't squeeze through gaps or slip into enclosed spaces.

Field note. The most valuable bug. Pin enemy Ants early by surrounding them, and keep yours free for the decisive moment.

Mosquito

Culex imitator · 1 per player (expansion)

Has no movement of its own: it copies any bug it touches, friend or foe. Once on top of the hive it moves like a Beetle until it comes down. Next to only a Mosquito it can't move.

Field note. Its value depends on its neighbours. Parked next to an Ant it's a second Ant; next to a Pillbug it can lift pieces too.

Ladybug

Coccinella saltans · 1 per player (expansion)

Moves three spaces: two on top of the hive, then one down. It must take all three steps and may drop into enclosed spaces.

Field note. Brilliant for reaching the far side of the hive in one move, or dropping straight into a Queen's last open side.

Pillbug

Armadillidium levator · 1 per player (expansion)

Moves one space like the Queen. Or, instead, it uses its special ability: lift an adjacent piece (either colour) over itself and drop it on another empty space next to it. It can't lift a stacked piece, a piece that would split the hive, or the piece your opponent just moved, and the lifted piece is stunned for a turn.

Field note. The great defender: throw an attacker away from your Queen, or move your own Queen out of a trap. Here White's Pillbug can throw Black's Ant.

Finer points

Stunned pieces
A piece that was just moved (including one thrown by a Pillbug) can't be moved or thrown by the Pillbug on the very next turn.
thrown, then stunned
Stacks
Only the top piece of a stack can move. A Beetle's stack counts as the Beetle's colour for placing. Stacks also block sliding at height: two tall stacks form a gate.
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top bug owns the stack
Passing
If you have no legal move or placement at all, you must pass. You can't pass otherwise.
pass
nothing legal? pass
Draws
Both Queens surrounded at once, or by agreement. Endless shuffling isn't an automatic draw in the official rules (there's a variant for that).
both at once: a draw
Click any piece
On this site, clicking an opponent's piece shows where it could go on their next turn (dashed red ink). A piece that can't move tells you why.
tap theirs: see its reach
Hints
Stuck? The Hint button asks the engine for a suggestion in CPU and pass-and-play games.
a nudge from the engine

Variants

The start screen's Advanced rules drawer lets you change the game. The CPU opponents adapt to all of these; rated games always use the official rules.

Hive Lite

Fewer pieces (one of each bug, two Ants). Shorter and great for learning.

5/6
Swarm

A Queen falls when 5 of her 6 sides are covered. Fast and aggressive.

Sundown

A turn limit: when it's reached, the less-surrounded Queen wins.

123
Early Queen

Queens must be placed by turn 3 instead of 4.

Repetition draw

A position occurring for the third time ends the game in a draw.

5
Custom counts

Set how many of each bug both players get.

Notation

Moves use the Universal Hive Protocol notation shared by most Hive software. Pieces are named by colour, bug and number: wQ, bA2. A move names the piece and its destination next to a piece already in the hive: bS1 wQ- is "Black Spider 1 to the right of the White Queen". The marks -, / and \ before or after the reference give the six directions; wB1 bQ means the Beetle climbs onto the Black Queen. Copy any game's notation from the game screen, and paste one into the start screen to load it.

wQ-wQ\/wQ-wQ\wQwQ/
Ready for the wild?

Test yourself on puzzles, or start with Pip the Pillbug, the gentlest opponent in the garden.

PuzzlesPlay a game