Hex Board Game Online Free
Blue joins the left and right edges, Red joins the top and bottom. Take turns placing a stone on any empty hexagon. The first unbroken chain wins.
Tap a hexagon to preview your stone, then tap it again to place it.
What is Hex?
Hex is a two-player connection game played on a rhombus of hexagons. Each player owns two opposite edges. Players take turns placing one stone on any empty hexagon, and the first to build an unbroken chain of their stones between their two edges wins. Stones never move or get captured.
It was invented by the Danish mathematician Piet Hein in 1942 and again by John Nash in 1948. Hex is famous in mathematics because it can never end in a draw: when the board is full, exactly one player has a chain. Nash also proved that the first player can always win with perfect play, although nobody knows how on big boards.
How to play Hex Board Game
- Blue moves first and connects the left and right edges. Red connects the top and bottom. The coloured borders show whose edge is whose.
- On your turn, place one stone on any empty hexagon. Stones stay where they are for the rest of the game.
- Each hexagon touches six others. A chain is a line of your stones where each one touches the next.
- The first player to link their two edges with a chain wins. Hex can’t end in a draw. Play against the computer at Easy, Medium or Hard, or choose 2 Players to take turns on one device. Undo takes back your last move, and an unfinished game is saved if you leave the page.
Hex Board Game skills
- Planning several moves ahead
- Spatial reasoning
- Attack and defence at the same time
Level: Ages 7 and up
Tips for Hex
Start in or near the centre. A central stone can head towards either of your edges.
Use bridges: two of your stones with two empty hexagons between them. If your opponent takes one, take the other, and the two stones stay connected.
Blocking and attacking are the same thing in Hex. A stone that stops your opponent’s chain is usually also part of yours.
Don’t block right next to an enemy stone; block a little ahead of it, where it has room to go around you.
Hex Board Game questions and answers
How do you play Hex?
Players take turns placing a stone on any empty hexagon. Blue tries to connect the left and right edges, Red the top and bottom. The first player to make an unbroken chain between their two edges wins.
Can a game of Hex end in a draw?
No. When the board is full, one player must have a connecting chain, because the only way to block your opponent completely is to connect your own sides. This is known as the Hex theorem.
Who invented Hex?
Piet Hein, a Danish mathematician and poet, invented it in 1942. John Nash, the mathematician from the film A Beautiful Mind, came up with it independently in 1948 at Princeton.
Does the first player always win at Hex?
With perfect play, yes. John Nash proved it with a “strategy-stealing” argument: an extra stone can never hurt you, so the second player can’t have a winning strategy. Tournament players use the swap rule to balance this; this version doesn’t.
What size board should I use?
Start on 7 × 7 for quick games. The classic tournament board is 11 × 11, where games take longer and bridges matter much more.