🆕 New Player? Start Here
Recommended first setup: choose a smaller Play Area (6×6 to 8×8), keep Pie Rule enabled, and start around ELO 500-1000.
- Open Board Size and set Play Area to 6×6, 7×7, or 8×8.
- Use Difficulty preset or slider to tune strength up/down.
- If you want move guidance, enable Board Heatmap.
Smaller boards make games faster and tactical ideas easier to spot, so they are usually the best way to learn.
🎯 Object of the Game
Hex is a strategy game where both players try to connect opposite sides of the board.
- Blue connects top to bottom.
- Red connects left to right.
- First player to form an unbroken chain wins.
📋 Basic Rules
1. Taking Turns
Players alternate placing one stone at a time. Blue always moves first.
2. Placing Stones
Click or tap an empty hex to place your stone. Stones cannot be moved or removed.
3. Winning
Build a continuous path between your target sides before your opponent does.
💡 Hex has no draws: one side always has a winning connection.
🎲 Board Size (Play Area)
Use Board Size → Play Area to choose the active board from 13×13 down to 2×2.
- Smaller boards: faster games, clearer tactics, easier for beginners.
- Larger boards: deeper strategy and longer planning.
- Changing board size starts a fresh game using the selected play area.
🥧 Pie Rule (Swap)
The pie rule balances first-move advantage.
- Blue places the first stone.
- Red can continue as Red or swap sides with Blue.
- When enabled in Snowflake 25, the AI can make this swap decision on move 1.
If a swap happens, no new stone is placed. Only side assignment changes.
🎮 Main Controls
- Undo / Redo: Step backward and forward through moves.
- Computer Move: Ask the AI to play the current turn.
- New Game: Reset the board with current settings.
- Rules: Open this guide page.
- Dark toggle: Switch between light and dark themes.
✨ New Features
Difficulty Slider + Presets
Set AI strength with a preset label or a custom ELO value. Higher ELO means stronger play.
Board Heatmap
Enable the heatmap to visualize move quality for the current player. You can inspect top-K candidates or all legal moves.
Player Toggles
Choose whether Blue and/or Red are controlled by the computer. This supports human vs AI, AI vs AI, or local analysis.
Game Sequence (TRMPH)
Copy the current move sequence or paste one to jump to a position directly.