Setup
Each side has 11 tiles: one queen, two beetles, two spiders, three grasshoppers and three ants. ChessPlayX uses the tournament opening rule: neither player may place the queen as their first tile.
Hive
Surround the opposing queen in a growing hive with no fixed board.
No one is playing yet0 waiting rooms
Moves and captures
Place a reserve tile or move a tile already in the hive. New tiles must touch your own colour without touching the opponent, except for each side's first tile. Place your queen by your fourth turn and before moving any tile. If you can neither place nor move a tile, you must pass and your opponent moves again.
Winning and draws
Surround the opposing queen on all six sides to win, regardless of the colours surrounding it. If both queens become surrounded together, the game is drawn. Three occurrences of the same position within the last 32 individual turns also draw.
Special rules
The hive must always stay connected. Queens move one sliding step, spiders exactly three sliding steps, ants any sliding distance, grasshoppers jump straight over tiles, and beetles move one step and may climb stacks. Expansions are disabled.
Read the full guide
Board setup, special rules and winning conditions for Hive.
A piece that would disconnect the hive cannot move. A beetle on top controls the stack's colour for placement.
A quick guide to Hive
Read the Hive rulesWhat is Hive?
Hive is a two-player strategy game played with hexagonal insect tiles instead of a board. The goal is to surround the opposing queen. Each side has a queen bee, two beetles, two spiders, three grasshoppers and three ants. Players place or move tiles while keeping the hive connected, and each queen must be placed by its owner's fourth turn. A queen surrounded on all six sides loses.
When must you place the queen bee in Hive?
By your fourth turn at the latest, and you cannot move any tile until your queen is placed. ChessPlayX also uses the tournament opening rule, so neither player may place the queen as their first tile.
What happens in Hive when you cannot move or place a tile?
You must pass, and your opponent moves again. Passing is allowed only when no placement or movement is legal. Play continues this way until you can act again, a queen is surrounded, or the game is drawn.
How can a Hive game end in a draw?
In two ways on ChessPlayX: one move surrounds both queens at the same time, or the same position occurs three times within the last 32 individual turns. Otherwise the player whose queen is surrounded on all six sides, by tiles of any colour, loses.
How can I play with a friend?
Share one device for a local game, or choose the friend option above to create an online room and send its invitation. Online games need an internet connection. Local games are saved in this browser.
Play Hive on one deviceWhich rules apply here?
Hive. Read the setup, legal moves, special rules and end conditions before starting. The guide describes the variant used on ChessPlayX, including differences from other versions where relevant.
Read the Hive rulesCan I play against AI?
Choose AI mode to practice at your own pace. Start with a lower difficulty while learning the moves, then increase it when you can spot threats and plan your replies.