Hive® is game designed by John Yianni and published in 2001 by Gen42 Games.

It’s a two player turn based strategic game with a difference. There is no board! The hexagonal shaped pieces are added to the playing area thus creating the board. The goal is to surround the opposing player’s queen bee on all six sides.

Each player takes control of an excitingly diverse swarm of creepy crawlies to place and move around: 1 yellow queen bee, 1 grey mosquito, 1 red Ladybug, 1 teal pillbug, 2 green grasshoppers, 2 purple beetles, 2 brown spiders, 3 blue ants. Each has their own special move pattern and ability:

The ant can move anywhere around the outside of the hive.

The beetle can only move one space at a time – but it can crawl up on top of the hive as well (the tile below it is hidden and cannot move).

The grasshopper can jump over the hive to the next vacant space ahead of it.

The mosquito tile adapts its movement abilities throughout the game by mimicking the movement ability of a tile that it is touching at the start of your turn (either belonging to you or an opponent). For example, if it is touching a grasshopper it can jump in a straight line ahead. If it mimics a beetle, it remains as a beetle until it moves down off of the hive.

The ladybug moves exactly two spaces on top of the hive before using its third move to climb down off the hive into a vacant space (it cannot end its turn on top of the hive).

The pillbug tile’s basic movement ability is to move one space at a time. However, it also has an ability that it can use instead of moving where it can pick up an adjacent tile (either belonging to you or an opponent), move it up on top of itself and then put it down in an adjacent vacant space.

The queen bee can only move one space at a time.

The spider moves three spaces at a time, no more, no less.

There are a number of other rules in place:

• When placing down a new piece (except your very first piece), it must touch a piece of your colour and must not touch a piece belonging to your opponent.
• You must place the queen bee down within your first four turns, but never on your first turn.
• Pieces cannot be moved until the queen bee is in play.
• All pieces must stay connected to each other. A move that would separate pieces from the hive is considered illegal. This is the ‘One Hive Rule’.
• Pieces (except pieces that jump or crawl on top of the hive) can only be moved if they can slide out of position without moving any other piece to do so. This is the ‘Freedom to Move Rule’.

Players will be taking turns placing and moving pieces until one of the queen bee pieces is completely surrounded.

The official updated rules (2024) are available here.