Simple Hex: A Two-Player Connection Game
Simple Hex is a captivating two-player connection game with straightforward rules, making it easy to learn. Players choose red or blue and take turns coloring empty cells on the board. The objective? Create a connected path of your colored cells linking opposite sides of the board. The first player to complete this connection wins.
The game offers diverse gameplay options:
- Play with AI: Challenge yourself against three AI difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard). The AI can start or go second.
- Play with Friends: Enjoy head-to-head competition with a friend using separate devices.
- Pass & Play: Engage in local multiplayer on a single device.
Simple Hex is deceptively challenging. While easy to pick up, mastering the game requires strategic thinking. An undo button allows you to retract your last move(s) – though this feature is currently unavailable in AI mode.
Strategic Element: Steal Move
To balance the inherent first-player advantage in Hex, the second player has the option to swap positions with the first player after the first move. This forces the first player to make a move that doesn't guarantee a win. This option is also not available in AI mode.
Board Sizes:
We've included three board sizes (7x7, 9x9, and 11x11) to provide a gradual increase in complexity and playtime.
More about Hex:
For a deeper understanding of the game of Hex, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(board_game)
Acknowledgements:
We extend our gratitude to interns Saatvik Inampudi and Shoheb Shaik for their contributions to performance improvements in the AI algorithm's initial version. The current AI uses a "stable" unbounded best-first minimax game technique. For more information on this, please connect with me on https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsvemuri/.
What's New in Version 0.45 (Last updated Dec 18, 2024):
- The easy difficulty level has been adjusted to be genuinely easy, and the medium level is now slightly easier.
