Difference between revisions of "Rules"

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== Shape of the board ==
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The [[Board|Hex board]] is composed of [[hexagon]]s arranged in an ''n'' × ''n'' [[Wikipedia:Rhombus|rhombus]], where ''n'' is an integer greater than zero. This allows for Hex to be played on boards of various [[Board size|sizes]], with the most common being 11 × 11, 13 × 13, and 19 × 19. The [[edge]]s of the board are colored with two colors, with parallel edges having the same color. The board is empty at the start of the game. On the left you can see an empty Hex board.
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The [[Hex]] [[board]] is composed of [[hexagon]]s, arranged in an ''n × n'' [[Wikipedia:Rhombus|rhombus]], where ''n'' is an integer greater than one. Thus Hex can be played on boards of different sizes, and which size is considered standard varies. [[Piet Hein]] used a board of size 11, while [[John Nash]] settled on size 14. Nowadays people usually use the sizes that are available on [[Online playing|game sites]] on the Internet offering Hex. [http://games.wtanaka.com/hex Games.wtanaka.com] uses sizes 11, 14 and 19; [[Little Golem]] offers the sizes 13 and 19. (See the article [[Board size]] for more.)
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It is also possible to play on boards of size ''m × n'' where ''m'' and ''n'' are distinct integers, but in this case a winning strategy is known for the player with shortest distance between his sides.
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<hexboard size="5x5" float="left" />
  
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This is how a typical Hex board looks:
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Hex is played by two [[player]]s, who take turns placing a single stone on the board. One player uses red stones and the other uses blue stones. The objective of the game is for a player to build a solid chain between their designated edges (red for one player and blue for the other). The game is guaranteed to end with a winner as it is impossible for one player to surround one edge of the opponent without connecting their own two edges. On the right you see an example of a win by the player who placed the red stones.
  
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<hex>B:on</hex>
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<hexboard size="5x5" float="right" contents="R d1 B e1 R c2 B d2 R c3 B d3 R c4 R d4 B b5 B c5 R d5" />
  
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== Playing the game ==
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To balance the game, the "[[swap rule]]" or "pie rule" is used at the start of the game. The first player places a red stone on the board, and then the second player chooses which player will use the red stones and which will use the blue stones. This ensures that the first player does not have a significant advantage.
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Hex is played by two players, who take turns placing pieces on the board. The players have different colours, say red and blue. (The players themselves are sometimes referred to as [[Red (player)|Red]] and [[Blue (player)|Blue]]) The four [[Edge|edges]] of the board are coloured with the same colours, in such a way that parallel edges have the same colour. Red wins if he can build a continuous chain between the two red edges, and blue wins if he can build such a chain between the blue edges.
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Example: the following diagram shows a game after the first three moves.
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Overall, the strategy of the game is to connect one's designated edges while preventing the opponent from doing the same. Detailed strategies can be found on the [[strategy]] page.
  
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<hex>
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[[Category: Definition]]
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R5 C5 Q1 B:on
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[[Category: Rules and Conventions]]
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N:on c3 b5 d4
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</hex>
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The next diagram shows the rest of the game.
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<hex>
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R5 C5 Q1 B:on
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Rc3 Bb5 Rd4 N:on c4 d3 d5 c5 c2 d2 d1 e1
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</hex>
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Red has won this game, since he has built a connection from the top to the bottom.
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== The [[swap rule]] ==
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The above rules give a strong advantage to the [[first player]]. Because of this, the [[swap rule]] (also called the Pie rule) was introduced. Suppose that Red is to make the first move. Then the first player places a Red piece on the board, in any cell he likes. After that, the second player decides who will play Red and who will play Blue. Then whoever was decided to be blue makes the next move, and the game continues normally (that's how it works at [http://games.wtanaka.com/hex games.wtanaka.com] and [http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv pbmserv]).
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Another possibility to swap (without changing sides of each player) is to make a [[Piece swap|piece swap]]. That is, the second player in his first move may remove the first stone which was placed on field with coordinates (x;y) and place his/her own stone on field (y;x). That's how it works at [[Little Golem]]. These two ways of swapping are effectively the same.
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== Beyond the rules ==
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For more information on how best to utilize the rules, see [[Strategy]].
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Latest revision as of 14:01, 20 January 2023

The Hex board is composed of hexagons arranged in an n × n rhombus, where n is an integer greater than zero. This allows for Hex to be played on boards of various sizes, with the most common being 11 × 11, 13 × 13, and 19 × 19. The edges of the board are colored with two colors, with parallel edges having the same color. The board is empty at the start of the game. On the left you can see an empty Hex board.

abcde12345

Hex is played by two players, who take turns placing a single stone on the board. One player uses red stones and the other uses blue stones. The objective of the game is for a player to build a solid chain between their designated edges (red for one player and blue for the other). The game is guaranteed to end with a winner as it is impossible for one player to surround one edge of the opponent without connecting their own two edges. On the right you see an example of a win by the player who placed the red stones.

abcde12345

To balance the game, the "swap rule" or "pie rule" is used at the start of the game. The first player places a red stone on the board, and then the second player chooses which player will use the red stones and which will use the blue stones. This ensures that the first player does not have a significant advantage.

Overall, the strategy of the game is to connect one's designated edges while preventing the opponent from doing the same. Detailed strategies can be found on the strategy page.

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