How to Play Hex
Hex is a connection game played on a diamond-shaped board of hexagonal cells. Invented independently by mathematician Piet Hein in 1942 and Nobel laureate John Nash in 1948, Hex has mathematical elegance: it cannot end in a draw, and one player always has a winning strategy. Simple rules lead to profound strategic depth.
Objective
Connect your two opposite sides of the board with an unbroken chain of your stones. One player connects top-to-bottom, the other connects left-to-right. The chains can twist and turn. Only connection matters.
Setup
The standard board is an 11×11 rhombus of hexagonal cells. Two opposite sides are colored (or marked) for each player. The board starts empty. One player is assigned the North-South connection, the other East-West.
Gameplay
Players alternate placing one stone of their color on any empty cell. Stones are never moved or removed once placed. Play continues until one player completes a connection between their two sides.
Winning
Create an unbroken path of your stones connecting your two sides. The path can be any shape: zigzags, spirals, whatever works. Due to the board's geometry, every game must produce a winner; draws are impossible.
Learn, Play, and Have Fun!
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