Hive Pocket

Pocket Hive has become an essential part of our train journey entertainment, and my boyfriend and I absolutely love it! This compact and lightweight game has provided us with countless hours of fun and bonding on our travels. It’s Travel-Friendly: Its small size and lightweight design make it perfect for train journeys. Engaging Gameplay: Pocket Hive offers a unique and captivating gaming experience. Strategic Challenge: It's a game that keeps our minds sharp and entertained. Perfect for Couples: Ideal for couples looking to pass the time together. High Replayability: We never get tired of playing it; every match is different. Durable: Despite its compact size, the game pieces are well-made and durable. It’s definitely a game we don’t leave home without!

Hive is an enigma. It is a 2 player game that is simultaneously dead easy and intricately complex. A bit like a crossword puzzle designed for 5 year olds, written in Latin. The most similar game to Hive out at the moment, and for the last thousand years actually, is Chess. You each take turns to move (or place) one of the game pieces according to their individual movement rules in an effort to surround your opponents bee, (check mate, if you will) while preventing your opponent doing the same to you. Hive differs from Chess not in complexity, but duration. While a game of chess can be like 90 minutes wading through treacle with an ice pick lodged in your pre-frontal cortex, a game of Hive lasts aound 5 minutes. And because of this, it doesn't matter if you lose! You just play again. You can experiment with different strategies without fear of wasting an hour in the process. Speaking of strategies, this is where Hive really shows its strength. You are required to place your bee tile down in your first 4 turns, but on which turn you decide to do it makes a MASSIVE difference to the rest of the game. Do you wait until turn 4? You get to put out more pieces potentially setting yourself up better for the rest of the game, but you're not allowed to move any of your other pieces until you've placed your bee, potentially allowing your opponent to pin you in early. The short length of the average game means you can experiment and find what works for you, and there's no wrong way to do it (except putting your bee down on turn one, that's just mad). Decent two player games are very hard to come by. Patchwork is fun but a little on the 'luck driven' side of things. Dominion is good but people that have played lots of card games before will have a clear edge. Netrunner is magnificent but unless you have someone to teach you, is harder to learn than braille. Hive is easy to learn but impossible to master. It's cheap (in the world of games anyway), and you can easily play it in the pub, airport terminal, back seat, 5 star restaurant, lift, portaloo etc. This is as close to the perfect game as it's possible to get without making a deal with the Devil. (disclaimer - I accept no responsibility for lost game tiles while participating in portaloo gaming. Game responsibly)

I was torn between the 2 sizes and the 2 colour schemes. I decided upon the smaller size and the colour version. I have not been disappointed. The size is absolutely perfect, especially for travelling. In fact I would not want it any bigger. I think the colours are a personal choice and I am happy with the coloured tiles. The tiles look and feel of good quality and the travel bag they come with is great. I travel for work a lot and took this with me to teach to a friend and we both loved it. I did begin by playing without the 2 expansion pieces that come with this set to make it easier but I'm glad we had them as we soon wanted that extra challenge. The only downside is the instructions were in 4 languages none of which was English but we figured out how to play through a combination of pictures and the internet. It is a simple game with a lot of strategy. Each piece has a different movement with the aim being to completely surround the other persons queen. I would say the concept is similar to chess but it is quicker and much more fun!

Great game for those that like the idea of chess. However, this game is much more simple than chess (and arguably better for it). I had no problem playing with my partner who is not interested in chess whatsoever. Pros: - Full game in a pocket size (slightly smaller tiles than the original) - Comes with drawstring travel bag that is perfect for stuffing into your carry-on luggage - Mosquito and ladybird expansion tiles included (add a slight complexity for regular players) - Lovely coloured tiles (no idea why anyone would purchase the black/white version) - Perfect for playing almost anywhere: no board, just play anywhere with a flat surface! Cons: - I have spotted one other expansion that isn't included: pillbug. Would be nice for them to update this pack to include, rather than charge £7-11 (prices I can see right now) for two extra tiles. - Not a problem for me, but mine also came with slight marks underneath the tiles as others have commented. I don't think this is from previous use, but is instead an issue with manufacturing/storage. Barely noticeable anyway. Final thoughts: Excellent game, I would buy it again. The cons listed are very picky, but worth pointing out.

Super recomendado, principalmente porque contiene dos expansiones (mosquito y mariquita) mas economico que la version original y de cierta manera me gusta mas porque lo puedo llevar a cualquier lado y jugar en espacios pequeños (como mesas de bares o restaurantes incluso una banqueta). Los materiales excelentes, resistentes, lavables y del juego ni hablar, es super popular por lo simple pero a la vez tan rejugable, estilo ajedrez. Si me leen desde Mèxico comprenlo importado, sale 50-100 pesos mas barato y a mi me llego 3 dias antes de lo previsto. Trae dos instructivos ingles y frances pero en youtube hay muchos videos explicando las reglas si no llegas a manejar el idioma aunque para las reglas es bastante basico.

Hive ist ein fantastisches, strategisches Gesellschaftsspiel - im Segment der 1vs1 Spiele durchaus eines der besten Spiele auf dem Markt (für mein Empfinden). Es ähnelt im Groben dem Schachspiel. Es gibt zwei Fraktionen, schwarz und weiß, verschiedene Figuren (Insekten) mit verschiedenen Fähigkeiten und eine Königin, die es zu besiegen bzw. zu umzingeln gilt. Man spielt direkt auf dem Tisch, also ohne Spielbrett - was sehr praktisch ist für eine Mitnahme auf Reisen oder generell unterwegs. Das Spiel besteht lediglich aus "einer Hand voll" Spielsteinen, welche wunderbar in dem beiliegenden Säckchen verstaut werden können. Die Regeln sind nicht kompliziert, schnell erklärt und auch für jüngere Mitspieler kein Problem. Es fällt unter die Kategorie easy to learn, hard to master. Strategisch bietet dieses Spiel einem einige Möglichkeiten. Wer es schafft, die Zugmöglichkeiten des Gegners entsprechend vorherzusehen (also ähnlich wie auch beim Schach), der hat gute Karten das Spiel letztlich für sich zu entscheiden. Zeitansatz für eine Partie ca. plus minus 20 Minuten - doch wenn jemand nicht aufpasst, kann es natürlich auch mal schneller gehen oder sich bei zwei, starken Spielern etwas verlängern. Meine wärmste Empfehlung - kauft euch dieses Spiel! Geheimtipp: Erweitert das Spiel noch um die Assel. Die Assel bringt weitere, taktische Tiefe ins Spiel und bietet eine starke Antwort auf "die Käferbombe" - ein Spielzug, bei dem der Hirschkäfer sich auf der Königin niederlässt und diese fixiert. Ein starker und fast spielentscheidender Zug, der besser im Vorfeld verhindert werden sollte. Oder man hat eben die besagte Assel in der Nähe ;)...

A travel version of Hive with all the add ons Vs the original version, this set is actually more worthwhile and easier to set up - though the pieces move easily out of place as it is lighter. Take time to learn the rules and you're off to a good time if your opponent is similarly skilled :)

Lättare att lära sig en chess..

Super