This two-player game, Simple Hex, is all about making connections. The rules are straightforward, making it easy to learn quickly. Players choose red or blue and take turns coloring empty cells on the board. The objective is to 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 "Play with AI," "Play with Friend," and "Pass & Play" modes. The AI features three difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard) and can play first or second. Alternatively, play with a friend on a separate device or locally using "Pass & Play." Simple Hex is easy to learn but challenging to master. An undo button lets you reverse your last move(s), though this isn't yet available in AI mode.
A "Steal Move" option exists to balance the inherent first-player advantage in Hex. After the first player's initial move, the second player can switch positions. This forces the first player to make a move that doesn't guarantee a win. This feature is also unavailable in AI mode.
Three board sizes (7x7, 9x9, and 11x11) provide a progressive challenge, hence the name "Simple Hex." For more information on the game of Hex, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(board_game)
We thank interns Saatvik Inampudi and Shoheb Shaik for their work on performance improvements to the AI algorithm in the first version. The current AI uses a "stable" unbounded best-first minimax game technique. Learn more about it here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsvemuri/
What's New in Version 0.45 (Last updated Dec 18, 2024):
The easy AI level is now truly easy, and the medium level is slightly easier than before.
