Simple Hex: A Two-Player Connection Game
Simple Hex is an engaging 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 game board. The objective is to create a continuous path of your colored cells connecting 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 mode provides three difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard), and the AI can play as either the first or second player. Alternatively, you can play against a friend using separate devices ("Play with Friend") or share a single device in "Pass & Play" mode.
While simple to learn, Simple Hex offers a challenging strategic depth. An undo button lets you reverse your last move(s) – though this feature is not yet available in AI mode.
Steal Move Feature: Since the first player holds a significant advantage in Hex, the second player can choose 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 unavailable in AI mode.
Three board sizes (7x7, 9x9, and 11x11) provide a gradual increase in complexity and game length.
More Information: Learn more about the game of Hex at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(board_game)
Acknowledgements: 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. For more information on this, contact me at: 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.
