Simple Hex: A Two-Player Connection Game
Simple Hex is a captivating 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 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 mode features three difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard), and the AI can play first or second. Alternatively, you can play against a friend using separate devices ("Play with Friend") or share a single device ("Pass & Play"). While easy to learn, Simple Hex offers a challenging strategic depth.
An undo button lets you reverse your last move(s), although this feature is not yet available in AI mode. To balance the inherent first-player advantage, a "Steal Move" option allows the second player to switch places with the first player after the first move, preventing guaranteed wins. This option is also unavailable in AI mode.
Three board sizes (7x7, 9x9, and 11x11) provide a gradual increase in complexity, justifying the game's name: Simple Hex.
For more information on the game of Hex, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(board_game)
Special thanks to interns Saatvik Inampudi and Shoheb Shaik for their work on performance improvements to the AI algorithm in the first version. The current AI utilizes 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 difficulty level has been adjusted to be truly easy, and the medium level is now slightly easier.
