H.i.v.e. (XBLIG): "A Visually Pleasing Strategic Board Game"

When I first got the request from Sean Colombo of "BlueLine Game Studios" I was honestly skeptical. I've seen board games come, and go on the XBLIG marketplace. I have even reviewed one or two of them here. For the most part the board game based indies you'll find are neat in their own respect, but these newer generations of gamers love the more ultra-violent, and action packed games offered today. It's a sad truth that becomes more evident with time. As I first got into the game via the solo aspect (2 Player Pass and Play) of "H.i.v.e." I thought, "Dude, what have I gotten myself into!?". Thankfully Sean Colombo (The Developer) was willing to play some online matches with me. After spending a little over 30 minutes playing five matches with him my thoughts turned from dread, to excitement. The game was both fun, and engaging. It's not often that you'll find an indie board game this fun. Hopefully through my following review I will be able to properly relay what this game is all about.

H.i.v.e. is a patented, and "for real" board game turned digital that deals with a highly detailed set of strategy based rules. The game itself offers three different modes of play. Two of those available modes include online/multiplayer versions of the game (2 Player Online & 2 Player?). The last available mode is called, "2 Player Pass-and-Play". It's for those players who don't mind sharing one control while taking turns locally. The setup for each mode is basic, and easy to understand. For the online multiplayer modes you'll be able to search for a match/session, or even create one if you like. Before you dive head first into the game though you will definitely need to spend some time getting yourself familiar with the rules of the game. These rules can be accessed from the main menu, or by pressing "Y" during an actual game session. In retrospect the game instructions can be likened to that of an RPG manual. The rules are definitely involved, and will likely require several readings to properly understand. Once I got in an actual match with the developer things did start to make sense though, and are not as complicated as I initially thought they were.

As previously mentioned "H.i.v.e" is a 2 player game. Each player takes control of either a white, or black set of playing pieces. The playable pieces are basically five different types of insects that each have a specific movement pattern. Included is a bee which acts as the game's main piece, a soldier ant, a beetle, a spider, and a grasshopper. Your goal, or aim of the game is to keep your bee pieces from being surrounded/captured by the opposing players insect pieces. The pedestals that each 3D rendered insect stand upon are a six sided, or honey comb shaped platform. As such it will ultimately take several insect pieces to completely surround the opposing player's bee. Keep in mind though that the opposing player's token placements can be used against them, especially if they have their own insect pieces surrounding their bee. I should also mention that there are a total of 11 game pieces per player, and all of them do not have to be played in order to win.

Since "H.i.v.e." is a 2 player game it is turn-based. To start off with each player will take turns choosing, and placing a selected insect piece on the playing field against the opposing player's piece. During each following turn the pieces played must always touch another game piece regardless of the color piece you choose to place it against. After your first couple of game piece placements you will be prompted to place your bee on the board if you haven't done so already. This is a mandatory step. As I said earlier there's a lot of strategy involved in this game, and you will have to learn the movement patterns of each insect in order to plat properly.

While I can't honestly go over the movement details as good as the in-game instructions do I will give you the basics. The most important game piece of all, otherwise known as the bee game piece must be placed on the playing field during the first few plays, and can be moved only one space at a time assuming it is not surrounded by other game pieces. A good strategy is to move the bee out of harm's way when it is close to being surrounded by the other player's insect pieces. The soldier ant game piece is a piece that offers more lengthy moves. Ultimately it allows you to move across multiple spaces at one time, assuming the piece is not surrounded, or blocked. The same goes for the spider game piece. One of the more unique game pieces though is the grasshopper. As the name of this insect suggests the game piece can leap across the playing field a certain number of spaces while skipping spaces between. Grasshoppers are good for sneaking into that final empty spot around an opposing player's bee. Last, but not least is the beetle game piece. This is likely the most unique, and most versatile game piece within the game. It's movement pattern is basically all the spaces that surround it. You can also place the beetle token on top of other pieces in order to prevent movement, or to sneak into a position for trapping the opposing player's bee. The only way to stop a beetle in it's tracks it to place another beetle on top of it.

When it comes to graphic presentation 'BlueLine Game Studios' definitely spared no expense. While the game is simple in nature the 3D models, and overall visual display are combined to give a top notch gaming experience. I loved the color coded insects, and the fact that there was not an actual visible game board below the game pieces. Even the music soundtrack was catchy. I found myself humming the tune as I battled it out with the developer. With everything considered this indie is definitely one of the more visually polished, and fun looking board games that I've played in quite a while. Once I learned how to play it properly, and got past my dread of understanding the in-game instructions I thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough with the game's creator. As far as recommending it goes I definitely think it's worth it, but there is a huge catch. At this time there's hardly anyone playing it online. It's a sad situation that often times happens to online indie games. As I mentioned earlier everyone is looking for that ultra-violent/action packed game. As such I can tell you it's worth it (because it truly is), but it'll mean nothing due to the lack of online players. Hopefully if enough people give this game the chance it deserves It'll become more popular, and in turn be worth playing. One can hope can't they?

OtakuDante vs SeanColombo (RESULTS):

1 DRAW
OtakuDante = 2 WINS
SeanColombo = 2 WINS