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 several modes: Play with AI, Play with a Friend (using separate devices), and Pass & Play (local multiplayer). The AI mode features three difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard), with the AI able to play first or second.
Simple Hex is deceptively challenging. While easy to pick up, mastering the game requires considerable skill. An undo button lets you reverse your last move(s) – although this feature is not yet available in AI mode.
To balance the inherent advantage of the first player, a "Steal Move" option allows the second player to switch places 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, hence 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 uses a "stable" unbounded best-first minimax game technique. For more details, connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsvemuri/
What's New in Version 0.45 (Last updated December 18, 2024):
- The easy AI difficulty level has been adjusted to be genuinely easy, and the medium level is now slightly easier.
