Hive Pocket

Why Hive Pocket.

Hive is an abstract strategy game for two players with no board: the tiles themselves are the playing area. Each piece is an insect with its own movement rule. The queen bee shuffles one space, ants sprint anywhere around the outside edge, grasshoppers jump straight over lines of tiles, beetles climb on top of other pieces and pin them, and spiders move exactly three spaces. You win by completely surrounding the opposing queen. Two rules give the game its spine: the hive must always stay connected, so pieces get frozen in place holding it together, and your queen must come out within your first four placements, so you cannot simply turtle. The Pocket edition shrinks the tiles, packs them into a drawstring travel bag, and includes the ladybug and mosquito expansion pieces, which you can fold in once the base six insects feel familiar.

A game runs about 20 minutes and sets up in ten seconds on any flat surface, which is why it is the standard recommendation for flights, coffee shops, and waiting rooms. The depth is genuine: this is a game with tournament players and studied openings. That cuts both ways. A newcomer facing an experienced player will lose fast and repeatedly, and there is no luck to hide behind, so mismatched pairs should expect a rough apprenticeship before games get close. It is also a pure abstract: if you need theme and story, bugs on a table will not provide either, and thinky players can stall turns deliberating. At around 25 dollars with two expansions already in the bag, it is arguably the best value in two-player games. Every traveler and every standing lunch-break rivalry should own a copy.

No paid placement. No sponsorship. We chose it on merit. The Amazon link funds the lights - if you'd rather buy direct from a local game store, find one via BoardGameGeek.