Head-to-head comparison

Santorini vs Hive Pocket

Both are excellent two-player abstracts under $35. Santorini is more inviting and better for kids and new players; Hive is the one serious abstract fans keep coming back to.

Light weight Santorini

$30

2-4 20 min Light

A two-player abstract with god powers and a tiny Greek island. Teaches in a minute, rewards a hundred plays.

Buy Santorini · $30 →

Light weight Hive Pocket

$25

2 20 min Light

Chess with bugs and no board. Sets up on an airplane tray and punishes lazy moves in 20 minutes.

Buy Hive Pocket · $25 →

Pick Santorini if

You want the prettier, easier teach: a plastic island, one rule, and god powers that make each game different.

Pick Hive Pocket if

You want the deeper, more portable abstract: a bag of tiles, no board, and a game that rewards hundreds of plays.

The tradeoff.

Santorini

Santorini is an abstract strategy game with one rule: move one of your two builders to an adjacent space, then build on a space adjacent to it. Buildings rise in levels, and the first player to move a builder onto the third level wins. Builders can climb only one level per move and cannot climb onto a dome, which you can build on top of a third level to cap it. That is the entire base game, and it is already a sharp, quick duel with the feel of a miniature chess variant.

The god power cards turn it into a different game every time. Each player takes one, Apollo can swap places with an opponent, Artemis moves twice, Atlas builds domes anywhere, Pan wins by jumping down two levels. The powers are wildly asymmetric and combine in ways that create new tactics, so two experienced players can play thirty rounds and keep finding lines. The plastic island and stacking buildings make it one of the prettiest games to leave out on a table.

Best for: Two Players, Board Games for Beginners, Family with Kids

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.

Best for: Two Players, Long Flight, 30 Minutes or Less

These are editorial picks; publishers cannot pay to appear here. Amazon links fund the site, and if you'd rather buy local, find a store via BoardGameGeek.