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Review

Duration: 19:47

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I'm playing Hive, a board game adaptation by BlueLine Game Studios. The game features very adept AI in the single player mode; there is online play but no centrally-hosted PBEM option. The goal is to surround the opposing queen bee by placing various insects on the freeform game board and moving those pieces around. The interface should have included tooltips for identifying the pieces and describing their attributes. Pieces cannot be moved if they isolate other pieces, so most of the strategy involves "trapping" opposing bugs in their position. Ants can be moved any number of spaces around the outside of the hive, the beetle can climb on top of other bugs, the grasshopper can jump in a straight line, and the spider can move exactly three spaces. Hive is approachable, thanks to its limited roster of units and simplified rules, but still exhibits strategic depth and player flexibility. Featuring strong AI and a merely functional interface, Hive is a decent computer version of a solid board game.