Hex Hex is a fast playing stand-alone card game by Smirk and Dagger Games (www.smirkanddaggergames.com), a new game manufacturer in the gaming industry.
Players: 3-6 Ages: 12 and up Time: 20-30 minutes Difficulty: 2 (of 10)
The Components Hex Hex comes with the following items in a foldout box:
Box 94 Cards 1 Rule booklet 6 Score, or Voice, cards 8 Score, or Voice, tokens 12 Hex tokens 6 Standard hexes [red] 3 Maddened hexes [green] 3 Enhanced hexes One side is boosted [green] One side is escalated [blue]
The box that Hex Hex and all of its components come in is a simple design with a fold down flap to access two compartments which the cards, tokens, and scoring cards are held. The box is very elegant and looks visually appealing, making it an item hard to resist on store shelves. After much wear and tear though, the box may begin to bend and fall apart at the corners or seams, as any normal card box does. This is not to be unexpected of this type of container though.
The cards in Hex Hex are standard playing card size, glossy, and include full color design on the backside with the Hex Hex logo and some arcane symbols. Each face of the card represents actions that may be accomplished during a turn and include a title, as well as a concise descriptions of the action available as well as a symbolic representation of the action. All symbols used on the cards look very arcane, and in fact, are ancient chemical symbols for common elements, providing an exotic and mysterious feel to the game. Each card falls into one type of category, including basic deflections, enhanced deflections, counter hexes, play only when hexed, and play when dealt or standing effect.
The rule booklet is a simple black and white piece of paper folded up into 6 segments, which fits into the box easily. The rules are simple, straightforward, and answer most, if not all of the questions you may have during game play. The organization is easy to follow, as well as to find information quickly. Reading the rules through two or three times makes for a very easy game to get started with, and include descriptions and some pictures of each type of card.
Scoring in the game is done using Voice, and 6 Voice cards are included. One for each possible player in the game. These cards are blank on the backside, with a black background. However, the front side of the card shows a range of number from –13 to 21, a possible range of Voice a player may have, although a player may drop below or higher than the numbers listed on the Voice card, it rarely happens. The scoring cards are simple to use and are elegant in design, and do not take up much table space during play.
The scoring tokens are simple black triangles punched from the same cardstock as which the Hex tokens are made from. Any type of counter may be used to represent your score on the Voice cards, and won’t detract from game play no matter what you use to represent a player’s Voice.
The 12 Hex tokens are punched from cardboard stock, and are octagonal in shape. Each token includes the title of the Hex as well as its own symbol. The tokens are very colorful and interesting to look at and add to the mystery and exotic feel of the game. Each type of token, standard, maddened, or enhanced, is easily recognized by its own color and simple title, which helps tremendously in a game with such fast action as Hex Hex.
Overall, Hex Hex is a very organized and visually exciting game that should appeal to most people, with simple, easy to learn rules.
The Game Play
Setting up the game- Begin by punching out the counters and scoring tokens from the token sheets, and removing the Voice, or scoring cards, from the box. The Hex cards will obviously need to be shuffled several times to keep cards from the same name or type sticking together.
Each player in the game gets a Voice card for scorekeeping as well as a scoring token. The number of people playing, plus 1, determines the number of rounds to be played in a game. So if five people were playing, you would play six rounds.
Play begins with each person having five Voice, again, represented by the Voice card. Players will lose and gain voice during each round by casting and deflecting Hexes towards other players. The winner of the game is the one who has the most voice at the end of all the rounds, and gets to make up an original rule to be used in the following game.
The dealer is a random person who deals five cards to each player face down. The remaining cards are placed face down on the table. If the deck runs out, it is reshuffled.
Starting the Game- Play begins with the player to the left of the dealer. This person will cast the first Hex by saying the intended targets name out loud and placing a standard hex token [red] in front of that person. In return, the intended target then gets an opportunity to deflect or pass the Hex by using a card from their hand, face up, on the table. The Hex is then deflected or passed to another intended target based upon the directions on the card. Pass the Hex token to the next intended target.
Some cards contain additional affects besides a standard deflection to the left, right, or across. For example, the Hex may become boosted, or more powerful, force a discard, or create a duplicate Hex that travels around the table as well. Each card describes the specific direction on how to use the additional affects and referring to the rule booklet is unnecessary most of the time.
Play continues in this rapid-fire fashion until one person becomes Hexed.
Getting Hexed- the name of the game is not to be Hexed, but it does occur. Whenever a player is unable to deflect a Hex to another player, either because they are out of cards or they do not have an appropriate card to play, they become Hexed. When a player is Hexed, he loses one Voice point while the person who targeted them gains one Voice point. Boosted Hexes may require the Hexed to lose more than one voice, although the person who targeted the intended still only gains one Voice point. Record the scoring of Voice on the voice card by moving the token up or down.
Other cards that ‘detonate’ or ‘erupt’ the Hex card may also hex players prematurely. Players cannot allow themselves to be Hexed if they have a playable card, nor are they able to target themselves with a Hex.
A Hexed player is never out of the round, and may be Hexed by multiple Hexes that are still in play.
Multiple Hexes- During the game, there may be multiple Hexes on the table due to a card like ‘Twain.’ When this occurs, each Hex is passed simultaneously and more than one person may become Hexed at the same time, as well as one person can be Hexed by multiple Hexes as once! When this occurs, the play becomes fast paced and furious as players try to gauge and react to the other players actions. If an intended is sent two Hexes, the player must play two cards to deflect each Hex individually.
Ending the round- Play continues until all Hexes have been dismissed or have ‘gone off,’ when the round is over. Record Voice, either up or down, as normal. Players then discard any remaining cards in their hand into the discard pile, and the player who cast the last Hex then deals new cards. Play continues clockwise until each person has been able to deal and cast a Hex once.
Ending the game- After the allotted amount of rounds is over, the overall winner is the player with the most voice. The winner then gets to voice a rule that all players must follow in the following games. Rules can be lighthearted or down right nasty and mean. For example, the winner can simply state that anyone who points during the game loses one voice, or all players must pass cards with their left hand or lose voice. The game allows for players to be creative and ingenious, all the while having fun.
The Game Design
Hex Hex was designed to be played by a group of friends who feed off of each other or enjoy vexing or tormenting the other players in a quick, exciting, and short played game. Although the idea is to Hex your opponents, the game is not malicious or mean-spirited.
The design of the game was intended to be as concise and compact as possible, all the while remaining true to common card size, simplicity, and very little rules lawyering. Playing in one or two games will give the players complete command of the rules. Once this is done, the game play becomes even more furious with Hexes bouncing and ricocheting from one player to the next.
Overall, Hex Hex is a well-designed game that caters to ease of play out of the box as well as simplicity in design and understanding of game mechanics without the need for any charts or tables to be references.
Conclusion
From my experience, Hex Hex is a great game that can be played at a moment’s notice without the need for lengthy set up or explanation of game mechanics. Hex Hex should appeal to the die-hard gamer as well as to the casual gamer or family members looking for something fun and interesting to participate in. Hex Hex can be opened and play commences within five or ten minutes of punching out the tokens and Hexes.
The one problem that may occur is that the players are able to join forces and gang up on another player. When that happens, the target of the other players can only hope he has the cards to keep deflecting the Hexes or the player is able to detonate the Hexes prematurely before suffering at the hands of his fellow players. Players who cannot be lighthearted about team strategy or fast paced action of this game may not enjoy it as much as other players.
All in all, Hex Hex is a fun, simple, and well-organized game that can be played straight out of the box without any prep time. Retail cost, listed on the outside of the box, is $18.99. Although a little pricey compared to some other games, it is well worth the money in my opinion, due to the replay and fun value of the game.
Hex Hex was developed by Curt Covert in 2003, CEO of Smirk and Dagger Games and was printed by Yaquinto Printing Co., Inc.
