Hex vs ComputerFree, no sign-up

You and the computer take turns claiming one empty hexagonal cell at a time. You (Red) win by connecting the top and bottom edges with a chain of your cells; the computer (Blue) wins by connecting left and right. Pieces never move and are never captured.

No. It's mathematically proven that when the board is full, exactly one player has connected their two sides. So stopping your opponent from connecting is the same thing as connecting yourself.

Take the center, and use "bridges" (two of your cells placed diagonally with one gap between them). If the opponent takes one of the two cells between a bridge, you can reconnect with the other, so a bridge is effectively connected. It's faster than growing one cell at a time and much harder to cut.

Every turn it calculates, for every cell, how many more cells each side needs to connect its edges, and plays where the difference is largest. It will stop a straightforward push, but it's weaker against two-way attacks built on bridges.

Hex is known to have a winning strategy for the first player, so competing for the fastest win against the same computer would turn into memorizing a sequence. That's why it's practice only. Your wins, losses and fewest-move win are saved in this browser.