How to Play Hex: Bridges, Templates & Strategy

Hex was independently invented twice: by Piet Hein in 1942 (sold as Polygon) and by John Nash in 1947 (who reinvented it during his Princeton math studies). Nash proved that the first player always wins with perfect play, but no one knows the winning strategy on larger boards. Here’s how to play and how to think about it.

The rules

Two players (Red and Blue) take turns placing stones on a rhombus-shaped hex grid. The objective: connect your two sides with an unbroken chain of your stones. Red connects top to bottom; Blue connects left to right.

There are no captures, no draws (Nash proved this in 1949), and the first player always wins on any board size IF they know the right strategy.

Strategy 1: Bridges

A ‘bridge’ is two of your stones with two empty cells between them in a specific pattern that GUARANTEES connection regardless of opponent. If opponent fills one of the two cells, you fill the other to connect.

Recognize bridges: they look like two same-color hexes with a 1-cell gap on either side of a connecting line. Bridges are the fundamental positional element of Hex.

Strategy 2: Edges and templates

Templates are pre-calculated connecting patterns between groups of your stones and your edges. Standard ‘edge templates’ guarantee you can reach your edge with the right placement.

Memorize the 4-row edge template: a stone 4 rows from your edge, with the right surrounding stones, always reaches the edge regardless of opponent moves.

Strategy 3: Use bridge ladders

Multiple bridges chained together form a ‘ladder’ — a guaranteed connection across the board. Building ladders is the macro-strategy of Hex.

Opponent can sometimes break ladders. The best defensive move when your opponent is building a ladder: place stones to force the ladder to bend in a direction that costs them moves.

Strategy 4: The first move

On smaller boards (7×7, 9×9), the first move is often in the center. On 11×11 (tournament standard) or 13×13, the first move is often slightly off-center.

Larger boards reduce the first-mover’s advantage. By 19×19, perfect play by the first player still wins, but the margin is razor-thin.

Strategy 5: The ‘pie rule’

Tournament Hex uses the ‘pie rule’ or ‘swap rule’ to balance the first-mover advantage. After Player 1 makes their move, Player 2 can either: take Player 1’s first move as their own (swap), or play normally.

This forces Player 1 to make a ‘fair’ opening — too strong an opening and Player 2 swaps; too weak and Player 1 loses.

Practice

Play our Hex on 7×7, 9×9, 11×11, or 13×13. Our AI uses pattern matching and bridge recognition. Beat the Hard AI to validate your bridge and template understanding.

How to Play Hex — Bridges, Templates, and the Pie Rule