Alpha Hex Alpha Hex is a game of tactical card placement and capture. The player who owns the most cards when the board is full wins. If the game is tied, with each player owning six cards, the player who owns more of the center three tiles wins. Players alternate turns until the board is full. Play Flow The first player is determined randomly. Players draw six cards from their deck for their starting hand. (See below for Deck Construction.) For your turn, take a card from your hand, and place it on the Hex Board in any unoccupied cell, rotated in any of the six possible orientations. If it is placed adjacent to any other cards, adjust ownership tokens according to Capturing rules. Draw a card (if available) to finish the turn. Hex Board Ownership and Capturing Each player should have twelve ownership tokens. When you place a card on the board, you should place one of your ownership tokens on the card. When you capture an opponent's card, remove their token and place one of yours on the card. (Alternatively, use twelve two-sided tokens and flip them over as necessary.) When a card is placed on the board, it is Attacking. Only Attacking cards may Capture other cards, and they may only Capture adjacent cards. The Attacking card's numbered sides are compared to any Defending cards' adjacent numbered sides, and if the Attacker's number is higher (including bonuses), the Defender is Captured, and ownership changes. Light Example: If Card A is placed next to Card B this way, their adjacent sides are compared, Light and because is higher A than, the Attacking Card A Captures Card B. If Card A were rotated 0 degrees clockwise, B it would be Attacking with a against a, Dark and no capture would occur. Fire Earth Fire Earth Air Water Air Water Elemental Bonuses Element Hex Dark Each card has an Element. Elements offer Attack bonuses. Elements that are directly opposite each other on the Element Hex gain + to their Attack values. Elements that are at different corners on one of the Element Hex triangles (primary or secondary colors) gain + to their attack values. Elements that are adjacent to each other on the Element Hex gain no bonus. (Ex: Fire vs. Water = + to Attack... Fire vs. Air or Dark = + to Attack... Fire vs. Light or Earth = no Attack Bonus) Deck Construction Decks may consist of six or more cards of any type or level. Each card has a level, noted as a number of dots under the Element. The sum of the dots in a deck roughly measure its power. This may be a handicap mechanic, or a way to build similarly powered decks.
Print three copies of this page, and construct the Hex Board as illustrated in the small diagram below. There will be overlap that may be trimmed for clarity's sake. The three pieces will be rotated 0 degrees from each other, and the cells should line up as in the diagram. The final Hex Board is twelve cells in four columns.
Thank you for your interest in the! We ask that you please do not try to take credit for the design or art of the game. The PDFs that comprise the game pieces and board, the design and art are copyrighted by Taylor Eshelman, 00. We do encourage distribution of the game, as we are interested in feedback and encouraging interest in further development of the game, either in electronic or printed form. These files are provided free of charge, we just ask that you distribute the PDF in its entirety (seven pages), with proper attribution. We are also interested in your feedback, as we hope to make Alpha Hex the best game that it can be. Please answer the following questions and send the answers to: alpha.hex.game@gmail.com Any questions may be addressed to the same email. We are grateful for your time, and look forward to your feedback. (We welcome feedback beyond the question answers as well.) Thank you, and we hope you enjoy Alpha Hex! What do you like about Alpha Hex? What do you not like about Alpha Hex? Were the rules clear? If not, what needs to be cleared up? Would you pay for a boxed version of the game, with a good board, and more durable cards with better art? If so, how much? Would you pay for extra cards with rule variants and new mechanics? Would you be interested in a version of the game for three or four players? Do you feel the game is balanced, with sufficient strategies for success for each player? Either yes or no, why? Have you devised any house rules? If so, what are they? Did you share this game with friends? If so, how did it go? How often did the first player win, how often did the second player win, and how many of each were ties resolved by control of the center three cells?