Hive

So, there's this site where you can play some of the games I mentioned in the last post. (For free.)  This gives me a chance to playtest at least two of them: Hive and Zertz.

I started by focusing on Hive, since, as I mentioned, if I could only have one game from that list, this would be it.

I have to say, I'm really pleased with this game.  It fully meets my expectations as a quick game to pick up, learn, and play. After re-reading the strategy on Wikipedia (5 paragraphs), I managed to get to a skill-level where I could regularly beat the "Dumb Bot" or whatever it was called online.

Did I mention I'm really pleased with this game?  'Cause I totally am.  This is a classic. Really.  It's chess/go/poker-worthy. ...Well... maybe it doesn't have the depth of those games, but it's so much more intuitive than those games, it's still worthy of being mentioned in their ranks.

Yup.  It's just that good.  And I must have it.  ; ) And you must look into it!

...I also spectated on a few games of Zertz, and it really does look neat.  ...Much slower than Hive: lots more thought involved.  But still a nice mechanic, and a pleasant game. I'll try playing it next week.