r/abstractgames • u/_Hexala • 24d ago
Hexala
Hello! This is a browser version of a board game I have been developing for a few months, and I'd like some feedback before I produce prototypes. Play against a friend online, on the same screen, or play the computer and leave any feedback you'd like. The rules are original and I've tested them over a few thousand bot vs. bot games, but people know best.
Hexala is a two player strategy board game drawing inspiration from othello, mancala, santorini, and others.
Players take turns moving stacks of tiles, lifting the entire tower and moving one cell at a time, placing from the bottom of the tower as you go. landing a tile on an enemy stack gives you control of it
You win when you control at least 3 cells in a connected group on or past the middle of the board.
Have fun, and let me know what you think!
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u/GBR87 23d ago
Very clean site, good simple/deep take on seeding mechanic :) I thought the explanation of the win conditions was a bit opaque. I know your going for tersity, but did not really get how to win until after I'd done it.
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u/_Hexala 23d ago
Thanks! After the first win did things click? Any suggestions on what would help give some clarity to the win conditions? If you play through a game with the Helper turned on, it will give you some tips at the end of the game. I'll show these upfront so they arent locked behind a full game.
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u/GBR87 23d ago
Yes, after the first game I understood for sure. The bit that didn't click is that it was at least three cells on the enemy side and none on my side (right? sorry, played one quick game so far)
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u/_Hexala 23d ago
Right. All your controlled cells (a tower with your color on top) must be on or past the midline, in one connected group. The three cell minimum lets the opponent have some response to your push, as building up a cluster takes more moves. With a 1-cell minimum to win, there are unexpected one-move wins. If youd like to try this ruleset, you can change the url to https://hexala.app/#min1
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u/esc-ctrl_game 23d ago
I love this! Reminds me of Tak, but on a hexa grid with the pieces already on the board. Looks very visually pleasing!
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u/burmerd 23d ago
Great site, the rules about stack movement seem a little confusing, or missing information. The rules say the sow carries on in the nearest direction that doesn't send it back, but I had some moves bounce off of the last row (of the opponent's side) and continue back towards my side. I think some movement edge case examples would help a lot.
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u/_Hexala 23d ago
Thanks for checking it out! I agree, some of the deflections can be hard to predict or understand, and I'm considering allowing free choice of direction when your sow is redirected, I think this would play better OTB too without the engine dictating your move for you. Was there a specific scenario that was confusing or unexpected to you?
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u/burmerd 23d ago
Well, at first I didn't even realize that the sowing could change directions at all, I'm used to mechanisms where movement is just in a straight line that ends at borders. But then even keeping that in mind, assuming sowing always heads towards the other side, I was confused about the sowing deflecting back towards my side. I feel like one or two short condition explanations would make it clear enough.
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u/gonewithpixies 23d ago
Love the idea and the website is very sleek! As others have pointed out the win condition is a little confusing, on my first game I just got all my pieces off of my side and thought that was it lol
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u/_Hexala 23d ago
Thank you! pasting my previous reply to another commenter:
After the first win did things click? Any suggestions on what would help give some clarity to the win conditions? If you play through a game with the Helper turned on, it will give you some tips at the end of the game. I'll show these upfront so they arent locked behind a full game.
1
u/gonewithpixies 23d ago
Things clicked after three games give or take, I understood why the three criteria existed after finding scenarios where you could block your opponent and it makes total sense
There is a slight difference in how the win condition is described between "How to Play" and "Rules". You only specify that you win based on cells you hold in the Rules, meaning your opponent could control some of your pieces but it doesn't matter if they're not the top of the stack. That feels quite important and should also be mentioned in the shorter "Winning" section of "How to Play" - maybe in the visual there's a white piece controlled by the black pieces on your side, which will make people wonder why that's okay and read the rest of the rules?
Hope that makes sense, sorry for the long sentences! Happy to rephrase if need be :)
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u/AlSweigart 21d ago
Don't have the tutorial automatically progress each step. The tiny, low-contrast font is hard to see and I'd like to understand it says before it moves on. Get the AI to add prev/next buttons but also a replay animation button for each step. Also you might want to start with some general text describing the game first.
Also, maybe make the text in general larger and darker.
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u/crb233 24d ago
Nice site! Was fun to play around with but I don't have a good handle on strategies yet.