Hive® Game

Name: Hive® Game
Rating: 3.9 (44 reviews)
Author: GiantStep Kft.

Official Digital Edition

Free · In‑App Purchases

44 Ratings
Ages

4+
Years
Category

Board
Developer

GiantStep Kft.
Language

EN
+ 8 More
Size

19.5
MB

Mensa Select Award Winner! Includes official tutorial by creator John Yianni. Strong AI, no ads, pure Hive. "What impresses me most about this Hive® app is how the AI plays with true strategic depth—enough to challenge even seasoned Hive veterans. The developers have captured the purity of the game beautifully: no clutter, no distractions, just clean design that lets the elegance of Hive shine through. A thoughtful, well-crafted adaptation." – John Yianni, creator of Hive® The award-winning tabletop classic Hive® is now in your pocket. Created with the blessing of the game’s designer, John Yianni, this app delivers a clean, focused, and beautifully polished digital Hive® experience. Hive® is a captivating strategy game often described as “nature’s chess.” There is no board — the game itself is built from the creatures you place. Your goal is simple: surround your opponent’s Queen Bee while keeping your own safe. Easy to learn, endlessly deep to master. OFFICIAL HIVE® EXPERIENCE Faithful to the vision of its original designer, this app captures the award-winning rules and timeless elegance of Hive® without compromise. THE COMPLETE HIVE® Play Hive® exactly as intended. Alongside the base game, all three official expansion pieces are included: Mosquito, Ladybug, and Pillbug. THE RUSTYBLADE™ AI Don’t settle for predictable opponents. RustyBlade™ is a bold, aggressive AI engine that plays with initiative and intent. It doesn’t aim for safe draws — it fights for victory. Expect intense, uncompromising strategic battles. PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS TOO New to Hive®? The fully adjustable difficulty lets RustyBlade™ become a patient training partner. Learn the ropes with a video tutorial by John Yianni (the creator of Hive), while the illustrated rulebook and Undo feature allow you to learn, experiment, and improve without pressure. ELEGANT & FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE A sleek design that adapts to your style. Choose your preferred board orientation (flat or pointy-top), select custom colors, and adjust wood grain intensity. Responsive controls, subtle animations, and haptic feedback ensure a smooth, immersive experience that brings the hive to life. UNIVERSAL PURCHASE Unlock the Elite Edition once and enjoy it on your iPhone and iPad today. It will also be available on your Mac as soon as the macOS version is released. ELITE EDITION: - Full access to all official expansions: Mosquito, Ladybug, and Pillbug. - Test your skills against advanced RustyBlade™ AI difficulty levels. - Personalize your experience with premium backgrounds and visual settings. - Family Sharing: Share the Elite experience with your family at no extra cost. The Hive is humming. The army is ready. Are you? Official Website: https://hivegameapp.com

Ratings & Reviews

3.9

out of 5

44 Ratings

Frustrated
Jan 30

NonstopRug
It’s very frustrating that you have to pay to have the expansion when it’s included automatically in the online version. The game itself comes with the expansions now so this should be included by default. The description of the app says it’s included but it’s not.Update: I’ll update to 4 stars since the dev did respond. But again, I wasn’t confused with the purchase model. I simply don’t agree with it. The actual online version of the game includes the expansions as they are considered part of the tournament and official version of the game now. So in my view, you should fine other ways to monetize, such as skins and other customizations instead of charging for what should be a complete game that includes the expansions for free.

Developer Response
Sorry for the confusion! To clarify, the base game is free to play, while the expansions and brutal AI levels are part of the Elite Edition one-time purchase. We aim to be transparent about this in the description. If this clears up the confusion, please consider updating your review.
Frustrated
Jan 30

NonstopRug

It’s very frustrating that you have to pay to have the expansion when it’s included automatically in the online version. The game itself comes with the expansions now so this should be included by default. The description of the app says it’s included but it’s not.Update: I’ll update to 4 stars since the dev did respond. But again, I wasn’t confused with the purchase model. I simply don’t agree with it. The actual online version of the game includes the expansions as they are considered part of the tournament and official version of the game now. So in my view, you should fine other ways to monetize, such as skins and other customizations instead of charging for what should be a complete game that includes the expansions for free.
Developer Response 6d ago
Sorry for the confusion! To clarify, the base game is free to play, while the expansions and brutal AI levels are part of the Elite Edition one-time purchase. We aim to be transparent about this in the description. If this clears up the confusion, please consider updating your review.
unintuitive
Jan 26

Weiderkin
i really like the idea here. i like a simple game with heavily strategic elements (and i like bugs). the rules to this game are just not fun in my opinion however. the freedom of movement, the “gates”, the connection breaking; it just doesn’t really make sense. there are a lot of rules that are there that don’t actually make the game more interesting, they just make it tedious and complicated. i have yet to play a round without checking the rules multiple times because they are simply not intuitive. this game is hard for me to play not because the strategizing is hard, but because it just doesn’t really make sense. i think if i keep on trying for long enough i might get the hang of it, but i honestly don’t want to. i CONSTANTLY make mistakes that i don’t consider since the rules are weirdly complicated, and loosing over and over to a robot cause the rules are hard to understand isnt what i call fun. tldr love the idea, but this game is tedious, unintuitive and confusing.

Developer Response
Thanks for the detailed feedback! Hive is a Mensa Select award-winning strategy game, so the deep rules are part of its proven design. We are working fast to integrate a clear video tutorial by the game's original creator to make rules like 'gates' much clearer. We hope you give it another shot once the update is out!
unintuitive
Jan 26

Weiderkin

i really like the idea here. i like a simple game with heavily strategic elements (and i like bugs). the rules to this game are just not fun in my opinion however. the freedom of movement, the “gates”, the connection breaking; it just doesn’t really make sense. there are a lot of rules that are there that don’t actually make the game more interesting, they just make it tedious and complicated. i have yet to play a round without checking the rules multiple times because they are simply not intuitive. this game is hard for me to play not because the strategizing is hard, but because it just doesn’t really make sense. i think if i keep on trying for long enough i might get the hang of it, but i honestly don’t want to. i CONSTANTLY make mistakes that i don’t consider since the rules are weirdly complicated, and loosing over and over to a robot cause the rules are hard to understand isnt what i call fun. tldr love the idea, but this game is tedious, unintuitive and confusing.
Developer Response 6d ago
Thanks for the detailed feedback! Hive is a Mensa Select award-winning strategy game, so the deep rules are part of its proven design. We are working fast to integrate a clear video tutorial by the game's original creator to make rules like 'gates' much clearer. We hope you give it another shot once the update is out!
A good start but no state-saving
Jan 29

Blind Henry McClean
I’m happy to finally have a Hive app on iOS. Not having one was one of my few disappointments from switching to iPhone years ago. But, I hope the app continues to be supported and improved. The most urgent feature request I have is state-saving. I don’t always have time to play through a full game in one sitting. If I start a game on my break and don’t finish it, I just lose all progress and have to start a new game. That makes me not even want to bother starting a game/using the app. Kind of a big deal.

Developer Response
Thank you for the honest feedback! You are absolutely right—state-saving is essential for a mobile game. I’m already working on iCloud support, which will allow you to save your progress and even sync it with the upcoming macOS version. Once this feature is live, I hope it makes the experience much better for you. If so, I’d be grateful if you’d consider re-evaluating your rating. Thanks for your patience!
A good start but no state-saving
Jan 29

Blind Henry McClean

I’m happy to finally have a Hive app on iOS. Not having one was one of my few disappointments from switching to iPhone years ago. But, I hope the app continues to be supported and improved. The most urgent feature request I have is state-saving. I don’t always have time to play through a full game in one sitting. If I start a game on my break and don’t finish it, I just lose all progress and have to start a new game. That makes me not even want to bother starting a game/using the app. Kind of a big deal.
Developer Response Jan 31
Thank you for the honest feedback! You are absolutely right—state-saving is essential for a mobile game. I’m already working on iCloud support, which will allow you to save your progress and even sync it with the upcoming macOS version. Once this feature is live, I hope it makes the experience much better for you. If so, I’d be grateful if you’d consider re-evaluating your rating. Thanks for your patience!
It won’t launch *updated
Jan 29

kimisawa
Tried on an iPad mini and iPhone 16 pro max, both won’t launch, latest iOSUpdate: i found out it’s that because I toggled the expansion. I don’t mind paying for it but it’s very unclear about this.

Developer Response
Thanks for the update. We now understand the issue with the expansion toggle and will be improving the interface to make the Elite Edition requirements much clearer. For any future issues, please contact us directly at hivegameapp.com so we can help you much faster than through App Store comments. If the game is working well for you now, please consider updating your review. Happy playing!
It won’t launch *updated
Jan 29

kimisawa

Tried on an iPad mini and iPhone 16 pro max, both won’t launch, latest iOSUpdate: i found out it’s that because I toggled the expansion. I don’t mind paying for it but it’s very unclear about this.
Developer Response 6d ago
Thanks for the update. We now understand the issue with the expansion toggle and will be improving the interface to make the Elite Edition requirements much clearer. For any future issues, please contact us directly at hivegameapp.com so we can help you much faster than through App Store comments. If the game is working well for you now, please consider updating your review. Happy playing!

iCloud Sync: We’ve added iCloud support to sync your progress and active game sessions across all your devices.

Version 1.0.4

2h ago

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

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Information

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In-App Purchases
Copyright

Developer Website

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Family Sharing

Some in-app purchases and subscriptions may be shareable with your family group when Family Sharing is enabled. Learn More

More by GiantStep Kft.

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Hive® Game

Official Digital Edition

Ratings & Reviews

Frustrated

unintuitive

A good start but no state-saving

It won’t launch *updated

What’s New

1.0.4

1.0.3

1.0.2

1.0.1

1.0

Version 1.0.4

App Privacy

Data Not Collected

Accessibility

Information

Supports

Family Sharing

More by GiantStep Kft.

Native Invoice