Play Hive Like a Champion, Second Edition: Strategy, Tactics and Commentary

This book thoroughly covered Hive strategy and tactics. It covered everything from the basic rules to master-level strategy. There were a lot of diagrams to help the reader follow the games. My one problem was that the organization could have been improved. The section on the notation for the pillbug's move should have been in the chapter on notation, not in the introduction to the pillbug. And the discussion of which bug to play first should have been in the chapter on openings. Also, an index would have been nice.

Easy to understand, I learned good strategy

If you want to play Hive like a champ, get this book. It's nice and big with easy explanations and lots of illustrations. This has all the rules and tactics for the basic game as well as the expansions. (be sure you have the 2nd edition as it contains updated information on the latest expansion, the Pillbug).

Good book, definitely helped me understand the strategies to win at Hive!

This book is right on target. If you like Hive, read this book and you will love Hive.

I am a beginner hive player and I was very disappointed with this book. I would not recommend this book to beginner hive players it is written for advanced hive players. Yes there are many helpful hints in the book but unless you have played hundreds of games this book is useless. Since hive has been compared to chess I would compare this book not as a how to play chess book but as a book for professional chess players. It does have many good things in the book and is probably good if you want to better your game if you are experienced player. Maybe after a few years I can come back and read this book and appreciate it better.

I am really impressed with this book. It contains a wealth of information. If you are new to HIVE the book might be a little intimidating but there are sections for the beginner. If you are a HIVE enthusiast, you really need to pick up this book. The author also has a YouTube channel that has some great HIVE videos. Outstanding!

Randy certainly knows the game but I am afraid this book is very dry and unnecessarily long as it repeats itself a lot. There are lots and lots of diagrams from games but I did not find these especially helpful. I certainly think a beginner would find this book overwhelming and an expert probably knows most of it anyway. I don't really think you can teach someone to be a "champion" - the main thing that sets people like this author apart from the rest of us is just having a brain wired the right way so that you can see all the possibilities at once and not make foolish mistakes.

I've only just started playing Hive, and was really pleased (and honestly, quite surprised!) to find this strategy guide. It covers all of the rules and moves in detail, but more importantly it takes you beyond the rules to understand different game configurations, basic and advanced strategy, and all while using hundreds of examples from real-life games. An invaluable resource for learning and mastering the brilliant game Hive.

Very nice fat book. Good staregy advice with pictures. Also include extension pieces that are not out yet. See pics.

Large format book packed with useful diagrams.A good buy.

I bought this for my 10 year old son, and whilst in the most part, the content is beyond him (and me for that matter) he has started beating me, every time we play. It is a very comprehensive strategy guide.

I was expecting a small paper book but this is an A4 size full of technical advice and explanations of this great game. Bought it so I can learn to beat my wife more often than I do after both of us playing for many years.

I like the contents of the book, with exception of the following:Font is Times New Roman. Not the nicest font to read in my personal opinion.What really kills 2 stars is the summary at the end of each chapter. "If you want to become a master in Hive, you must never forget ..." or " A true Hive champion remembers ..." Just a bulleted list would have been so much better.

J'ai aimé ce livre pour plusieurs raisons:D'une part ce livre est très agréable à lire (même pour un locuteur de langue française) et sa mise page est particulièrement soignée.D'autre part les stratégies,tactiques et choix de jeu qu'il expose, permette de découvrir toute la richesse de ce jeu et le font encore plus apprécier.Enfin cerise sur le gâteau, l'inventeur du jeu y décrit en prologue comment et dans quelles circonstances lui est venue l'idée de ce jeu.

Each page contains examples

Si te gusta el juego (y para mi es el mejor para dos jugadores) has de tener este libro!

Plein de trucs et astuces et même un chapitre sur les extensions non officielles créées par des fans.Dans l'ensemble, ce livre s'adresse à ceux qui jouent souvent à Hive mais pas au joueur occasionnel que je suis. Je le retourne car trop au dessus de mon niveau mais le recommande aux joueurs fans de Hive qui se débrouillent en anglais.

Grand champion l'auteur est aussi un excellent théoricien du jeuPrésentation claire et efficaceIndispensable pour qui veut progresser rapidement

Der Autor hat sich als ehemaliger Schachspieler intensiv darum bemüht, die Grundlagen und Feinheiten dieses Spiels zu erklären. Ich möchte hier nicht auf die einzelnen Kapitel eingehen. Hierzu verweise ich auf die Inhaltsangabe. Hervorzuheben ist lediglich, dass in dieser 2. Auflage auch der Asselstein (Pill bug) mit integriert wurde. Dieser Spielstein ist in der ansonsten identischen 1. Auflage nicht enthalten, da erst er erst nach dem Erscheinungsdatum auf den Markt kam.Aus meiner Sicht ist das Buch für denjenigen geeignet, der schon einige Erfahrung mit dem Spiel gesammelt hat, da der rein theoretische Einsteig ansonsten doch recht anspruchsvoll, wenn auch nachvollziehbar ist. Inhaltliche Mängel konnte ich nicht feststellen. Der Aufbau ist übersichtlich. Die unzähligen Grafiken sind gut nachvollziehbar und für den ganz tiefen Einstieg wird für jedes Beispiel auf das tatsächliche Spiel verwiesen, was dann online Zug für Zug nachvollzogen werden kann.

This was very welcome when I found it online. It really is extremely helpful when learning the game, and is quite clearly laid out and explained. It should be realised that the orientation of the insects on the pieces in the images and diagrams is actually different from those on the pieces themselves, where the insects face the sides of the hex, not the points. And while this facilitates the notation / recording of games for the author of the book, it may take more than a little getting used to if you are the kind of person who needs to turn a road map upside down when travelling north to south! The games are also recorded from the same side of the board, as on the cover, unlike in Chess and Shogi.Life (and notation!) would have been much simpler if the game were played out on a hexagonal numbered grid, though I know that 'no board needed' is a selling point for the makers. A nice board would actually be a lovely optional expansion.