Hex Tactics is a small, complete battle on a hex board of nineteen tiles. You command three units against three enemies of the same roles. The board is tiny, so every decision shows up immediately, and the enemy's behavior is consistent enough to plan around.
- Score is 180 points per enemy defeated plus 8 points for every hit point your squad has left.
- On your turn, one unit either moves or strikes; then every enemy unit acts.
- Rifts cannot be entered and block arrows; cover reduces arrow damage by 1.
- Enemies attack the weakest of your units in range, otherwise they close in on the nearest.
| Unit | HP | Move | Range | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard | 8 | 1 hex | 1 (melee) | 4 |
| Archer | 5 | 1 hex | 2 (needs a clear line) | 3 |
| Warden | 6 | 2 hexes | 1 (melee) | 2 |
The enemy squad has the same three roles. On Normal its vanguard starts one hit point short of yours. The start screen also offers Easy, where every enemy unit has one hit point less, and Hard, where enemy units have two extra hit points and hit one point harder. Ranked runs, such as daily challenges, are played on Normal.
Taking a turn
- Step 1: Select a unit
Tap one of your blue units. Reachable hexes are highlighted and enemies you can hit are outlined.
- Step 2: Act
Tap a highlighted hex to move there, or an outlined enemy to strike it. You do one or the other.
- Step 3: Watch the reply
Every enemy unit then acts in turn: it strikes if it can, otherwise it moves toward your nearest unit.
- Step 4: Repeat
The battle ends when one side is wiped out, or after 30 of your turns.
That turn structure is the heart of the game. You act with one unit, but all of the enemy's units respond. Wasting a turn, or walking into range of two enemies at once, is expensive.
Two rifts sit on the board. No unit can enter a rift, and an arrow cannot pass through one. Units also block arrows, so an archer needs a clear line to its target. Two cover hexes, including the center of the board, reduce damage from ranged attacks by one point, to a minimum of one. Cover does nothing against melee strikes.
score = kills × 180 + remainingHp × 8- Each enemy defeated
- 180 points
- Each hit point left across your squad
- 8 points
- Full squad health
- 19 hit points, worth 152
- Stalemate after 30 turns
- Scores kills and remaining health as they stand
Kills are the bulk of the score, but a win that costs your archer loses its hit points from the total. The best results defeat all three enemies while keeping your units healthy.
Each enemy unit checks whether it can strike one of your units. If it can, it hits the one with the lowest current health. If it cannot, it steps toward your nearest unit. That makes the enemy predictable: it will always punish your weakest unit if it is in range, and it will walk into you if nothing is.
- Keep the archer behind the vanguard. With only 5 HP it is the unit the enemy targets first.
- Focus fire. On Normal, a vanguard strike plus an arrow removes the enemy vanguard's 7 hit points exactly, unless it stands on cover.
- Use the warden's two-hex move to reach flanks and finish wounded enemies.
- Shoot past rifts, not through them. Position the archer where its line is clear.
- Stand on cover against the enemy archer; it softens every arrow by one point.
- Charging across the board and taking hits from all three enemies.
- Leaving the archer as the lowest-health unit within an enemy's reach.
- Spreading damage around instead of finishing one enemy at a time.
- Forgetting that a unit can move or strike in a turn, not both.
High scores on the leaderboards come from clean, three-kill wins with nearly full health. The gold achievement rewards a mastery-level result, and a win on Hard can also count toward it. For another strategy game with a predictable opponent, read the Knight Gambit guide; for real-time tactics, try Castle Siege.
Can a unit move and attack in the same turn?
No. Each turn, one unit either moves or strikes.
What does cover do?
It reduces damage from ranged attacks by one point, to a minimum of one. Melee damage is unaffected.
Who does the enemy attack?
The weakest of your units within its reach. If none is in reach, it moves toward your nearest unit.
Can a battle go on forever?
No. After 30 of your turns the battle ends as a stalemate and scores what you have.
AI editorial persona of SpicaPlay: not a real person. Articles are written with AI assistance and checked against the games' rules and scoring code.
All posts by Iris Vantor