Honeycomb rules: four in a row wins, three in a row loses

Honeycomb modes

• Random match (ランダムマッチ): find an opponent online
• Room match (ルーム対戦): play a friend using a room ID
• Play against the CPU (CPU対戦): practice at four strength levels from Novice to Advanced
• Two players (ふたりで対戦): take turns on one screen

Basic rules of Honeycomb

• On a board of 61 hexagonal cells (5–9 cells per row), Blue (first) and Red (second) take turns placing their stones on empty cells.
• You win by making a straight line of four (or more) of your stones. Lines run in three directions: horizontal and the two diagonals.
• If you make a straight line of exactly three of your stones, you lose on the spot. If a single stone makes a four and a three at the same time, the four counts first and you win.
• If all 61 cells fill up without a result, the game is a draw.

How to play on Asobi Lounge

• With a mouse, hover over a cell to preview the stone and click to place it. On a phone, tap once to check, then tap the same cell again to place it.
• Cells marked "lose" (負け) are cells where placing a stone would make three of yours in a row and lose the game. If you try to place one there, you are asked to confirm.
• When the game is decided, the winning four is shown with a white line and the losing three with a black line.
• The letters a–i on the left of the board are the rows from the top, and the number in the game record is the position counted from the left of that row (the center is e5).
• Against the CPU, Undo (待った) takes back a move. Hint (ヒント), up to three times per game, shows the cell the strongest CPU would choose.

Where the game comes from, and the board

These rules are the same as Yavalath, known as a game invented by a computer program in 2007. On this site you can play it under the name Honeycomb.

Counting from this site's board, there are 102 places in total across the three directions where you can make a line of four, and 129 for a line of three. As stones fill the board, more cells become cells where placing a stone makes three, and the endgame turns into a contest over how many places you can still play.

Example: a threat that cannot be blocked

1. Blue places three stones with a one-cell gap, like "●●_●" (the _ is the empty cell). A stone in the gap would make four, so this is a threat.
2. Red would normally block by placing a stone in the gap.
3. But sometimes, if Red places a stone there, Red's own stones make three in a row in another direction. Then Red cannot block (blocking loses), and Blue makes four on the next move and wins.
4. Making your threat on a cell where your opponent would make three is the strongest winning technique in this game.

How the CPU levels differ

• Novice: plays on a whim. It misses fours and forgets to block threats.
• Beginner: reads 2 moves ahead and always blocks threats.
• Intermediate: reads 4 moves ahead and aims for threats you cannot block.
• Advanced: spends about 1 second per move reading deep chains of threats played one after another.

Tips

• Making a threat in the "●●_●" shape forces your opponent to block that cell, which gives you the initiative.
• If you make threats in two directions at once, your opponent can block only one.
• A cell that extends a line of two of your stones is dangerous: placing there makes three. Check all three directions before you place a stone.
• In the endgame, keep cells that only you can use (cells where your opponent would make three), so your opponent runs out of places to play first.
• Use Hint to see the cell the Advanced CPU chooses and compare it with your own move; you will notice the opponent's threats you overlooked.

Frequently asked questions

How is it different from Tic-Tac-Toe or Gomoku?

Four in a row wins, but three in a row loses. The balance between wanting to line up stones and not lining up too many is what makes it different.

Which color goes first?

Blue goes first, and Red goes second.

What if I make five or more in a row?

Five or more in a row also wins. You lose only when you make exactly three in a row.

Is Honeycomb free to play?

Yes, it costs nothing. Games against the CPU and solo modes work right away without signing in. Online play (random matches and private rooms) and saving stats or leaderboard scores require signing in with a Google account. To play with a friend, your friend also needs to create an account and register as your friend.

More board games

• Checkers
• Mancala
• Backgammon
• Tic-Tac-Toe
• Shogi
• Chess