45PUPA PHASE
Yianni and his company exhibited Hive
at more major toy and game fairs, and its
success eventually spawned expansions
that added additional pieces and new
strategies to the game.
“We needed something to have as a
giveaway at conventions and things,” he
explains. ”We decided to introduce a limited
promo piece – the mosquito – that we could
give to people at game fairs to promote the
game. But this proved to be very unpopular
with Hive fans that couldn’t attend the fairs.
e big outcry from them made us rethink our
strategy, and we released it in its own right as
an expansion piece.
“ e mosquito was a piece that I had
been playing around with for some time. Its
special ability is that it can copy the moves of
other pieces surrounding it. Because it didn’t
actually add any new movements to the game,
it didn’t have too much of a disruptive e ect.
“ e next expansion piece, the ladybug,
came about because we planned to release a
new ‘carbon’ edition of the game with a new
colour scheme. I wanted to add another bug
that could move across the top of the playing
area. But while this one could move across
other creatures, it couldn’t end its move on
top of them.
“ e last expansion was a throwback to the
very early days of Hive before the hexagonal
pieces. I wanted to add a defensive piece to
help balance out any rst-player advantage,
and so I decided to add the pillbug, a piece
that could move other pieces, very much like
the rst design for the pig piece of the original
boardless chess game.”
e trickle of expansions has ensured that
Hive’s strategies and challenge have evolved
over time, keeping the game fresh for long-
time fans. Yianni says that even he has been
surprised by the thought some players have
put into their game plans.
“I’m constantly amazed at the strategies
and tactics that the top Hive players use
when competing,” he says. “I was very happy
when I read the strategy book Play Hive Like
a Champion, written by the 2011 World Hive
Champion Randy Ingersoll. I never imagined
when rst designing it that the game could be
played on such a high level.”
Yianni attributes fans’ devotion, and Hive’s
success, to a number of factors.
“ e boardless aspect of
the game is very
important,” he says.I never
imagined
when fi rst
designing it
that the game
could be
played on
such a
high level.
tabletopgaming.co.ukHive Carbon adopts a classy monochrome look