Hex Path rules: how to play, score, and win

Hex Path is a tile-laying game for two to six players. Each player steers a single path across a board of hexagons. On your turn you lay one tile in front of your path, and your path follows the lines printed on that tile. Paths grow, loop back, cross each other, and sometimes collide. When nobody can place another tile, the player with the most points wins.

A match takes about 5 to 15 minutes, depending on board size and player count. You can play on one screen with friends and built-in bots, or online by sharing a room link.

What you need to know in 30 seconds

You always place your tile on your glowing hex: the empty hex your path points into.
After you place it, your path runs on its own through every connected tile until it reaches another empty hex.
Entering a hex scores points, and re-entering a hex you already visited scores double the previous visit.
Running off the board or into another player's path head eliminates you.
Eliminated players keep their points. The highest score wins, even if that player was knocked out.

The board

The board is a large hexagon made of smaller hex cells arranged in rings around a center cell. The host picks the number of rings, from 2 to 8. More rings mean a longer, roomier game:

Rings	Hex cells	Feel
2	19	A fast, crowded knife fight
3	37	Short games with early contact
4	61	The default; room to plan, but paths still meet
5	91	Long loops and big scores
6–8	127–217	Marathon boards for patient players

Each player starts at one of the six corners of the board. In a two-player game you face each other from separate corners. With six players, every corner is taken.

Tiles

Every tile is a hexagon with path segments printed on it. Each segment connects one point on the tile's edge to another point. The path density setting controls how many connection points each edge has:

1 point per side: 3 paths per tile. Simple tiles and easy-to-read boards.
2 points per side: 6 paths per tile.
3 points per side: 9 paths per tile. The default, with dense, tangled boards and lots of crossings.

You hold two tiles at a time. After each placement, you draw a replacement from the shared deck.

Taking a turn

Find your glowing hex. It is the empty cell directly in front of your path's head.
Pick a tile from your hand of two.
Rotate it. Each tile has six orientations. The game previews where your path will go for the current rotation.
Place it. Your path enters the new tile, follows the segment it connects to, and leaves through another edge.
Keep traveling. If your path exits into a hex that already holds a tile, it keeps following that tile's segments. Travel continues until your path points into an empty hex, which becomes your new glowing hex.
Draw a tile to refill your hand to two.

On a touch screen, drag the rotate pad or tap the hex to switch tiles. With a mouse, align the path to the highlight and click; right-click switches tiles.

Shared glowing hexes

Sometimes two paths point into the same empty hex. When either player fills it, both paths travel through the new tile, the placing player first. This is the main way you move an opponent: you choose the tile, so you choose where their path goes.

Collisions and elimination

A player is eliminated when their path:

Runs off the edge of the board, or
Runs into another live player's path head while traveling.

Paths can cross other paths freely in the default rules. Only head-on contact counts.

Two settings change this:

Strict trails. Entering any hex that is part of another player's trail eliminates you, not just their head. Boards get tense quickly.
Head-on stalemate. Instead of eliminating the moving player, a head-on meeting stops that path one hex short and nobody is knocked out.

An eliminated player stops taking turns, but their score stays on the board and still counts at the end.

Scoring

Points come from three sources. These are the default values. The host can change them under house rules.

1. Visit points

Every time your path enters a hex, you score for that hex. The first visit scores 1 point. Each later visit to the same hex scores double the previous visit:

Visit to the same hex	Points
1st	1
2nd	2
3rd	4
4th	8
5th	16

Tiles with several segments let your path pass through the same hex more than once, so loops pay off.

2. Travel bonus

Within a single placement, each hex your path enters earns a growing bonus: +1 for the first hex of that run, +2 for the second, +3 for the third, and so on. Long chain reactions through already-placed tiles are worth a lot.

3. Elimination bonus

If your placement eliminates at least one opponent and you survive it, you earn a bonus equal to twice the points that placement scored.

A worked example

Your new tile sends your path through three hexes:

Step	Hex	Visit points	Travel bonus	Running total
1	The tile you placed (first visit)	1	1	2
2	A hex you visited once before (second visit)	2	2	6
3	A fresh hex (first visit)	1	3	10

That placement scores 10 points. If the same tile also pushed a rival off the board, you add an elimination bonus of 2 × 10 = 20, for 30 points on the turn.

For a deeper look at why loops and long runs outscore cautious play, read the math behind Hex Path scoring.

End of the game

The game ends when no remaining player can place a tile, either because everyone is eliminated or because no legal placement is left. The player with the highest score wins. Equal top scores share the win. The results screen shows the final ranking, who eliminated whom, and any achievements earned.

Achievements

Achievement	How to earn it
First Blood	Make the first elimination of the match
Pathbreaker	Eliminate another player
Double Down	Eliminate two or more opponents with one placement
Clean Sweep	Eliminate every opponent at least once
Still Standing	Reach the end without being eliminated
Sole Survivor	Be the only player left when the board locks
Champion	Finish with the highest score
Into the Void	Walk off the edge of the board
Wrong-Way	Run head-on into another player
Self-Destruct	Eliminate yourself with your own placement

Ways to play

Local play. Everyone shares one screen. Mix human players and computer players in any of the six corners. Each human picks a name and color.
Online play. Create a room and share the link. Rooms can be public, so they appear in the lobby, or private. Empty seats can be filled by bots.
Against bots. Six built-in computer players each make decisions differently. Meet the Hex Path bots to learn how each one thinks.

Setup options at a glance

Option	What it changes
Board rings (2–8)	Board size and game length
Seats (2–6)	Number of players; each seat is a human or a bot
Path density	3, 6, or 9 paths per tile
Strict trails	Crossing any rival trail eliminates you
Head-on mode	Eliminate the mover, or stop both paths with no elimination
Turn time limit	Optional clock for human turns
Fog of war (local games)	You see only your own trail, your next hex, and one ring of neighbors
Scoring house rules	Visit points, the visit multiplier, the travel bonus, and the elimination bonus

Ready for a twist on the standard game? Try one of our Hex Path house rules.