Hex: A Game About Connecting

Posted on by fivefactorial

“If black is ocean and white is land, and you connect side to side, one cannot pass through the other…”
A Beautiful Mind. Dir. Ron Howard. Universal Pictures, 2001.

The game of Hex was first invented in 1942 by Piet Hein, a Danish mathematician. In 1948 American mathematician John Nash, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, re-invented the game, which became popular among the students at Princeton.

Hex is a two-player connection game. The rules are stunningly simple, this game can be learned in less than a minute. Each player has an allocated color, usually red or blue. Players take turns coloring a single empty cell within the overall playing board with their colors. The goal for each player is to form a connected path of those cells linking sides of the board marked by their colors. The first player to complete the connection wins the game.

The game is very easy to start, but hard to master. Try to win against the computer engine provided by this app. If you do not like your last move(s), feel free to use the undo button. Using settings increase complexity level, enable swap rule, allow the computer to make first move (with or without swap rule). If you want to learn the best moves try the hint button.

Swap rule: Since the first player to move in Hex has a distinct advantage, the swap rule can be used for fairness. This rule allows the second player to choose to switch positions with the first player after the first player makes the first move. Knowing this is an option the first player is forced to choose the first move which will not give a definite win.

Please share your feedback, especially if you found issues or win easily. We are working on improvements, including much stronger computer engine(s).

Thanks: Current computer engine of this app is based on implementation by Lutz Tautenhahn.

More information about Hex can be found at:

– Wikipedia

– Hex Wiki

– Hex Strategy

If you prefer to play Hex with a friend, we recommend using pen, paper and printer ready Hex boards.

Download on Google Play Store

Download on Amazon App Store

Enjoy!

Birthday present from old computer parts

Posted on by fivefactorial

I usually have a hard time trying to find birthday present for my wife. I don’t like just going to the shop and buy something, I want it to be original and unforgettable. This year I had this idea to make special messages expressing my feelings for her. I am software engineer, so using old computer parts for this project was an obvious choice.

I disassembled about 15 old laptops and 2 desktops to have everything I needed. I didn’t want to write the plain messages, but to use a wordplay technique to make it more interesting. So apart from the keyboard letters, I used hard drive, CPU, fans, cables, power supply and different connectors. After I had everything I needed, I also bought photo frames of different sizes and glue. I made a mistake buying the wrong glue, so you can see it on the pictures, but some can say it gives the pictures the rustic flavor, so it is the question of perception, really! My wife loved it anyways!

The implementation is pretty obvious, just glue everything together. All you need is a little bit of imagination and lots of love for your significant other!

I hope you will like this project and it will inspire you to create your own messages. Please share them with us! Enjoy!

Kill The Snake – Call To Action

Posted on by fivefactorial

We are working on major improvements for Kill The Snake game. Your opinions and suggestions are priceless for us. Please download the game and share your thoughts with us, we will be glad to implement the best ideas and put your names to the contributors’ list (if you want it, of course).
 
Apple App Store:
 
Google Play Store:
 
Amazon App Store:
 
The video tutorial: