#1 · add3993
4 Apr 2025
ConHex is a great connection game that has (IMO) received way less attention than it deserves. It uses local race-to-majority gadgets to increase the richness even on small board sizes. It also has a carefully-designed board aiming to balance the strategic interest of center and sides.
Compared to the granddaddy connection game Hex, ConHex currently has some disadvantages as a hobby:
no real-time play community. Many people here are happy focusing on turn-based, and that's cool, but for me, I find I get to know a game much better by playing a LOT of games quickly, testing intuitive-seeming moves, and practicing over-the-board reading.
However, I have just found that https://www.yucata.de/ is another somewhat popular place to play ConHex, and while there is not enforced time limits, it looks like faster games can be played there. I will be investigating more.no strong AI, as far as I know. I have played a MCTS-based opponent in some app before (not Ai Ai), but it wasn't very strong. There is no reason superhuman ConHex should not be achievable by the AlphaZero recipe, but such projects take effort and compute time (and the result is often not easy to install or use).
no easy-to-use set of exercises or major strategy guide, although there is a very promising work in progress by mmKALLL (see below)
not much in the way of community organizing or even talk about the game. This thread hopes to get people talking about ConHex and anything they might like to do to support/improve the hobby.
On the positive side, some resources for ConHex:
-Esa Koskinen (mmKALLL on LG) made this site for exploring game variations
https://conhex.com/
there he also has a cool book draft on strategy that I really hope will eventually be completed or, expanded to include useful diagrams.
-As mentioned, you can play at https://www.yucata.de/
-IG Game Center is a place for real-time games, mostly disused now, but a place for real-time ConHex.
https://www.iggamecenter.com/
-Abstract Play is a LG-like turn based site where some are playing ConHex recently
https://play.abstractplay.com/games/conhex
-I can also recommend the discord channels Hex Discord, Abstract Play, and Mark Steere Games to find people interested in playing/discussing connection games in general.
-Very nice article introducing the game and its strategy by Dr. Eric Silverman
https://drericsilverman.com/2020/03/27/connection-games-viii-part-i-conhex/
-Overview AND interview with the game's creator, Michael Antonow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtF1rnzOLoA
Florian Jamain with mmKALLL on YouTube give an intro to the game, example play, strategy discussion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSqRBfCkCMw
(Florian's YT channel is great for abstract-game fans in general)