Neuroshima Hex is played on a hexagonal board. Each player periodically draws from a deck of hexagonalcards called "tiles." Tiles symbolize different types of military units. Annotations on the tiles denote the combat strength of each unit. Each player has one special tile called HQ. Players take turns placing their tiles on the board. The player chooses:
which tile from their hand to play,
where to place the tile on the board, and
what orientation the tile should have. Being hexagonal, there are six possible orientations for placing each tile.
Normally a card does not move once placed on the board. Periodically a tile is played that initializes combat. At that time, cards are removed from the board based on the outcome of combat between pairs of nearby opposing cards. The game is nominally concluded when all tiles from the deck have been exhausted. The winner is determined by which HQ has taken the least combat damage. There are three major categories of tiles in each player's deck:
One tile representing HQ. This is always drawn and placed on the board by each player first. Other than HQ, the remaining tiles are sorted randomly in the deck.
Units are tiles representing military units. Annotations on a Unit card denotes its combat strength:
* how much damage does that unit inflict on enemy units
* whether that damage can only be done to adjacent tiles or more distant tiles markings
* in what direction that damage takes place
* "toughness," meaning how much damage can a unitsustain before it is withdrawn from the playing board
* special abilities such as defense from ranged attack, or the ability prevent an enemy unit from attacking entirely
Modules are tiles that augment the abilities of adjacent cards:
* increasing the strength of their attack
* increasing the range of their attack
* increasing their toughness
* increasing the priority of their attack in the attack sequence of all the other tiles on the board
* healing damaged tiles
* allowing a tile to be relocated after being placed on the board
At the start of each player's turn, they draw three tiles at random from their deck. One tile must be discarded. The remaining two tiles may be placed on the board. Tiles cannot be placed on top of other tiles. The player may opt to discard more than one tile. Players take turns in this fashion until the board is partially populated with tiles. Randomly a player may draw a tile that allows the player to initiate combat. When this occurs, gameplay pauses while combat is resolved. Annotations on the tiles denote what priority each card has in the combat sequence. Cards marked with a "3" have first priority, "2" second priority, and "1" third priority. In other words, tiles marked with a "3" get to attack first. Once the outcome of those attacks are resolved then tiles marked with a "2" get to attack, and so on. Once all phases of combat have concluded normal gameplay resumes. The objective of the game is to attack the enemy's HQ. Each HQ starts with 20 hit points. Gameplay concludes when one HQ is down to 0 hit points, or when all the tiles have been exhausted from a player's deck. The winner is determined by the player's HQ that has the most remaining hit points. The game offers four armies which differ in their strength, mobility and flexibility, as denoted by differing annotations on each army's tiles. Normally the game is played by two players, though three and four player variations exist. As a card game, Neuroshima Hex is essentially a much more complex version of War. In terms of strategy, Neuroshima Hex is similar to chess in that play emphasizes correct placement of pieces on the board, with occasional combat removing pieces from the board. The game is also available as a video game, with rules essentially identical to the board game, albeit with combat between tiles automated via software.
Publication
A second edition was released at SPIEL in 2007, and a promotional 5th army was given to buyers at the Portal Publishing booth. At Pionek in 2007, a small supplement was given out. A French translation was released February 2008. In 2008, the game was published in English by Z-Man Games, with an expanded board and improved components; this edition includes the Mad Bomber and Mercenary tiles. Spanish, Italian, German and Dutch editions were released in 2010. Three expansions for the second edition were released, so far only in Polish:
Babel 13, in 2008
Duel, in 2009
Steel Police, in 2012
There are also several fan made expansions. Additional materials in multiple languages are available at the relevant games articles at BoardGameGeek. On 17 September 2010, the iOS version of the game was published on App Store, with an Android version following on 13 June 2012.
