Neuroshima Hex: Android review

Neuroshima Hex is one of the newest board games to make its appearance to the Android Play market. It been on the iOS for a while, but now I finally get a chance to play. The physical game was released back in 2006 by Wydawnictwo Portal and has since been reprinted by various companies.

It has a medium-weight strategy game for 2-4 players. The app comes with the original 4 armies, while there are many expansions with additional armies for the physical game. I got to play the actual copy once, and I wasn't too thrilled by it, but I knew that was mainly due to my opponent (it was his game, but I had to teach him how to play, but that's another topic.)

Hex Power
In Neuroshima Hex, players control various armies in a bleak, post-apocalyptic future. The armies range from the remaining humans, cybernetic beings and mutated soldiers. Armies are composed of a HQ tile with is placed on the board at the beginning of the game. The rest of the army is shuffled and stacked or placed in a draw bag. The majority of these tiles feature a unit. They have a nice variety of icons on it  that signify initiative, in what directions they can attack as well as the strength of the attack and the type of the attack (melee or ranged.) There are also tiles and icons that buff or inhibit other tiles. This can include making attacks more powerful, raising or lowering initiative or adding health. Then there's actions tiles, which allow players to move units or destroy enemy units.

Players take turns placing tiles until a battle is started. Battles are started by either playing a special battle tile or when the board fills up. When a battle commences, units attack in initiative order, starting with the highest numbers. All units with the same number attack at the same time, which means two units can take each other out. When all units of a certain initiative number have activated, then the next number down goes. Once all units have had their turn, then the the normal game play commences.

The game ends when either one player is left with the only HQ on the board or when one players runs out of tiles, in which case the HQ with the highest remaining health is the winner. Game play is fast, with games lasting around 30 minutes. A game on a digital device can be even faster.

Digital Warriors
I was very excited when this game was announced. I had been wanting to try again for a while and this seemed a great way to do it. This implementation met all my expectations and it plays great. The game looks good and it runs smooth on my HTC Sensation. The menu is easy to navigate and responds very well. I have been satisfactorily challenged by the AI on its medium difficulty.

It can play up to four players locally in a mixture of human and AI participants. The android version does not currently have online multiplayer, but Big Daddy Creations has said that it will come if the app sells well enough. The iOS version, which was released a while ago, already has multiplayer.

Battle
I am very happy with this game and love to go to it for a quick strategic game. I really hope that it does well enough for the online multiplayer to get implemented as it would really help give the game some staying power. If you've ever been interested in the game or are already a fan, check it out.