The rules
How to play Hive TCG
This page is the game's own Codex — the reference screen a player opens mid-match — rendered here so you can read it before installing anything. Nothing is rewritten for the website: correct a rule in the game and this page changes with it.
- 19
- cells on the board
- 5
- turns per round
- 3
- rounds per match
- 4
- cards in hand
The match in brief
19 cells, 5 turns, 1 card per turn (revealed simultaneously). Every card radiates its power onto its neighbours: EMPTY cells belong to whichever side has the most influence around them. Synergies: neighbours of the same tribe, same rarity or same effect = bonus. A collision on the same cell = it is SHARED. Most cells at the end wins. Some cells are COLLAPSED: nobody can play there and nobody scores them — and it is the same board across the 3 rounds of the match.
The rule, in one sentence
Every friendly neighbour that resembles you raises your power. Bonuses add up, then multiply your base value.
| The four axes | Per matching neighbour |
|---|---|
| Same hiveTwo cards from the same hive, side by side. | +25% |
| Same elementTwo cards of the same element, from different hives. | +15% |
| Same rarityTwo cards of the same rarity. | +12% |
| Same finishTwo cards of the same finish. | +8% |
Hive and element never stack: between two neighbours the game pays one or the other — and the hive, worth more, wins.
An example
A card of power 40, surrounded by two sisters from its hive and one card from another hive sharing its element.
40 × (1 + 0.65) = 66
No element beats another
There is no cycle, no weakness, no counter. Placing Fire next to Ice triggers nothing: no bonus, no penalty. An element only pays when it is SHARED.
What it means for your deck
A single-hive deck stays the strongest raw. A deck of several hives joined by one element is the alternative: you lose +25% and get +15% back, in exchange for access to other cards.
And a single-element deck is not necessarily a single-hive deck: what counts is the card’s element, not its tribe’s.
The two traps
A card and a board token carry the same information, but not in the same place — and the big tile does not say the same thing on each.
- The big tile: on a card it is the collection number. On a token it is the COMPUTED power — your base value plus your neighbours’ synergies.
- The colour: a card’s border is its hive’s. A token’s border is your side’s.
What each tile means
- Number
On the card · The collection number, top left. On a card that number is also the base power.
On the token · The collection number, at the lower-right vertex — mirroring the hive.
- Rarity
On the card · The corner tile — the one you see in a fanned hand. Its material changes at every tier.
On the token · Rarity, at the upper-left vertex.
- Caste
On the card · The card’s rank. The same drawing across every hive.
On the token · The rank, at the top vertex.
- Element
On the card · The card’s only coloured tile: its colour is the element’s.
On the token · Element, at the upper-right vertex.
- Hive
On the card · The emblem of the tribe the card comes from, in the top-right group.
On the token · The hive emblem, at the lower-left vertex.
- Power
On the token · The EFFECTIVE power, at the bottom: your base value raised by your neighbours. This is the number that wins the cell. The small “+X” right below it is how much your neighbours just added — at zero it is not drawn.
Questions people ask
How does a match of Hive TCG work?
{cells} cells, {turns} turns, 1 card per turn (revealed simultaneously). Every card radiates its power onto its neighbours: EMPTY cells belong to whichever side has the most influence around them. Synergies: neighbours of the same tribe, same rarity or same effect = bonus. A collision on the same cell = it is SHARED. Most cells at the end wins. Some cells are COLLAPSED: nobody can play there and nobody scores them — and it is the same board across the {rounds} rounds of the match.
How is a card's power calculated?
Every friendly neighbour that resembles you raises your power. Bonuses add up, then multiply your base value.
Does one element beat another?
There is no cycle, no weakness, no counter. Placing Fire next to Ice triggers nothing: no bonus, no penalty. An element only pays when it is SHARED.
Do the hive and element bonuses stack?
Hive and element never stack: between two neighbours the game pays one or the other — and the hive, worth more, wins.
Can the Queen be played in a match?
The highest number in the game, and one you will never place. Royal is the collection and prestige tier in this version: the Queen is what completing a hive is for, not a card you open a match with.
The wording on this page is the game's own; the numbers are read from its engine.
Castes
The card’s rank. A caste changes nothing in combat: it sets the rarity.
Queen
The one who rules. One per hive.
Princess
The one you earn: never from a booster, only from completion.
Guardian
The one who holds.
Soldier
The one who strikes.
Scout
The one who sees it coming.
Worker
The one who builds. The bulk of the game.