HEXTRIBES Play
Turn-based strategy · iPhone, iPad, Mac & web

HEXTRIBES

Tiny islands. Big plans.

Found a city on a little hex island, grow it into an empire and outplay up to three rivals. A whole match takes about 20 to 30 minutes, against bots or friends, live or one turn a day.

Play in your browser Coming soon to theApp Store
  • Free with friends
  • No ads
  • No sign-up to start
Quick matches

Twenty minutes. Every turn counts.

Maps are small and turns are quick: a few taps to move, fight, build and research. Every star you earn could do three different jobs, so every turn asks a real question. Grow, defend or strike?

  • See the result before you commit

    Every attack shows the exact damage both ways. No dice, no surprises, just the better plan.

  • Hexes make flanks matter

    Each ally standing next to the target adds 25% to an attack, up to 50%. Surround, then strike.

  • Matches that actually end

    Take every rival's cities, or lead on score when the last round comes. Once a match is clearly decided, the rest can concede in one tap.

A match in the game: a veteran Lancer selected on the board, the tiles it can reach lit up and its card at the bottom.
Tap a unit and everywhere it can go lights up.
4factions
12units
25techs on the web
2–4players a match
How a match goes

From one village to a whole archipelago

  1. Explore and expand

    Lift the clouds, claim villages and turn them into cities. Ruins hide stars, a free tech or a new unit.

  2. Grow and build

    Harvest fruit and fish, build farms, mines and markets. Each time a city levels up you pick a reward: walls, a workshop, wider borders, even a Champion.

  3. Outplay and win

    Research stronger units, set up flanks and take your rivals' cities. Hold the map to win outright, or lead on score when time runs out.

A city in the game: its level, growth, the units it supports and the units it can train.
Every city trains units and grows with what you build around it.
Multiplayer

Play friends for free. Live or one turn a day.

Start a match, share a six-letter code and play on any phone or computer. Bots fill any empty seat, so a match never waits for a fourth player.

Live

90-second turns, for when everyone's around.

Async

Take your turn whenever it suits you: 8 hours, a day or three days per turn.

Invite with a code

Friends join with a code or a link, in the app or straight from the browser.

Never stuck waiting

Bots play their turns instantly. Miss two turns in a row and a caretaker bot plays for you until you're back.

The game's home screen: Quick game, New game, Join with code, and your matches with your turns first.
All your matches in one list, your turns first.
Four factions

Pick a people, play to its strengths

Every faction starts with its own tech and unit and keeps one lasting edge. None of them is meant to be stronger: their balance is tuned with bot-versus-bot simulations.

Tidewardens

Harbors give +1★ per turn; sees the tide forecast 6 turns further.

Starts with Fishingand a Spear

Ironhold

+2 defence on hills and mountains; the capital starts with walls.

Starts with Climbingand a Guard

Wanderers

Mounted units cost 1★ less, move 1 tile further and ignore zone of control.

Starts with Ridingand a Raider

Bloomkin

Forest costs their units 1 movement, and Lumber camps give +1 more growth.

Starts with Woodcraftand a Bow
Units

Twelve units, each with a job

Cheap spears hold the line, bows shoot from two tiles away, raiders hit and run, catapults crack walls and ships carry your army across the sea.

Spear figurine

Spear 3

HP12ATK3DEF3MOV1RNG1

Cheap, sturdy backbone.

Available from the start
Scout figurine

Scout 3

HP6ATK1DEF1MOV3RNG1

+2 vision. Cannot capture cities.

Needs Scouting
Bow figurine

Bow 3

HP8ATK3DEF1MOV1RNG2

Shoots 2 tiles away; melee units can't hit back.

Needs Archery
Raider figurine

Raider 4

HP9ATK2DEF1MOV3RNG1

Hit and run: can still move after attacking.

Needs Riding · Mounted
Guard figurine

Guard 4

HP14ATK1DEF4MOV1RNG1

×1.5 defence inside a city.

Needs Fortification
Pike figurine

Pike 5

HP14ATK4DEF3MOV1RNG1

+50% attack and defence against mounted units.

Needs Smithing
Lancer figurine

Lancer 6

HP12ATK4DEF2MOV2RNG1

Charge: +50% attack after moving 2 tiles.

Needs Cavalry · Mounted
Catapult figurine

Catapult 7

HP8ATK4DEF1MOV1RNG2

Can't move and shoot in the same turn. ×2 attack against units in cities.

Needs Engineering
Skiff figurine

Skiff 3

HP6ATK1DEF1MOV3RNG1

Carries 1 land unit. Shallows only.

Needs Boatbuilding · Ship
Galley figurine

Galley 6

HP12ATK3DEF2MOV3RNG2

Crosses open sea and carries 2 units.

Needs Sailing · Ship
Warship figurine

Warship 10

HP18ATK5DEF4MOV3RNG2

Bombards coastal tiles from 2 away.

Needs Admiralty · Ship
Champion figurine

Champion 15

HP30ATK5DEF4MOV1RNG1

Trained in level 3+ cities, one per city; never counts against the unit cap. Heals 3 HP every turn.

From a level 4 city
The tech web

Research is a map too

The techs sit on a hex web around Settlement. You can research any tech next to one you already have, so the path you take shapes your army and your economy. Costs rise with each ring and with every city you own.

Where everyone starts

  • Settlement

Tier 1

  • Fishing
  • Woodcraft
  • Climbing
  • Masonry
  • Riding
  • Farming

Tier 2

  • Sailing
  • Archery
  • Mining
  • Fortification
  • Cavalry
  • Granary
  • Boatbuilding
  • Scouting
  • Engineering
  • Smithing
  • Roads
  • Dikes

Tier 3

  • Admiralty
  • Marksmanship
  • Forging
  • Citadel
  • Chivalry
  • Festivals
The tech web in the game: hex-shaped techs around Settlement, owned ones lit, the next ring showing their costs.
The tech web as it looks in a match.
Tides

The sea moves the front line

On archipelago maps the tide rises and falls every few rounds. At low tide, sandbars join the islands and armies walk across. At high tide the sandbars and low fields flood, ships sail through, and anyone caught there is pushed ashore. Dikes keep your lowland dry, and the Tidewardens see the tide coming six rounds earlier.

The same stretch of coast at low tide: sandbars link the islands.
Low tide

Sandbars are dry land. Infantry can cross between islands without a boat.

The same stretch of coast at high tide: the sandbars and low fields are under water.
High tide

The same coast a few rounds later: sandbars and lowland are shallow water.

The tide over 6 rounds:
  1. 2
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 4
  6. 3
then it repeats.
Fair play

No ads. No pay-to-win.

The whole game, with nothing in the way. One optional purchase later, and that's all.

No ads, ever

No banners, no videos between turns, no "watch this to continue".

Skill wins

Nothing you can buy makes a unit stronger. Every match starts even.

Free with friends

Matches with friends and bots are free. A one-time Full Game unlock comes later, and it's optional.

No tracking

No third-party analytics and no data sold. The privacy policy lists everything that's stored.

Learn in minutes

New to strategy games? Start here.

Quick game sets up a small map against one easy bot. The manual inside the game explains every rule, unit, building and tech in a few short pages, and you can open it from any screen.

Play in your browser Read the manual
The in-game manual: How to play, with short pages on the goal, your first turn and stars.
The manual, one tap away in every match.

Your island is waiting.

Play now in your browser. No download, no account: pick a name and go.

Play in your browser Coming soon to theApp Store