Hexarchy

I will admit that when I first read what Hexarchy I thought that it sounded way too complicated, but uncomplicating the usual stumbling blocks that are in strategy games is what this is all about. This is a crowdfunding success story of a game as it was fully funded in 2022. The game as I write this is very close to being fully done and after spending a fair bit of time with the demo I wanted to give you a little bit more information about the game to hopefully get you as interested in it as I am.

An Action Packed Kind Of Affair

While I like 4X grand strategy style games, I will admit many of them are slow paced and take a while to get into and the hang of. Hexarchy is trying to get rid of that, instead offering the fun tactical decision making that you get with a 4X strategy game and a deck building game, but putting it in a faster paced style of game where a single game is only going to take you around an hour! It is a fun concept and the kind of thing that you really just have to play to appreciate how easy it is to get into.

Your Deck Your Rules

As this is a deck building game, Hexarchy has you working on your deck the whole time that you are playing the game. You play a card from your hand to do an action on the hexagonal board. You can build things, learn technologies, pick up resources, fight and defend, and just do what you can to not only survive, but ensure that your civilization is flourishing. It is the kind of thing that on paper sounds very complicated, but they walk a fine line here. The game teaches you the basics as you and it is very easy to pick up. However, there is still a lot of depth to the gameplay here and that is a huge part of the fun.

Starving Them Out!

Figuring out strategy is part of what makes games like this so much fun. When I was reading the Steam page of Hexarchy as the demo was downloading something piqued my interest. It was talking about the strategy and how if an enemy has a huge wall or some other kind of epic defense that you cannot penetrate with the forces you have. You will need to think of other ways around it and they suggest affecting their supply lines and starving them out! The same way with an enemy that has a powerful army! If you cannot take on the army head on, cut the supply lines that are supplying them with stuff like ammo and resources.

A Style That Never Gets Old!

I love the way that Hexarchy looks. If you have played any kind of strategy game that does the whole hex game board and all the stuff goes down on the hexes before. It will have a real look of familiarity to you. I know that it may not be all that remarkable at first glance, but I think the game has a ton of personality. I also love the way that it highlights things and how easy to read and understand the UI is as well. This is the kind of game that may not look amazing, but it more than gets the job done and when you have a game that can get as hectic as this, that is a very good thing!

Pros:

• You can play as one of ten civilizations
• You get to try and lead them to prosperity!
• Building and managing your deck is fun, addictive, and challenging
• I like how the game forces you to think strategically in many situations

Cons:

• I do love the way that it looks, but they could perhaps jazz it up a tad
• While it is simpler than a standard 4X game, it may still have a bit of a learning curve for some players