Hex Gambit: Respawned Logo
Hex Gambit: Respawned Icon
Hex Gambit: Respawned

Developer: Blowfish Studios

Competititve Mutliplayer
Strategy
  • Price: $14.99
  • Release Date: Mar 6, 2024
  • Number of Players: 1 - 4
  • Last on Sale: -
  • Lowest Historic Price: -
  • ESRB Rating: E10+ [Everyone 10+]
Videos
Reviews:
  • Watch this review on YouTube
    This modern take on strategic board game conquest isn’t ideal

    Strategic board games feel almost as old as time, with the likes of Go, Checkers, and Chess having been around for so long they’re simply fundamental. While many have been happy to make video game-based adaptations and iterations of those titles over the years, it’s more unusual to see a game that instead appears to be intending to try to be a contemporary of them. Hex Gambit: Respawned appears to be poised to attempt to do that, bringing its hex grid and various rules to the table, but in terms of making a case for being remembered it still has some work to do.

    What works well is that it comes to the table with loads of options for how and who you’ll play with, so if you find its brand of strategy compelling you’ll find the well to be quite deep. Rule customization and the ability to set handicaps will allow you to help create some balance and fairness between players with different experience levels and tastes. 10 captains, each with their own flavors of minions and respective skills, should provide ample opportunity to explore different possibilities and tactics if you’re so inclined.

    The problem with all of these choices and variety in strategic possibilities is that understanding the rules, and how and why they can be applied for dictating what you can or can’t do, can be problematic. Lacking clear in-game guidance or a veteran friend playing with you to show you the ropes, let alone nuance, of your different leader options and how to be effective with them, really makes your required initial investment to start feeling the game’s depth pretty high. Whether it was myself or some friends, we hit situations where we wanted to make specific moves or plays, thinking they would work, only to discover the game wouldn’t allow it. Without guidance on why this pattern repeated itself somewhat often, as we weren’t always learning from our mistakes and a lack of clarity was frustrating.

    The shame here is I think most of what’s in place is positive, and that with time and effort strategy fans could really enjoy the challenge and overall experience. The problem is that perhaps there are too many options to choose from, while helping people thoroughly understand the fundamentals comes up short. Lacking the volumes of documentation on the strategy and wisdom concerning classic board games from over the ages, Hex Gambit feels like it has great ideas, it just needs to be more helpful in bringing clarity to assist people in more quickly appreciating that fact.


    Justin Nation, Score:
    Fair [6.4]
2025

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