Hex Hamlet

Prospectus

A cozy 3D village builder on a hexagon island covered in forest. Move your pointer over the trees to chop them, hire villagers who chop, farm and mine for you, and grow your hamlet from a settlers' camp into a castle. Place buildings next to the right neighbours for bonuses, find relics hidden in the woods, fill the orders of passing merchant ships and build your own ship on the beach. Clear the whole island, earn up to three stars and sail away to a new one. Every island plays differently: lightning storms in autumn, a freezing winter, sacred cherry trees, a treasure island and an erupting volcano. Later islands mix two of them, each one has an Expert mode, and every Monday there is a new Island of the Week that is the same for everyone.

How it plays

Move the mouse over the edge of the forest to chop trees (no click needed), or tap a tree on mobile. Hire villagers at the town hall: they chop on their own and carry the wood home. Spend wood, food, stone and gold on the building cards at the bottom; buildings next to the right neighbours get bonuses. Click a building to upgrade it. Drag to move the camera, right-drag or Q/E to turn, mouse wheel or two fingers to zoom. Clear every tree, build the ship on the beach and set sail to the next island. Finish the island's three goals for three stars.

Opening an account with this game takes one press: Open the holding, above, and it loads on this page itself — nothing downloads and no form stands between you and the first decision. It is drawn for a flexible screen and takes its instructions from mouse, keyboard or touch, as the game prefers. It adjusts itself to upright and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all present it properly. If a fullscreen control is offered, take it — a growing enterprise deserves the whole desk.

Analyst's notes for strategy holdings

• Write the plan before the first move, even if the plan is one sentence. Strategy games punish improvisation politely and reward a rough intention revised on purpose.
• Spend your first session on reconnaissance. Watch what the game charges you for — time, space, resources, attention — because that price list is the whole game in miniature.
• Keep a reserve uncommitted. The player who deploys everything into the opening has read only the first page of the problem; the answer usually arrives in chapter two.

Hex Hamlet — questions from the readership

What does it cost to open Hex Hamlet?

Nothing, at any point. The holding is free from the first click to the last upgrade — no account to open, no download to wait for, no paywall filed anywhere in its pages. The advertising around this page is what pays the bookkeeping.

What kind of game is Hex Hamlet, exactly?

We file it on the Strategy shelf of the ledger. It is a browser game through and through — the prospectus above is the publisher's own summary of what the game asks of you and what it gives back.

Can I play Hex Hamlet on a phone or tablet?

Yes — it runs in the browser on phones and tablets just as it does on a computer. It adjusts itself to upright and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all present it properly.

Is there anything to download or install first?

Nothing at all. Hex Hamlet is an HTML5 game: press the open button and it loads on this very page, and closing the tab leaves nothing behind on your device.

Closing entry

Finished the audit, or still mid-season? The full Strategy shelf is one click away — The deliberate shelf: 102 games where the win is decided several moves before it happens. Plans, counters and patience, filed in roster order with the strongest thinkers first.