Havannah

About this board game

Havannah is a two-player connection game played in about 30 minutes on a hexagonal grid shaped like a hexagon, with eight hexes per side.

Players take turns placing stones of their own color, seeking one of three distinct winning formations. Each objective rewards a different kind of continuous connection, giving the game a varied set of ways to achieve victory.

• Fork: Continuously connect any three sides of the board. The corners do not count as side spaces.
• Bridge: Continuously connect any two corners.
• Ring: Form a continuous closed loop of pieces around at least one cell in the middle. That enclosed cell may be unoccupied or occupied by either player’s piece.

The board’s hexagonal shape supports these three objectives while keeping the focus on connected stone formations. Players must work toward a winning pattern using the spaces available across the grid.

Havannah was released in 1980 and is part of the connection-game tradition that includes titles such as Hex and Twixt. Its standard board has eight hexes per side, while expert players prefer larger boards with ten hexes per side.

With two colors of stones and three clearly defined victory conditions, Havannah offers a compact abstract contest built around sides, corners, and enclosed spaces. Whether pursuing a fork, a bridge, or a ring, each player aims to complete a continuous formation first.