Hyle (1979)

About this game

Hyle (or Entropy) is played on a board with 5x5 spaces. During each round one player (Chaos) randomly draws and places colored wooden disks on a vinyl/cloth map. After a disk is placed, the other player (Order) may move any disk on the grid horizontally or vertically in order to form palindromes (sequences of colors that run the same forward as backward, for example, red/blue/yellow/blue/red). The game is played over two rounds (so that each player assumes each role once) and points are awarded to Order equal to the length of the palindromes formed: blue/blue=2 points, blue/red/blue=3 points, etc. (Note that blue/blue/blue is worth 7 points because it contains two 2-point palindromes and one 3-point palindrome.) Hyle 7 is the same game on a 7x7 grid instead of 5x5.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Strictly 2 players — no more, no fewer.
• Rules load. At 2.9/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 10 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.