Project is the first step of every Hexodic turn: the player either Places a stone from their reserve onto the board or, only once their reserve is empty, Moves one of their stones to an adjacent cell. Project is mandatory, and the cell where the Projected stone lands anchors that turn’s Shape.
Reviewed 2026-09-15 against the Hexodic rules engine.
Place
A Place puts one reserve stone onto an empty, unlocked cell. Two restrictions apply:
- Opening restriction — a player’s first Place of the game must be at least 1 step from the centre cell.
- Capture cooldown — after one of your stones is captured, your next Place must be at least 2 steps from every cell where your stones were captured. If the cooldown leaves no legal Place, your Project and Shape are skipped for that turn and the cooldown clears.
A Place is never a capture by itself, but it can complete an encirclement that the end-of-turn capture check resolves.
Move
A Move steps one on-board stone to one of its six neighbours. A Move is only available when the player’s reserve is empty. The destination must be empty, or hold an enemy stone on a strictly lower tier than the cell the moving stone leaves — in that case the enemy stone is captured and returns to its owner’s reserve. A Move can never enter a cell holding your own stone. Captured stones go back into reserve, so a player who is losing stones returns to Placing.
When there is no legal Project
A player who begins a turn with no legal Project loses to Strangle. With stones in reserve that means no empty unlocked cell they may Place on (a cooldown skip does not count as stuck); with an empty reserve it means none of their stones has an empty neighbour or a lower enemy neighbour to step onto.
Related
- Shape — the step that follows every Project.
- Tiers — why Move capture depends on height.
- Glossary: Place, Move, Capture cooldown
- All rules
Get the Hexodic app and try the opening restriction on your first Place.
Run this rule
The rule below is not described here — it is executed here, by the same engine the game runs on. Opening a panel loads that engine; leaving it closed costs you nothing.
A player's first Place of the game must be at least 1 step from the centre cell.
Ask the engine about the centre
This panel asks the rules engine whether a first Place is legal on the centre cell and on a neighbouring cell, and reports both answers. It needs JavaScript; the rule itself is stated above.
Frequently asked questions
Can you move a stone in Hexodic while you still have stones in reserve?
No. In Hexodic a Move is only legal once your reserve is empty; while any stone is in reserve, your Project must be a Place.