- BGG rank
- BGG #10,059
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Circle of Life
- 2 players
- 20–40 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2015
- BGG rank
- BGG #11,429
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Bug
2017
Rules assistance for Bug
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 10–30 min
- 9+
- Complexity 2.1/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Bug
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Bug is a board game released in 2017 for 2 players, 10–30 minutes per game, and ages 9 and up. It was designed by Nick Bentley and its main mechanics are Hexagon Grid and Pattern Building.
Similar games
- BGG rank
- BGG #8,653
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Catchup
- 2 players
- 13 min
- Complexity 2.1/5
- 2010
- BGG rank
- BGG #10,724
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Blooms
- 2 players
- 10–30 min
- Complexity 1.8/5
- 2018
- BGG rank
- BGG #12,346
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Strands
- 2 players
- 15–30 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #27,267
- BGG rating
- 5.5
Medo
- 2 players
- 15–40 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #646
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Oceans
- 2–4 players
- 60–90 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 2020
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,788
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Trekking the World: Second Edition
- 1–5 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 1.9/5
- 2024
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,389
- BGG rating
- 6.7
HerStory
- 2–5 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #7,311
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Yavalath
- 2–3 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2007
- BGG rank
- BGG #13,554
- BGG rating
- 6.6
Palago
- 2 players
- 15 min
- Complexity 2.6/5
- 2008
- BGG rank
- BGG #17,347
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Manalath
- 2 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2018
- BGG rank
- BGG #27,487
- BGG rating
- 5.5
Oust
- 2 players
- 20–60 min
- Complexity 2.8/5
- 2007
About the game
Bug, winner of the 2017 best combinatorial game award, is a 2 player combinatorial game where you build shapes on a hexagonal board, which then eat each other. The shapes that survive grow into different, larger shapes until one player runs out of space to grow (and thus wins). The game is played with white and black stones on any hexagonal tiling. The author strongly recommends playing at first on a "hexhex3" board, and playing on larger boards only after accruing some skill. The game originated in the author's thinking about a cognitive phenomenon called "perceptual binding", and how it may be used to make combinatorial games more easily understandable to the human mind, given its peculiarities. Summary: A bug is an entire group of connected, same-color stones on the board. A single stone is also a bug. The size of a bug is the number of stones it contains. The board starts empty. Black begins the game by placing one black stone on any empty space. Then, starting with White, the players take turns. Each turn has 3 steps, taken in order: 1) Grow, 2) Eat, 3) Bonus Grow 1) Grow: Place a stone on an empty space to either start a new bug or grow one of your preexisting bugs by one stone. You may not merge bugs, and you may not grow a bug to be larger than the largest bug on the board (regardless of color) prior to placement. 2) Eat: All your bugs which are adjacent to one or more enemy bugs of the same shape (possibly rotated and reflected) must eat (capture) those enemy bugs. 3) Bonus Grow: Increase the size of each of your bugs that ate, by exactly 1, by placing a stone of your color on any empty space adjacent to each such bug. If eating would unavoidably force a bug to grow by more than 1 through a merger with another bug of the same color, no eating occurs. If, after growing, a bug is adjacent to an identically-shaped enemy bug, it must eat the enemy bug (and grow again) if possible, and so on. The first player who CANNOT place a stone in the placement step WINS.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- (Web published)
Questions and answers
Bug supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Bug is 10–30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Bug for ages 9 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Bug has a complexity rating of 2.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Bug belongs to these categories: Print & Play and Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Hexagon Grid and Pattern Building. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Bug are: Nick Bentley. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Bug as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.