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- BGG rating
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Billabong
- 2–4 players
- 30 min
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- BGG rating
- 6.9
Hyle
1979
Rules assistance for Hyle
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 45 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.8/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Hyle
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Hyle is a board game released in 1979 for 2 players, 45 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Eric Solomon and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Tile Placement, and Square Grid.
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About the 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.
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Selchow & Righter
- franjos Spieleverlag
- Skirrid Company of Great Britain, Ltd.
- Thinx Games
Questions and answers
Hyle 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 Hyle is 45 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 Hyle for ages 10 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.
Hyle has a complexity rating of 2.8 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.
Hyle belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Tile Placement, and Square Grid. 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 Hyle are: Eric Solomon. 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 Hyle 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.