Hex Formation
Hex Formation is a tower defense game built on six-sided tiles. Green spinning enemies enter from a start cell and roll along a gray path to the exit, and your turrets have to stop them first. Because each hexagon has up to six neighbors, a turret's reach along a twisting road works differently than on a square grid.
There are ten waves to survive, and you can only afford to let ten enemies through. Mason Blier wrote the open-source game, and it plays entirely with clicks or taps.
How to play Hex Formation
Choose a map: alternating, zig-zag or loopback. You start with 100 cash. Pick one of the three tower kinds from the tower panel, then click a solid dark hexagon next to the path. Press Start Game and enemies begin rolling out at a steady pace.
Destroyed enemies pay twice their starting health in cash, and enemies that reach the exit cost a life. After you clear a wave, the next begins by itself. Once every enemy in a wave is on the map, the Next Wave button lets you call the following group early.
Enemy health goes from 3 in wave one to 40 in wave ten, and the bottom corner shows the current value. Click any tower to view its range, upgrade it or sell it. Beat all ten waves to win and see your score.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose a tower | — | Click a tower type in the side panel | Tap a tower type |
| Build it | — | Click an empty dark hexagon | Tap an empty dark hexagon |
| Inspect a tower | — | Click the tower | Tap the tower |
| Upgrade or sell | — | Click Upgrade or Sell | Tap Upgrade or Sell |
| Start or call a wave | — | Click Start Game, then Next Wave | Tap the same buttons |
| Pause or quit | — | Click Pause, Resume or End Game | Tap the same buttons |
Tips
- Two Standard towers at 50 each use your full starting budget. That is the only way to have two guns ready before the first enemies arrive.
- Look for cells where the path folds back. A tower there can fire at two or three parts of the road from one spot.
- Rapid Fire has short range, so tuck it right against a tight bend where enemies stay close for longer.
- Save toward a Laser Beam at 120. It has the longest reach and holds a steady beam on one target, so it never wastes a shot.
- Upgrades raise both damage and range. The small dots on a tower show its level, which helps you see where your money has gone.
If you like Hex Formation, try these
ElematterTower defense with a twist of matching: four elemental towers line up against four enemy types across twenty waves and bosses.
PoliGuardShape-based towers and upgrades that boost a whole type at once give a different spin on holding a path against endless waves.
Questions
Why won't Hex Formation let me build anywhere?
Light gray hexagons belong to the road, and the striped ring at the border sits outside the playable area. If clicking a solid dark cell does nothing, reselect a tower type in the panel, since selecting a built tower clears your choice.
Does Hex Formation save high scores?
Yes. Your best winning score on each of the three maps is stored in your browser.
Is it playable on a phone?
Taps work, but the fixed desktop layout shrinks to fit the screen, so buttons and text get small on a phone. A tablet turned sideways is more comfortable.
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