Hive, the abstract bug chess game, offers The Ladybug as an expansion to add an additional piece to each player.
I am reviewing the standard Hive Ladybug expansion but this is available in the Hive Pocket and Carbon Hive sets.
First off, what do you get? Hive: The Ladybug is a set of bakerlite tiles, one for each player with a gray red Ladybug imprinted on the tile. The rules are also included.
The Ladybug will move three spaces. Two on top of the Hive and then one down. Like the Spider, it must move all three spaces (two on top and one down). The Ladybug also cannot move around the outside of the Hive (as it needs to move on top) and cannot end its turn on top of the Hive (as it needs to move down). Like the Beetle and Grasshopper, it can drop into places that other tiles cannot reach.
The Ladybug is basically a faster Beetle. It can cross the Hive and get to hard to reach places in one turn as opposed to a Beetle’s three or four. The Ladybug, like the Beetle, is hard to trap due to its ability to move on top of the Hive and adds some interesting dimensions to the game. The Ladybug feels purely offensive in nature and is best used aggressively (in my opinion).
I did not notice any measurable changes regarding length of the game when introducing the Ladybug tile (as opposed to the Mosquito one).
I feel like the Ladybug adds less to the game than the Mosquito, but it’s more of a 1 and 1a type scenario. I would highly recommend grabbing the Ladybug and adding it to the pot of available tiles for the players to utilize.
