Goal of the game

HEXTACT (formerly Marshal & Spy). Your goal is to capture the opponent's citadel with a ground (or special) unit. The game has two phases: placement (each player places units on levels L0–L2) and combat (you take turns).

Your first game, step by step

1. Start a game. In the lobby, click Against AI. Your opponent places units automatically, and the game does not affect rankings, so you can experiment freely.
2. Place your units. The fastest option is the 🎲 die in the Formation panel: it fills all 51 hexes automatically (the counter beside it shows 51 / 51). On a phone, open the panel with ☰ Panel.
3. Adjust anything you want. In the YOU bar below the map, select a unit type and click a hex: an empty hex is filled, an occupied one is replaced (if the limit prevents the replacement, the hex remains empty). The selected unit type's card describes its abilities. Click the same type again to deselect it; with no type selected, clicking removes a unit from a hex, while 🗑 clears your entire placement.
4. Confirm. Click ✓ Confirm placement. The player who confirms first goes first. The AI is confirmed immediately, so it takes the first turn. When it is your turn, the console says Your turn.
5. Read the map. Your citadel is at the bottom; your opponent's is at the top. You see your units with an icon and strength (abbreviated on a phone), while your opponent's are hidden as ?. A unit's shade reveals its level. Hover over or click a unit to view its card (on a phone, in ☰ Panel).
6. Play your first turn. Click one of your units, then a target: an empty hex in range means movement, while an enemy means an attack. You get one action per turn. At the start, almost everything is blocked by your own units, so mainly the front row and air units can move. If no move suits you, press ↷ Pass, but use it sparingly: your fifth Pass in response to an opponent's normal turn means defeat (your own movement, attack, or special resets the counter).
7. Fight. The stronger unit wins and occupies the hex; if tied, both are destroyed. Find exceptions such as Hacker versus Cyborg, mines, or Fighter below in the key rules. See exactly what happened in TURN LOG, and destroyed opponent units in the OPPONENT bar above the map. You attack ? blindly, so you can reveal it first with a Recon drone.
8. Use a special. Select a drone, Trainer, Engineer, or another unit with an ability, or press ✨ Special (on a phone, in ☰ Panel; it activates automatically for units without an attack). The map outlines the ability's range; then click a target. The table below explains each unit's abilities.
9. Win. Reach your opponent's citadel with a ground or special unit. Air units cannot capture it. Protect your own as well: one Scout slipping through ends the game.
10. End or continue. If you do not want to finish the game, choose 🏳 Resign. Beware of ← Lobby: you cannot currently return to an ongoing game from the lobby. Save a successful formation with 💾; you will need it for Online games.

Phase 1 – Placement

Each player has 51 hexes across the levels. Select a unit type in the bottom bar and tap a hex. All hexes must be occupied, or you can confirm "by force" (empty hexes remain empty). Special units (including Hacker): max 2+L per level. Max 1 Cyborg per level; Artillery only on L0. Mine field is a special unit, but does not count toward the special-unit limit. Units gain their level as a permanent strength bonus (scout 2+L, private 3+L, etc.).

Phase 2 – Combat

Each round, each player takes one turn: movement, a standard attack, or a special action. Controls: select one of your units and click a target – an empty hex in range = movement, an enemy = attack. With Special active, the map outlines the ability's range. The player who confirms placement first goes first. If someone does not play for more than 2 minutes, the opponent can click "Speed up" – a 60-second countdown begins, then the turn is forfeited. ONLINE game: you need a saved valid formation (all 51 hexes). After an opponent connects, you both have 60 seconds to choose and adjust your formation; when time runs out, the game starts with the current valid formation. You may voluntarily skip a turn (Pass); 10 consecutive skipped turns by both players end the game in a draw. You also lose if you have no movable ground or special units remaining.

Key rules

• Combat: higher strength wins and occupies the hex; on a tie, both are destroyed. The winner is permanently revealed; the loser is shown only briefly (its type remains in the log and destroyed-units list).
• Ground units may also attack air units. They may not enter mountains.
• Air units can fly over any units and mountains, stopping only on an empty hex (including a mountain), never on a citadel. From a mountain, they can attack only air units, and a ground unit cannot attack an air unit on a mountain.
• Citadel: no unit may stand on its own citadel. An opponent's ground or special unit entering it = immediate victory.
• Hacker is a special unit (counts toward the special-unit limit) and destroys a Cyborg when it attacks it itself (Cyborg attacking Hacker = normal strength comparison).
• Mine field: a ground attacker is destroyed (the mine is revealed), an Engineer destroys the mine and occupies its hex, an Artillery destroys it with fire. An air unit and a mine only reveal each other.
• Fighter attacks air units only. Attacking ground = wasted turn.
• Trainer: +1 strength or range (depending on the unit), max. 2× per unit, including another Trainer. Converts your ground unit with strength >3 into a Hacker (max. 2× per game). Your opponent only sees that a Trainer was used. Purple outline = trained unit.
• Corruptor: −1 strength/range (minimum 1; using it at the minimum consumes the turn). Reveals neither itself nor the target. Both players see the red outline, even on a hidden unit.
• Attack drone: destroys a unit with strength <4 and remains hidden. Otherwise, the target is only shown briefly and the drone is revealed. Has no effect on a mine field.
• Jammer protects units within range (including itself) from both drones: the drone action fails (TARGET PROTECTED BY JAMMER). One Jammer is enough; ranges do not stack.
• Hidden units are always offered as targets, regardless of what they are. If the actual type is invalid for the action, the turn is wasted with no effect and nothing is revealed.
• Inactivity: if your opponent requests a speed-up and you do not take a turn within 60 s, your turn is wasted. Two wasted turns in a row = defeat.
• Passivity: the fifth Pass used in response to your opponent's normal turn = defeat. The counter resets only when you move, attack, or use a special yourself.
• Artillery: range 2 (terrain does not block), destroys a ground/special unit including a mine field, and is permanently revealed. Firing at a hidden air unit wastes the turn. A Corruptor reduces its range to 1.