GAME #1v6.1free, in your browser
Brother vs Gary
Brother vs Gary is a free hex strategy game that runs in your browser, on a phone or a desktop. You play Gary against his AI brother on a small board of hexagonal tiles, taking turns, and you win by taking every tile he has. There is a new map every day, plus practice at three levels. No download, no account.
How to play: Tap your tile, then a neighbour to send units; tap the number on the arrow to send fewer; you move, then your brother answers; take every tile he has.
LIVE PLAYERS
- PLAYERS
- 3
- ONLINE
- 0
- TODAY
- 3
- RETURNING
- 0
As of . A player is a device that finished at least one validated game. How we count · all facts
THE RULES
- The board is 5 × 7 hexes (33 tiles), mirrored 180° so the daily map is fair for both sides. You are orange, your brother is blue, grey tiles are neutral, black tiles are walls.
- Turns alternate: you move, then your brother answers the new board. The only way to win is to take every tile he has: there is no turn cap and no points.
- You choose exactly how many units move; the arrow shows the number. A tile grows by round(√units) every turn, up to 99; above that it shrinks.
- Combat has no dice: the bigger side keeps A − B²/A units and the smaller side is wiped out.
- Bronze, silver and gold tiles grow +50 / 100 / 150% faster; attack and defence tiles give +25%. Moving first is a disadvantage, so Gary starts with +3 units.
HOW IT WAS BUILT
Game #1 went from decision to live in 75 minutes on 25 Oct 2026 (05:24 to 06:39 CET), written with AI agents; the first playable version took about 33 minutes of agent time and had 17 tests. It was rebuilt several times that day after real people played it, and it keeps changing: v6.1 is the current version. The full story, with what broke, is in the devlog: I built a hex war game with AI in one day. Dated numbers: /facts.
A human producer approves everything that goes out. Gary is an AI-generated character; the game, the code and the numbers are real.
CHANGELOG
V6.1
One tap before any text, built with players
Built from the first two player comments (Threads): the title screen is PLAY plus a small difficulty switch, the first prompt is one pulsing TAP on a tile, the rules moved into an optional How to play, hints are one line and appear only after you act. New: the Built with players credits screen.
V6
The move bar
A slider for how many units move (live preview, presets ALL and JUST ENOUGH), FINISH HIM / GIVE UP, an easy first daily map, a round-by-round share card. Built from the first Tell Gary feedback: "handling is too complicated, I want a bar like the original".
V5
Turns alternate, conquest only
You move, then your brother answers. No turn cap, no points: take every tile to win.
V4
Rebuilt on the classic hex-war rules
Exact unit counts, growth by round(√units), combat by the square law (A − B²/A), special tiles. Live later that morning.
V3
Standing orders
Arrows that keep firing every turn, supply lines, an AUTO button, resume, pinch zoom. The producer found it too complex.
REBUILD
Controls rebuilt after "I can't move"
Tap a tile and it lights up with its neighbours; a wrong move gets a message instead of silence; bigger arrows; a step-by-step banner for the first turns.
LIVE
Live at garygitpush.com/hex/
75 minutes from the decision to a public game. The player counter went live with it.
V0
First playable version
Seeded, mirrored daily map plus practice, simultaneous turns, three brother levels, a share card. 17 tests; about 33 minutes of AI agent time.
BUILT WITH PLAYERS
Ideas from players that got built, with the build they shipped in. The same list is on the in-game Built with players screen.
- @holdborngame (Threads): one tap before any text. Shipped in v6.1.
- @lammersdn (Threads): fewer rules to read. Shipped in v6.1.
Yours next? Use the Tell Gary box after a game, or on the home page.
FAQ
Is Brother vs Gary free?
Yes. It runs in the browser on desktop and mobile, with no download, no account and no ads.
How long does a game take?
A few minutes. A game ends when one side holds every tile; there is no turn cap, so a long game is possible but rare. In 200 simulated uncapped games between two normal-level brothers the average was about 19 rounds.
How do I win?
Take every tile your brother has. You move, then he answers. Tap your tile, then a neighbour; tap the number on the arrow to send fewer units.
Is there a new map every day?
Yes. The daily map is the same for everyone and changes at 00:00 UTC. Practice mode has three brother levels: easy, normal and hard.
Who is the brother?
The AI rival you play against. He is also the character who started the bet that no game of Gary's will reach 1,000 players. At 1,000 players he shows up, and they build the games together.
Does finishing a game count as a player?
Yes: a player is a device that finished at least one validated game. Opening the page or quitting early does not count.
Can I suggest a change?
Yes. After a game use the Tell Gary box, or comment on one of Gary's posts. Ideas that get built are credited on the Built with players screen and in the changelog.