Hive: The Mosquito

Hive: The Mosquito is the first official expansion for the beloved Hive game, released in 2007. It adds the Mosquito piece, giving each player a total of 12 tiles when the set is assembled. The Mosquito has no innate movement; instead, it instantly copies the movement abilities of any creature it touches at that moment. Touch a beetle and it moves like a beetle; touch a spider and it gains the spider's two‑space jump, and so on. This makes the Mosquito the ultimate wildcard, able to shift roles throughout the match. The only exception is when it is moved as a Beetle on top of the hive stack – it then retains Beetle movement until it climbs down. Placement follows the same rules as the other tiles: the Mosquito is added to the hive while keeping the whole structure connected. No board or cards are introduced, so the game stays lightweight (around 200 g) and the playtime remains roughly 20 minutes. The complexity rating stays low (BGG weight 2.2), yet strategic depth rises considerably as players must constantly reassess new movement possibilities each turn. In short, The Mosquito preserves Hive's abstract, animal‑themed core while adding a layer of unpredictability that appeals to both newcomers and seasoned players seeking more variety.