Hex Merge Mania

Hex Merge Mania is a number-merging puzzle game played on a hexagonal honeycomb board. It combines the number-synthesis mechanics of 2048 with the placement strategy of Tetris. The rules are simple to learn, but achieving high scores requires careful spatial planning.

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### Core Gameplay

1. The Board

- The game board consists of hexagonal cells arranged in a honeycomb structure, expanding 2 layers outward from the center.
- Each cell can hold one chess piece.

2. Piece Generation

- Each turn, 1 or 2 hexagonal pieces with numbers (levels 1–6) are randomly generated.
- Pieces appear at the top of the board and can be dragged into position.

3. Placing Pieces

- Drag a piece onto an empty cell on the board. When released, the piece automatically snaps to the nearest hexagonal cell center.
- When you have 2 pieces at once, tap (don't drag) a piece to rotate it by 60 degrees for better placement.

4. Merging & Elimination

- When 3 or more pieces with the same number are adjacent on the board, they automatically merge and are eliminated.
- The merge produces a new piece with a number increased by 1 (e.g., three "1"s merge into one "2").
- If the merge creates a new mergeable group, a chain reaction (Combo) is triggered. Higher combos grant greater score multipliers.

5. Game Over

- The game ends when the board is completely filled with no empty cells remaining.

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### Scoring Rules

- Placing a piece: 1 point per piece placed.
- Merging: 5 × 2^(pieces merged - 3) × Combo multiplier
- Combo multiplier: Increases with consecutive chain reactions (1 combo = 1×, up to 7 combos = 4×).
- Level 7 piece: Eliminating a level 7 piece grants an additional 30 points.

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### Special Mechanics

Bomb Effect

When a level 7 piece is eliminated, in addition to the normal merge, it also clears all pieces in its 6 adjacent cells and triggers a light animation.

Lucky Gift Box

- Eliminating level 7 pieces accumulates luck points. After reaching a certain threshold, a Lucky Gift Box is awarded.
- Opening the box randomly grants one of the four tools (the first box has a 65% chance of giving Tool 0).

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### Tool System

Four tools are available to help you get out of tight spots:

| Tool | Function | Cost (Points) |
|------|----------|--------------|
| Refresh | Regenerate the current turn's pieces | 300 |
| Single Erase | Remove a single piece at the tapped cell | 500 |
| Change Number | Transform a piece into a different number | 800 |
| Cross Erase | Remove the tapped cell and its 6 adjacent cells | 1000 |

Tools can be obtained through gameplay, by watching rewarded video ads, or purchased with points.

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### Daily Check-in Rewards

Check in for 7 consecutive days to claim tool rewards:

- Day 1: Refresh ×2
- Day 2: Single Erase ×2
- Day 3: Refresh ×1, Change Number ×1
- Day 4: Single Erase ×1, Change Number ×1
- Day 5: Refresh ×2, Cross Erase ×1
- Day 6: Single Erase ×2, Cross Erase ×1
- Day 7: All tools ×1 each

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### Tips

1. Plan ahead: Position pieces with the same number close together to set up chain eliminations.
2. Use tools wisely: When the board is nearly full, use tools promptly to clear space.
3. Save high-level pieces: The bomb effect of level 7 pieces can clear many pieces at once — a key to turning the tide.
4. Avoid spreading out: Don't scatter pieces of the same number too far apart, or merging becomes difficult to trigger.