Elf Creek Games | Honey Buzz | Board Game | Ages 10+ | 1-4 Players | 45-90 Minutes Playing Time

Product Information

Did you know that honey bees are the only insect that produces food eaten by humans? They also pollinate over 80 percent of our cultivated crops. And in turn, we’ve decimated the honey bee population in the last 50 years. It seems like they’ve had enough. There are some games that generate some real hype and excitement when they start to make their way around the community of gamers. One such game has had a lot of discussion recently and has risen to the top of some lists in 2020. I guess you could say, there is some real “buzz” around this one! Let’s take a look and see if we feel the same way about it!

Decree. This acts as wild allowing you to take one of the other 5 actions already mentioned. It costs five coins to take it but gives you some flexibility in gameplay options. Harvest Festival Module – Trim your labor force by retiring your workers and sending them off to the harvest festival. As each worker retires, you choose whether they propose a toast or work one last time._x000D_ The Queen’s contests will be either speed or final types. Speed types are looking for players to complete it first, second or third depending on the number of players in the game. The final contests are awarded in points at the end of the game. If there are ties, both receive it and the next space down is decreased by one space. There are placed awarded for the number of players minus one.What it definitely isn’t is a cute little game about adorable bees making delicious honey. I mean, it is, except for, you know, the cutthroat capitalism. The game scales very well. I have played at a two and four player count, and have found myself having enough downtime between turns without being bored. There is also a solo variant to the game, which has different levels of difficulty, increasing the replayability.

When deploying their bees, players have 6 tile-types to choose, which will allow them to do different actions when creating a cell. These actions are: Of course, completing a cell isn’t just about what nectar you are getting but also taking the actions around the cell. Keeping in mine each 2-hex tile has the action on only one of the hexes and the other is blank. If you position the action-side adjacent to the empty cell, you’ll get to perform that action. But in doing so your future completed cells will offer fewer actions. So it’s important to have the right actions at the right time, not necessarily just having as many as possible.In Honey Buzz, players play the role of one of an accountant bee, charged by the Queen to help set up some economics to produce and sell honey to the creatures who keep trying to steal not for themselves. Your job is to help expand the hive, make nectar to help produce honey and sell those to the bear market. Only the top architect will fly to the top and be the head of this new economic empire in the woods of Sweetwater Grove! A configuration card is chosen so that all players take their 4 hive tokens and place them in the configuration to start. The nectar tiles are placed randomly in the field and each player placed their forage token on the field board to begin. When a player recalls their bees, they may also “scout for nectar”. This gives players one free movement with their foraging bee, but unlike in with the Forage action, they don’t get to take pollen or nectar.

The challenge in this one comes with trying to decide how and when to build the empty cells on your board. You need to rush towards making the ones you need for the Queen’s contests but you also need to balance out what will give you good choices in the market. I love the multi-step planning in this game which makes it a real challenge as you try to make the right decisions moving forward. There are quite a few different ways to gain victory points as you play this one, and I have seen players try different approaches well. I quite like this game. If you want proof, all you have to do is spend 50 minutes of your precious time watching me do a full playthrough of Honey Buzz. But just in case you don’t want to do that, I can also give you the highlights here.

First off, the pattern around the outside of the cell will change which game of nectar you can place there. Each tile is orange between the hexes and white on the ends. Acaia nectar requires the most white as part of the pattern and therefore requires the most tiles to complete. But it is the most valuable to begin the game. Wildflower is enclosed entirely around orange outlines so it can be completed with just three tiles. But it has the lowest value. New Bee: Add a bee from the bank to the nursery. The next time you recall your bees, this new one is added to your supply. Totally agreed! Especially once you take into account that the structure of the cell also determines what sort of nectar it will gather, and therefor honey it will eventually produce. Art. What can I say but wow-this game is cute. The art style and character are all super fun and really immersive, I love the style and the characters on the boards and cards. They have some really fun expressions and jump off the table when you play. Comparison between the acrylic & cardboard nectar bits. The tiles are undeniably nicer, and the best part of the deluxe components