Help the bees set up shop and find harmony with the rest of the forest creatures by making and selling honey!
After winning a Magic the Gathering event at Friday Night Magic, I decided to use my winnings towards a new board game instead of more Magic cards. Honey Buzz has been on my list for a while, and I have had trouble finding it at my local game store (LGS). I was about to leave and buy Magic instead, but suddenly, there it was!
In Honey Buzz, you place “beeples” (bee meeples) to collect nectar, expand your hive, and fulfill honey orders to the wildlife in the forest! The more bees you raise, the more opportunities you have to forage for nectar from varying flowers. The more honey you have, the happier the ecosystem becomes. Whoever scores the most points at the end of the game wins.
Disclaimer: This is my first time playing the game, and my thoughts.
Mechanics & Categories: Worker Placement, Tile Placement, Pattern, Area Movement, Economic, Animals
EMBODIMENT OF SPRING
You know me by now: art is one of the top reasons I buy games. The box cover of Honey Buzz is striking, with vivid colors and bright green grass reminiscent of early Spring. I can almost smell the outdoors and honey by looking at it. The typography of the title seems vintage, as you would expect for a high-quality local honey business.
The details in each bee are perfect. The appropriate accessories are defined for each bee based on their roles within the hive. On the hive board, you get a sense of busyness with so many bees working together doing many things. Each honey bee has a fuzzy texture, which gives them a cute and cuddly feel.
Meanwhile, on the forage board, you see all sorts of flowers that produce different honey, with varying wildlife waiting outside the vendor cart to purchase. Though nectar tiles are placed face up, it’s interesting that the backs mirror the board so they blend in with the environment. The nectars have clearly defined border colors to aid in understanding how they fit into hives.
A rustic, wooden sign appears on the right side, sharing the market price for honey as the game continues. This feels like you are going to a farmers market. Lastly, beautifully illustrated woodland animals such as mice, raccoons, skunks, bears, and birds (and more) request certain types of honey to purchase. As an animal lover, every creature is designed to appear cute and wholesome, which is precisely enough to draw me in.
LIKE REAL HONEY
The bang for the buck on this game is fantastic, if for nothing else. To be honest, the deluxe edition doesn’t feel worth it just due to the impressive quality of the retail edition. I opened the box, and the rulebook had an awesome, almost linen, texture. I was already impressed. The cards also had this same texture, which felt pleasant to the touch.
Then come the cardboard punch-outs. Yes, there were a lot. Usually these are standard, but in Honey Buzz, each chit is very thick. Since we mainly deal with honeycombs and nectar, the print finish is glossy, just as you expect with honey. If only they were all acrylic tiles…
Okay, I was already excited while punching out everything, but then we got deeper into the box. There is a plastic insert that has a spot for everything. It may not be as great as Gametrayz, but they took the time to think about how players will want to store their components. There are embossed icons in each section to understand where everything goes.
The fascinating components were inside those locations: bees, honey, and nectar. The beeples are wooden, shaped like bees with laser-cut stripes! They also come in four vibrant pastel colors: pink, blue, green, and yellow. You know those jagged, crystal-like gemstones you get in Ascension and Century: Golem? Honey Buzz has those for pollen, yet they are opaque, with colors like gold, brown, and orange. The pollen feels smoother than I expected since they are gloss-coated.
Each honey is a squishy silicone mold in varying shapes! The Rosemary honey looks like a gloop of honey that would drip out of a honey pot. The Cherry Blossom also looks like a glob of honey but in a nice, light pink color. Wildflower is a small pellet in deep red, and Acacia is an imperfect circle in light gold. Definitely keep these away from children, as they look like gummy candy!
Regardless of how fun the game is, if you want top-notch components for cheap, look no further. Honey Buzz is attractive, to say the least, when sitting on your table.
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
We all know that honeybees are essential to the ecosystem. Honey Buzz is the perfect family game to show how hard-working bees impact the rest of the forest. Placing comb tiles makes this game more of a puzzle that is great for all ages. You must place your combs so that only a specific nectar can be discovered. Wildflower, Acacia, Cherry blossom, and Rosemary all produce unique honey flavors.
Though there seem to be a lot of actions to choose from, there are only specific actions that will enable your hive to produce different types of honey. This guides you on your path to success. There is a fair amount of optimization and forward planning that can help you win. This might be harder for younger kids, but with enough opportunities to produce honey, players will consistently score points.
I only won by four points in our first play, but I also went first. Going first allowed me to win a couple of bonus cards, properly named the ‘Queen’s Contests’, which ultimately decided the final outcome. I don’t think the score would have been as close had I gone second. This is something to keep in mind when we play a few more rounds of this game to see if turn order truly impacts the game.
Final Comments
Honey Buzz is just as beautiful as I expected, but the main thing that comes to mind is how this game will stand over time. Playing combs into your hive feels like a puzzle you solve a few times and then plays out the same way each time. Sure, there might be different Queen’s Contests, and the layout of nectar on the grid might change during foraging, but I can’t imagine my strategy would change too much. I am excited to try this with four players, as the strategy would change drastically.
Overall, I am happy with how I used my prize winnings. I received a piece of art with stellar components that is also a great family game to play with non-gamers. Having only played it once, I already want to play it again. Time will tell how often this gets to the table, but I am excited to show off this game to my friends and family.
Similar To: Indian Summer, Verdant, Cottage Garden, Beez
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Publisher: Elf Creek Games
Game(s) Pictured: Honey Buzz
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