Space, Honey, and Hives: Hibernation Preparation in Apiary
Fly among the planets of the galaxy as a colony of advanced space bees on a quest to thrive before hibernation in Apiary.
I was having a great time with Apiary, and onward I went! The theme is one that’s hard to miss… Intelligent bees in space?! Yet it works in many ways, allowing for a grand exploration of strategies. The difficulty levels continued to offer me new challenges, and I wanted to see how far I could go before sending the game back to a shelf hibernation phase. Ha ha!
Game Overview
Game Name: Apiary
Publication Year: 2023
Designer: Connie Vogelmann
Artist: Kwanchai Moriya
Publisher: Stonemaier Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Actions offer opportunities to move ahead, often in ways that work together with new tiles aboard a ship. The solo opponent is unpredictable but easy to operate, allowing for a full exploration of what might just work out. It’s a neat experience that rewards sticking with a strategic idea!
First Play
August 5, 2026
Complexity
3
Latest Play
August 7, 2026
Expansions
0
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
8
Play Time
30 Minutes
High Score
93
Game Area
42" x 30"
Low Score
62
A Trick of the Frame
Before I started to play, I quickly scanned through some rules questions and topics to make sure I knew what I was doing. One thing that came up was a hibernation pod.
The solo mode uses the 1-3 player side of the board. The far left pod is clearly labeled for 3 players… But I missed it initially and almost skewed the scoring. What to do? A-ha!
I simply placed the stack of frames mostly on top of the pod. This didn’t interfere with anything, and helped me out a lot!
Sometimes, it’s something simple like this that can avoid catastrophe… Even when something is glaringly obvious.
Another Honey Heist
These bees just couldn’t catch a break from the Calico Critter bears! Yet another one sauntered over with a very innocent look on her face. Excuse me… What do you have?!
Ironically, she paused her getaway near the Preparation carving. Everyone was prepared to see the honey walk away again. I don’t think I’ll ever play this game without bears!
Aside from this adorable sideshow, I hunkered down as the difficulty level started to make me optimize faster.
I like that in a lot of games, though, where harder levels lead to shorter play times. It’s about fewer, but better, actions.
Recruit Teamwork
The unique artwork really came through on the recruits, where individual bees occupied the whole tiles. It was fun to see how neat some strategies could be when done well!
For instance, the Architect and Nutritionist paired up nicely. This play, I focused on frames and was able to plant more seed cards in an action chain. Very fun to see it all work out!
It’s not often that every recruit pairs up nicely, but that’s often where the enjoyment comes from: Making it work.
My best moments were when I stopped taking unnecessary actions, and realized how I could get ahead in future turns.
A Simple Solo Opponent
Learning how to play still felt like a slight hurdle for me, yet it was nice to see it all flow. I never had to look at the rules after my first couple of plays. Even the solo mode was easy!
These cards are used in pairs. The first step is to look for one of the worker colors, as defined on the left card. A retrieve action happens when the first condition matches.
If not, it’s a hierarchy of options based on the current workers. Here, it was all about gaining victory points.
I thought this worked well, giving me an opponent that often took the best options, while requiring very little work.
The Expansion! Get It Immediately! … But Wait
One thing my husband and I are notorious for is picking up every expansion for every game we own, whether we’ve played it or not. It’s a part of the collecting side of the hobby that I’ve never really thought about, but it came up in this case. By some combination of forgetfulness and lack of awareness, this game’s expansion never made it onto our shelves. Oh, no!
However, it was predictable when my husband wanted me to get it immediately and I’m in more of a waiting mode. I did more research into it than what I usually do… Which is to just add it to an order with little effort. Ha! The nice thing about it is that it seems to address some of my concerns and negatives, so that feels like it has a better chance to improve the game.
Expansions exist for all sorts of reasons, and there’s no single reason to always get them. I think I’m trying to be more careful about what I add to my collection. For solo games I rarely play, having a ton of new modules or variety available isn’t really going to hold much value. But I think I’ve talked myself into this one, at least as part of an order down the line!
Session Overview
Play Number: 5-8
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Difficulty Levels 4 & 5
Outcome: 62-85, 71-86, 92-76, 82-104 (1 Win & 3 Losses)
Much trickier at these difficulty levels! I struggled due to nothing more than my strategies not quite working out. Picking a path and sticking with it was crucial at times, and I seemed to buzz all over the place when I shouldn’t have. Oh, well! This was another solid outing, and I appreciated how the play time decreased. Just need to figure out how to do more earlier on to achieve another victory. Fun times!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
6
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- There are so many strategies to try out, whether that means focusing on one action or doing a little bit of everything.
- Increasing the difficulty level typically leads to a shorter play time as actions must be optimal and carefully planned.
- Artwork helps enhance many of the components, like the individual bees on recruit tiles or the ships in space.
- Only a portion of the tiles are used with each play, adding a lot of variety in what’s available and what will work.
- Play time moves quickly with a clear sequence for the solo opponent that takes very little effort to operate.
- Bumping workers to increase their strength is a neat mechanic that adds plenty of uncertainty and strategizing.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The rules aren’t that complex, but the order and wording can make the learning process just a little confusing.
- Setup time is noticeable with many tiles to shuffle and draw, and many elements that need to be reset or randomized.
- Lots of text can make it hard to grasp which tiles will work well together at any time, especially since they cycle out.
- Some elements feel static, like frames, while others can be overpowered, such as seed cards, leading to imbalances.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 80%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at difficulty level 1.
Win at least 1 game at difficulty level 2.
Win at least 1 game at difficulty level 3.
Win at least 1 game at difficulty level 4.
Win at least 1 game at difficulty level 5.
Continue the Conversation
What have been some of your best moments with Apiary? Is there a solo difficulty level that has stumped you? This is one I feel like I’ve seen enough of for the moment, yet I’m sure I’ll be back to take on this difficulty level again! Very nice to see such a solid design that encourages vast exploration. Perhaps I won’t win all the time, yet I’m certain to have fun in space!
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