Playing the Market with a Bustling Hive in Honey Buzz
Manage a buzzing hive and produce specialized honey to sell to the friendly animals of the forest with Honey Buzz.
Buzz, buzz! Bees are always great, and it had been ages since I brought Honey Buzz to my solo table. I remember having a nice enough time with it, yet it was time to see if I might discover some more about the art of crafting honey. With a little luck, I would be able to sell a nice assortment of honey and make sure my bees became renowned artisans!
Game Overview
Game Name: Honey Buzz
Publication Year: 2020
Designer: Paul Salomon
Artists: Anne Heidsieck and Jason D. Kingsley
Publisher: Elf Creek Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
By building out the hive, empty cells are created to use an assortment of actions and gain nectar to produce honey. There is a solo opponent whose drones block certain spaces, though, adding a challenge to make the most from the market and all of the animals clamoring for honey!
First Play
December 3, 2020
Complexity
3
Latest Play
September 1, 2024
Expansions
3
Setup Time
20 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
6
Play Time
30 Minutes
High Score
153
Game Area
34" x 22"
Low Score
8
Fun Market Mechanics
Setup took a very long time, but it was nice to see all of the lovely artwork! The customers themselves were just the best, with everyone clearly in the market for honey.
I also enjoyed the thinking behind the pricing market. However, prices only go down over time, and act more like an end-game trigger than a true stock market mechanic.
As straightforward as gameplay can be, I had to spend some time with the rulebook picking through the rules.
For whatever reason, I suppose my head was buzzing with its own bees… It took a bit for me to feel settled again!
A Delightful Puzzle
The core element is building out a hive and creating empty cells to fill up with specific nectar. The edge patterns are important, as each nectar type has a unique requirement.
But look at the little baby bee! So cute! Although starting with a single worker made it seem pretty obvious to focus on getting more bees as early as possible.
Indeed, I didn’t have a single first turn that didn’t involve adding 1-2 bees. Or maybe I loved this cozy look. Ha ha!
Figuring out how to align the new hive tiles can be quite the challenge, as triggering actions can be nuanced.
Into the Meadow
I used the standard variant to get comfortable with the rules, although it appears that the advanced variant with face-down nectar tiles is the recommended play mode.
Additionally, I went for a slightly more chaotic solo opponent with these lovely dice. The deck works well, yet can become a little too predictable in later rounds.
It was pleasant to plot my route through the meadow, picking up nectar that matched empty cells in my hive!
Even if that didn’t work, picking up pollen helped with some orders or provided something else to sell.
Hive Architecture
Such a pretty hive area! I enjoyed the challenge of working around the spaces blocked by the solo opponent. I had to get clever about using different actions at times.
This is a more involved aspect than it might look like on the surface, since completing an empty cell is the way to trigger all of the adjacent actions, usually on a future turn.
I liked the interplay of elements, yet gameplay moved much quicker than I anticipated with the setup time.
Still, I liked finding interesting ways to chain together actions or make room for just the right sort of nectar.
The Trouble with Too Many Choices at First
As I dug into the rulebook and all of the modules, I felt a little overwhelmed about what to do. Little did I know that the more random advanced variant was the way the game was designed to be played! And little elements of the modules added bits and pieces that seemed a lot more interesting than the base game on its own. But where to begin?
I also perused Honey Buzz: Fall Flavors, in the hopes of moving onto it after getting back into gameplay. Yet it was a tiny bit daunting to see all of the new options when I was still trying to find the best ways to organize my little hive. Rather than try it out with apprehension, I set it aside for another time when I’ll be able to evaluate it more positively!
Offering modular choices isn’t a problem, of course, but I definitely felt the tendrils of being overwhelmed weaving their way into this session. That’s very much a subjective assessment, of course, yet it’s important to recognize it. Definitely helps me take a step back, rather than forcing myself to most likely have a not-so-fun gaming experience.
Honey for Everyone!
The order cards are so awesome, mainly for the artwork! Each animal is so cheerful and excited to bring home some honey… Or just eat it up before bringing it home. Ha ha!
These are also interesting in how limited they are, but the valuable victory points are hard to ignore! As are the actions tied to the card stacks. Very cool chain reactions.
I always picture my bees providing different honey jars for each customer, from the flavor to the size and shape.
Whenever the solo opponent took a card out of the game, I quietly grumbled over a lost, adorable customer. Ha ha!
The Advanced Variant
In multiplayer, the advanced variant provides a bit of deduction when it comes to picking up nectar. Rather than seeing the types, they are sorted based on location.
This also made the solo mode more enjoyable for me, although it was less about deductive reasoning and more about keeping an eye out for some basic probabilities.
This didn’t change anything too drastically for me, yet I liked how foraging wasn’t so obvious. It took skill!
Some of the solo contests were a lot more difficult, though, so I had to be careful about the risks I took.
Session Overview
Play Number: 2-4
Expansion: Honey Buzz: Honey Pot Mini Expansion
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Advanced Variant, Standard Difficulty Level
Outcome: 61, 79, 91 (3 Losses)
Alas, although my scores markedly improved, I wasn’t exactly close to the glory of my victory at the easy difficulty level! There was a lot going on, yet it was a perfectly nice sort of puzzle. I’ll be back to try out other modules and the expansion, although I wonder how long this will be buzzing around my collection. We shall see!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
5
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
6
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the components and artwork are simply beautiful with bright colors and some of the friendliest animals.
- Planning out future actions with the hive tile placements is very interesting and offers a clever puzzle.
- There are many ways to customize the difficulty level of the solo mode, as well as optional dice for random turns.
- Using the advanced variant adds a lot to gameplay with more risks and a need to keep track of quick probabilities.
- Gameplay moves quickly with very little downtime, although this can make the longer setup time stand out.
- A good amount of variety is present with different contests to complete and lots of unique orders to complete.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The ratio of setup time to gameplay time can feel very lengthy with what the overall experience offers.
- It takes a few plays for the puzzle to make sense, as it can be very abstract with placing tiles to take future actions.
- There are multiple gameplay modes and many modules, yet these choices can be overwhelming for a first play.
- Although the market with changing prices seems interesting, it’s more like a timer than a true economic model.
Victory Conditions
Score 140+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
End with all 10 bees in play.
Score at least 150 points.
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What is your favorite aspect of Honey Buzz? Do you have any modules you prefer to play with? I’m hopeful that a little time away will allow this one to shine as only it does with its lovely components! At least I now know the advanced variant is a great way for me to enjoy the solo mode even more. Must keep the honey flowing for these forest friends!
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