Honey Buzz (2020)
Published by: Elf Creek Games
Players: 1-4
Age: 10+
Play Time: 45-90 minutes
Overview:
You need to see what all the buzz is about! In Honey Buzz, players take on the roll of worker bees building a hive, collecting pollen, and producing honey to fulfill orders. Decide where to send your "beeples" to maximize profits in this worker placement game.
Main Mechanics:
Worker Placement
Tile Selection
Tile Placement
Components Review: Honey Buzz is a beautiful game with such a great table presence. I have the retail version of the game and the component quality is still impressive. The art of Honey Buzz is wonderful and welcoming, right from the box art, inviting you into the wonderous world of worker bees.
Honey Buzz really shines with the individual pieces that create gameplay, the honey pieces and hive tiles. The honey pieces are a gummy-like texture and cardboard pieces are thick, feeling sturdy and above average, as far as cardboard components go. It also goes without saying, but the beeples are adorable! If you can afford the deluxe copy, components are that much better using wooden and acrylic pieces.
How to play:
A game of Honey Buzz is made up of multiple rounds consisting of a series turns. In player order, each player takes one of two actions: placing a worker or recalling workers. Placing a worker involves placing one (or more) workers in one of the six hive locations. If another beeple is already there you must place one more (if 1 beeple is there, place a stack of 2; if a stack of 2, then a stack of 3, and so on.) From each location a tile is taken and added to your ever growing hive. In the hive you will building empty cells for nectar. If a cell is completed, take the actions that make up that cell. There are six possible actions: forage (find nectar), produce (make honey), market (sell honey), new bee (get a new worker), decree (wild action), and accounting (get 5 coins). After the sequence of selecting a tile, placing the tile, and resolving corresponding actions is complete, the next player takes their turn. The game continues in this way until either 2 of the 3 order stacks are gone, or the market prices for 4 of the 5 honey and pollen types is fully decreased. At game end, the player with the most points from orders, goals, and excess honey and pollen wins.
Gameplay Review:
I really like gameplay of Honey Buzz. Starting with just 2 workers makes the beginning actions feel important (though my go to strategy is usually to build a work force as quickly as possible to maximize future actions). The tile placement is where the game hits a sweet spot for me. Not only do I love the way your hive transforms over the course of the game, but I love the decisions and combos you can create with your tile selection; having to puzzle out which tile would allow you to do the most during your turn, or whether it is more beneficial to set up future combos. Overall, really good fun!
Honey Buzz also has a solo variant that I have yet to play. I will get to it eventually.
Final Thoughts:
I was a late comer to this game, missing the Kickstarter, but I'm glad that I finally made it. This one definitely lives up to the hype for me. The production quality is so good with gameplay to match. I'm realizing I didn't mention theming, but it is spot on. The actions taken in the game thematically make sense making the game more fun, intuitive, and easier to learn (and remember). The tile placement and building of your hive is both fun and strategic. It is easy to learn with enough depth of strategy, but light enough that I am always willing to play. I really enjoyed Honey Buzz and hope you do too!