Indie Spotlight: Honey Wars Teaches Us That it's Hard to be a Bee

This post is long overdue.

Nearly a month ago, we went to the Midwinter Gaming Convention here in Milwaukee. We looked around at the shops, bought some cool hand-made metal dice, and I tried to stop myself from buying every iteration of Super Dungeon Explore. We also sat in on some open gaming sessions, one of which was a game called Honey Wars by Andy Smith and Gold Seal Games.

So What's the Buzz All About?
Honey Wars is a game about bees, as one would expect. It's a competitive card game where two to four (maybe up to five or six) players rush to be the first one to have three hive colonies and twelve units of honey. In addition to being used as points, honey units are also currency with which players buy hive colonies, recruit friendly beekeepers for help, or unleash deadly threats unto the other players' hives.

It's that last point that makes this game stand out. See, the "bee killer" cards are actually based off real-world bee killing issues. Things such as the Vorroa mites, Nosema, poor nutrition, and even the dreaded 'pesky kid with a stick' are all playable cards you can throw at your enemy's hives. The bottoms of the cards have a bit of detail text, explaining what the threat is and how it effects the bee population. You'll encounter all of the issues responsible for the disappearance and death of the world's honey bees represented in the game. They aren't just represented for show though, the deadliest threats in real life are also the worst things to get hit with in-game.

Play
The game itself is simple enough to learn. Each turn is broken into four phases, Defend, Harvest, Spend, Draw.

Defend - If your hive has a negative effect, such as mites, disease, or virus card, roll a die. If the result is equal to or greater than the red number on the bottom left of the card, it is removed. Vorroa mites is a particularly frustrating affliction that cripples your ability to harvest honey and has a target number of five, which gives you only a 33% chance of removing it. It is very difficult to overcome if you get hit with it early on, and it makes you think, "Okay, this is just a card game, but these mites are destroying me, I can't imagine how terrible this must for actual bees to deal with." 

Harvest - Gain honey units from your hives, and then reduce it if you have any negative effects. If I remember correctly, it was normal to get three honey per turn in the early game. However, if you have Vorroa mites, you'll only be pulling in one honey per turn, setting you far behind the other players. Remember, you need three hives and twelve honey to win, and you only start with one. It takes eight honey to buy a small hive and (I think) twelve for a large hive. You're going to need all the help you can get.

Spend - Use your honey cubes to recruit friendly bee keepers to defend your hives, or send predators and infestations to your enemies. Robber bee is a handy card that lets you steal honey from your neighbor and add it to your own supply. Other cards such as Old Queen, Honey Badger, and Tracheal Mites come into play here as well.

Draw - Take cards from the deck until you have six cards.

The art on the cards looks great. It gives you a visual idea of what the harmful effects do to the bees without being overly graphic. Some of the cards (looking at you, Old Queen) are silly and light-hearted. I think my favorite card art is the Robber Bee, who is wearing a bandit mask and knit cap and carrying a loot bag.

In short, the game is easy to learn, quick, and fun to play. It was on Kickstarter not too long ago, and there are some pretty cool bonuses for backing. Additionally, Andy has donated to honey bee research and protection, and said a portion of the game's profits will go towards protecting the honey bees as well.

Try this game you, you might even learn something.