Components
- 50 Bee Cards numbered 1-10
- 5 Bzz Out! Cards
- 5 Honey Bear Cards
- 24 Honey Pot Chips
- Instructions
Object of the Game
Bee-come the Queen Bee by bee-ing the first to collect 4 Honey Pots.
Setup
Shuffle the cards and deal them all out, face down, equally to each player.
Stack your cards face down in a pile in front of you: this is your Bee Hive. (No peeking!)
Put the Honey Pots in the center of the playing area. (Before playing the very first time, punch the Honey Pot chips out of their sheet).
Game Play
Play starts with the dealer and always moves to the left until every player has had a turn.
Without showing anyone else, pick up and look at the top card in your Bee Hive.
When it's your turn, decide if you want to swap your card or keep it.
If you want to keep your card, say "BeeKeeper". If you want to swap, you can only ask to swap with the player to your left, who must swap unless he has a Bzz Out card (see Bzz Out Cards below).
The last player (the one to the right of the dealer) can choose to swap with anyone she wants.
Once all the players have had a turn, every- one turns their cards face up in the center of the playing area.
Whoever has the highest card takes one Honey Pot. If there's a tie, each player with the highest card takes a Honey Pot. Players with a Bzz Out card also take a Honey Pot.
Put used cards from each round face down in a discard pile separate from your Bee Hive.
In each round after the first one, the player who had the highest card from the previous round goes first.
Bee Wise
Remember: the highest card in the round will capture a Honey Pot, and so will a Bzz Out card. Do you have a low number or a Honey Bear card? You might decide to swap.
Do you have a high number card? You might want to keep it. And you certainly want to keep a Bzz Out card!
Bzz out Cards
If you have a Bzz Out card, you can tell any player who wants to swap with you to "Bzz Out".
And, at the end of the round, you can take a Honey Pot. Good bee!
Honey Bear Cards
No one loves honey more than bears. So be careful not to get caught with a Honey Bear card or she will steal one of your Honey Pots from you!
If you have a Honey Bear card at the end of the round, put one of your Honey Pots back in the center. (No penalty if you do not have any Honey Pots).
End of the Game
Crowning The Queen
Keep playing until someone has earned 4 Honey Pots to become the Queen Bee.
If more than one player wins a 4th Honey Pot at the same time, each is a Queen Bee. Or Hold a Bee-Off, and play rounds until one player has more Honey Pots than any other player.
If you run out of cards before anyone is crowned the Queen Bee, shuffle all the discarded cards together, deal out new Bee Hives, and continue playing.
Other Ways to Play
To make the game simpler for younger players, try playing without the Bzz Out cards, the Honey Bear cards, or both.
Want to enjoy longer games?
Play for more than 4 Honey Pots. Bee-fore you start a game, agree on how many Honey Pots (5,6 , or even more) it will take to become the Queen Bee.
If you run out of Honey Pots, you can use candies, coins, or anything else you have handy.
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