Components

• 70 Honeycomb cards
• 15 Worker Bee cards
• 10 Drone cards
• 5 Flower cards
• 3 Bear cards
• 1 Queen card
• Rulebook

Object of the Game

Your goal is to be the first player to eliminate all the honeycomb-shaped cards from your hand. Play cards that match on 2 or more sides connecting to the ever-growing beehive. Match more than 2 sides to earn bonus plays which help you play extra cards.

Certain cards make earning bonus plays easier. Others force your opponents to draw additional cards, preventing them from ending the round.

And the pesky Bears? Well, those honey grubbin' nuisances just get in the way, so get rid of 'em as quick as you can!

Setup

The start of the beehive.

A round ends when a player lays down his or her last card. Players tally the value of the cards still in their hands. After three rounds, scores are totaled and the lowest score wins.

• Place the Queen in the center of the table.

• Shuffle the cards (or mix them up another way).

• If playing with 2-3 people, deal 9 cards to each player. If playing with 4-5, deal 8.

• The dealer flips over the top card of the draw pile and places it at the top of the Queen. All her sides are honey (wild) so any color will match her sides.

  Note: If a special card (Drone, Worker Bee, Flower, or Bear) is drawn, it must be discarded face up and another card drawn.

• The player to the left of the dealer plays first, and will become the dealer at the start of the next round

The Cards

Before we get into the sticky details of the rules, let's check out the cards. Pay special attention to bold items.

Queen (1)

Six honey-colored sides, and a queen bee in the middle. The beehive is built around this card. All her sides are honey, which is wild, and can match with any color.

No special cards (Drones, Worker Bees, Flowers, or Bears) can be played touching the Queen.

Honeycomb (70)

Arranged in different patterns of 2-3 colors, these are the most common cards and the only cards allowed to touch the Queen.

Drone (10)

Half honey (wild) and half one color, with one drone bee in the center. These cards are extremely useful for earning bonus plays.

Worker Bee (15)

One side of each color plus a honey (wild) side, with three worker bees in the middle. When played with 2 sides matching, an opponent of the player's choosing must draw 1 card.

If played with 3 sides matching, 2 cards must be drawn. If matched with 4 sides, 3 cards must be drawn, etc.

You can give the cards to one player, or split them among 2, or more, players.

Examples:

• Breanne plays a Worker Bee card matching on 2 sides. She forces Annie to draw 1 card.

• Colton plays a Worker Bee card matching on 3 sides. He can force Jackson and Blake to each draw 1 card, or have one of them draw 2 cards.

Flowers (5)

All one color with a flower adorning the center, these force all other players to draw!

When played with 2 sides matching, all other players must draw 1 card. If played with 3 sides matching, all players draw 2 cards, etc.

Examples:

• Ella plays a Flower card with 2 sides matching. All other players must draw 1 card.

• Calvin plays a Flower card, incredibly matching 4 sides. All other players draw 3 cards!

Bear (3)

Bears, like all other cards, must be played with at least 2 sides touching the beehive. However, 1 of those sides must touch a honey (wild) side of a drone or worker bee.

The other side(s) of the Bear card may match any color. Like the other special cards, they cannot touch the Queen.

When you play a Bear card, it is the only card you may play that turn, no bonus plays allowed. After a Bear is placed on the beehive, no future cards may be played that would touch the Bear - not even another Bear!

A Bear must be played touching honey.

Game Play

On your turn, do one of the following:

1. Play Card(s)

• On each player's first turn, you may play 1 card anywhere it matches 2 or more sides with the beehive.

• Starting on each player's second turn, you may play 2 cards per turn as long as the second card is played adjacent (touching) the first card.

• There is no penalty if you can't make an adjacent play, but it's advantageous to do so.

If this were the first card you played on your turn, you could play your second, adjacent card, in one of these two spots.

Reminders:

Only Honeycomb cards can touch the Queen.

The Queen's sides are honey (wild) and match any other color.

Every card played must match 2 or more sides with the hive.

2. Discard a card

If you can't play, or choose not to, you must either draw 1 card, or discard a card and draw 2 cards. If you discard a Bear card, you must draw 3 cards (ouch!).

Bonus Plays

When you play a card matching on 3, or more, sides, you earn bonus plays which allow you to play additional cards. Every card, except the Bear, can earn these bonus plays.

Bonus plays are used after you play your first card and adjacent card (if able) and may be placed anywhere on the beehive where they match with 2 or more sides.

You may earn a bonus play with your first card, your adjacent card, or both. It is possible to earn multiple bonus plays consecutively in a turn.

Example: Shane strategically plays his first card with 3 sides matching (1 bonus play), setting up a 4-sided adjacent play (2 bonus plays). This earns him a total of 3 bonus plays. He uses the 1st and the 2nd to make 2-sided matches and the 3rd to make a 3-sided match, earning a 4th bonus play. He uses this to make a 2-sided match. What an amazing turn!

Notes:

• There is no penalty if you are unable to use a bonus play (you don't have to draw).

• An adjacent play is only allowed on the first card played each turn, bonus plays are not eligible for further adjacent plays.

• Worker Bee and Flower cards may earn bonus plays in addition to forcing others to draw cards.

Putting It All Together

Here's an example of a couple of strategic turns to help you grasp the key concepts of the game.

1. Reed plays a Worker Bee [1] with 2 sides touching the beehive and chooses Lizzy to draw a card.

2. Reed can make an adjacent play, and does so, laying down a blue Drone [2] with three sides matching, skillfully using the Drone's honey (wild) sides.

3. This earns Reed a bonus play, which he uses to play a Honeycomb [3]. It also fits in a spot matching 3 sides, earning him another bonus play.

4. Reed uses this bonus play to lay down a purple Flower [4] with two sides matching, forcing all other players to draw one card. This ends his turn.

5. Play passes to Clementine, who seizes an opportunity to play a Bear [5] by connecting it to an exposed honey side of a Worker Bee. Her turn is over.

End of the Game

The first player to play their last card wins the round and is awarded a score of 0. All other players tally the value of the cards left in their hands as follows:

Record the scores. The player with the lowest total score after three rounds is crowned the Queen Bee!

Notes:

• If the final card played forces other players to draw cards, they must do so.

• In the event of a tie, the player with the lowest score in the final round is declared the winner.

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