It’s summertime and everyone loves flowers and bees, so Hanni Honey Bee is a great little garden-related game for young board game players to either play on their own or with up to four friends!
Hanni Honey Bee has the aim of not only being a fun toy but also can be a learning tool for younger children who don’t quite know their colours yet. The first version of the game has players working together to fill a honey jar. They do this by rolling a big die, and then picking flowers based on the color — whatever color is shown is the color of the flower that needs to be selected by flying Hanni over to the flower and landing on it. This flower then needs to go into the hive to be turned into honey, then placed into the jar. If the die has a wilted flower, a flower from the field must be picked or discarded — lost to the game. If there aren’t enough honey drops to fill the jar, the game ends and the players lose, whereas if the jar is filled, the players win.
The other way of play has all of the flowers face down on the table, showing just their honey drops. When the die is rolled, the player must select a tile and flip it up — revealing the color of the flower. If the flower is the same color as the die, it can be turned into honey, otherwise, it’s flipped back down and the game goes on. In this mode, if a wilted flower is rolled, a honey drop is turned over and that flower is discarded from the game.
Let’s dive into turning the flowers into honey. Hanni Honey Bee actually has a board that stands up, becoming a big hive that stands in the middle of the table while the flower field and honey jar sit flat in the middle. When you drop a circle flower, flower face up, into the hive, it flips around and lands as a honey drop! This is a super cute, interactive and unique aspect to the game, as it allows children to move around pieces in a new way.
Hanni Honey Bee has some lovely pieces in the game — the art is adorable and I love watching the flowers turn into bits of honey! It’s a very cute first game for younger children, which can be played on their own or with their friends, which I feel is always good to have around.
Hanni Honey Bee is available on Amazon.
