In a far-distant future, humans no longer inhabit Earth. The cause of their disappearance (or perhaps their demise) is unknown, but their absence left a void ready to be filled by another sentient species.
Over the span of untold generations, one species of the humble honeybee evolved to fill that void. They grew in size and intelligence to become a highly advanced society. They call themselves Mellifera, and they have made substantial technological advances in addition to the technology they adapted from human ruins, up to and including space travel.
In Apiary, each player controls 1 of 20 unique factions. Your faction starts the game with a hive, a few resources, and worker bees. A worker-placement, hivebuilding challenge awaits you: explore planets, gather resources, develop technologies, and create carvings to demonstrate your faction’s strengths (measured in victory points) over one year’s Flow. However, the Dearth quickly approaches, and your workers can only take a few actions–with benefits increasing relative to worker strength, culminating in powerful strength-4 bonuses–before they must hibernate!
If you enjoy Teotihuacan, Honey Buzz, Tzolk’in, and/or Euphoria, we’re excited for you to play Apiary!
For every launch notification request we received via this signup form before October 4, Stonemaier Games donated $1 to Pollinator.org, the Center for Native Pollinator Conservation, or Heifer International (honeybee gift). The total donation was $8,046.
Components
- 1 multiplayer rulebook, 1 Automa solo rulebook, 1 appendix, 1 teaching guide, and 5 player aids
- 1 double-sided game board (for 1-3 players and 4-5 players; 650x560mm)
- 5 asymmetric hive mats (280x230mm) and 20 asymmetric faction tiles (randomize your pairing using this optional web app)
- 59 cards (57x87mm; 45 seed cards and 14 Automa cards)
- 1 insert (designed to hold sleeved cards) and 1 easy-setup resource tray: see this photo guide for the insert organization
- Plus the following:
Apiary set up for the full 5 players takes up around 99x80cm on the table.
Estimated Schedule
- September 6: announcement and beginning of design diaries
- October 2: first day for reviewers and content creators to share their thoughts on the game
- October 4: product launch on the Stonemaier webstore (followed by shipping starting in mid-October and continuing through early November) and at Essen Spiel
- November 17, 2023: worldwide retail release
Resources
Updates
- March 2024
- January 8
- November 20
- October 18
- October 8
- October 4 (launch day)
- October 2
- mid-September
Localization Partners: There are 4 localization partners for this game, including Maldito (Spanish), Ghenos (Italian), Feuerland (German), and Matagot (French). These partners will announce their participation at their discretion.
View the following image as larger slides on Instagram.
Copyright 2023 Stonemaier LLC. Apiary is a trademark of Stonemaier LLC. All Rights Reserved. This content is not authorized for posting on Steam.
276 Comments on “Apiary”
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Jamey is the best!!!
I have a question about Seed Card #37 (“Draw a farm tile (from the stack) equal to the number of players. Keep 1 tile and pass the remaining tiles clockwise. The next player selects a tile and passes the remaining tiles clockwise (etc.). All players may add the farm tile to their hive for free.”).
What happens for players who have no empty spaces on their hive mats to build the tile for free? Can they place the tile in a reserve? The card does not mention that a reserve would be activated.
Thanks :)
Thanks for your question! If you can’t build it at that moment, the official rule is that you discard it (though it would also be a reasonable house rule for the player to reserve it).
Reserve is described in the appendix. You can build a tile from reserve by taking an Advance action and choosing a reserved tile to build instead of one in the tile row.
Thank you! I have a couple of follow-ups.
First, can you tell me where I can find that rule about having to discard? Is that page 6 in the rulebook, under “Worker Placement”?
Second, can you confirm that any resource-costs associated with a tile (including those in reserve) are not payed until the tile is built in your hive? My understanding is that, unless explicitly stated otherwise, you don’t pay costs for reserved tiles until you build them. This allows you to calculate any discounts provided by your hivemat and by previously built recruits. Is this correct?
It isn’t in the rules–it’s a question that arose after publication, and the official answer is as stated.
You are correct that you do not pay the cost of a tile until you actually build it (there is rarely a delay between gaining and building a tile, but the few opportunitities to reserve a tile present such a delay).
Hello, I have a question about using seed cards #43 (“Pay 1 basic resource to place a second worker during your turn. Do not refill any tile slots until your second worker placement is resolved.”) and #27 (same one-time benefit as #43).
Given that I place a bee on Research, Card #43 is drawn and played. I place another bee on Research, bumping my own bee. Card #27 is drawn.
Can I play the newly-drawn card #27 to place another (third) bee on this turn, taking another action on the board?
Thank you :)
Great question! Yes, each of those cards lets you play an additional worker, so the multiple placed workers you describe here is allowed.
Hi Jamie,
I just got a copie, and I’m wondering if workers gain strength when retrieved from the landing area of the docking mat. I ask because under the landing area spaces it says “Workers here do not change strength and only collect income when retrieved.” I understand they don’t gain strength when placed there, but the instructions and how to play videos I’ve seen say they gain +1 strength when moved from the landing area to the active pool. It’s a little confusing due the conflicting texts. What’s the answer here?
Thanks! When placed in the landing area, workers don’t gain strength (that’s what the text is referring to). They only gain strength when retrieved from the landing area.
Hi Jamie,
I just got your Apiary Newsletter and you mentioned an expansion coming out soon. I just spent 20 minutes scouring the web, and this site, and can’t find a single detail about it. If there is any information about it, even just a blog post or teaser, could you share the link so I can learn about whatever is known about the expansion? Very excited!
Best,
Hunter
Thanks for your question! The only information we’ve revealed so far about the expansion is that there will be an Apiary expansion. :) We’ll talk about it in much more detail when we’re close to the release.
Thanks a bunch Jamie, for a second there I thought I was just out of the loop so glad to hear that I know all there is to know! haha
If I may add my two cents, I got this game because it seemed like a great game for “average” board game players and what I mean by that is, a game I could bring out and explain pretty quickly and get playing with a range of players, all of who would have fun doing so. And the game has totally delivered! In the expansion, it would be cool if it did two things:
1) Added cool new elements while still keeping the same accessibility.
2) Add some optional modules (possibly small board extension(s)) that could add a bit more of the “crunch” that Stonemaier is known for. Thanks for your time and looking forward to the announcement!
Thanks Hunter! We recently sent the final files to the printer, and I look forward to sharing what’s in the expansion later this year. :)
Hi Jamey and Connie!
Just picked up my copy and have played a couple of games so far. Loving it!
My game group has been loving the feel of upgrading/expanding their hive and watching their turns get stronger. We were wondering if there had been any alternate “game-end” triggers that had been explored that made it last longer? We have just started brainstorming a couple of house rules and don’t mind if we run into some balancing issues.
We want super-powered, giant hives! And to keep playing longer! 🤣😅
Thanks David! I’ll answer with a question, if you don’t mind: Which of the two end-game conditions is the one that typically triggers the end of game for your group?
It has been having the all sectors on the hibernation comb filled
Thanks! So maybe try a few games where that end-game condition is invalid; the end game only ends when a player has placed all of their hibernation tokens. Maybe that will give the game the extra time you’re looking for?
Thanks, We’ll give that a try!
Also, just to clarify, we definitely are not unhappy with the length of game/playtime. It feels pretty standard for games of this weight and style. I know many parties get bored if it gets drug out for too long, and by design these games end right around the time your engine/economy really gets rolling.
We were just curious on other ideas.
Thanks again! Here’s to many more sessions of Apiary :)
Hi Jamey and Connie! Thanks for the great game we were playing for the first time today and had two questions from our three player game:
1. What happens if someone takes the advanced option but their hive is already full? Do you get to “reserve” the tile in front of you and then build it later if you increase the frames as some parts of the appendix indicates? Or is it just a loss of a turn completely? Or can you not place the bee there because you can’t take a “part of the turn” rule, except in our mind you can take a part of the turning you can pick up a tile as it says on the game board, just not build.
2. For the gaining of income when retrieving bees, can you choose not to take income? Is it optional? The rule book says that passives are optional but it makes the income sound like a forced action based on the wording. We ask because some of the farm tiles income is to increase the bee strength by one and sometimes we didn’t want to do that.
Appreciate the help!
Thanks for playing Apiary, Tana!
1. If you can’t benefit from the action (i.e., there’s no space in your hive to place the tile), you can’t choose the action.
2. You must gain 1 different income if possible per worker retrieved. You can work around this by retrieving fewer workers than you have farms, as that would leave some incomes ungained.
Thanks Jamey!
Hi Jamey. We love Apiary and have played it as a family several times. One question for you, could you elaborate on the Reserve area? we had a seed card that mentioned gain 1 Development tile and place it in your Reserve area then Build on your turn. Does this mean that the there’s no need to pay the resources mentioned on the bottom of the tile when Building the tile from your Reserve to your Hive? Or, when Building on your turn from your Reserve you must Also pay the amount mentioned on the tile?
Thanks for playing Apiary! Sorry the reserve rules are a bit difficult to find (they’re in the appendix under related tiles). All rules still apply. For example, if you’ve reserved a farm tile and want to add it to your hive, you must place a worker on the Advance action and pay the cost on the tile (instead of a tile in the tile row).
For the upgraded Iber faction, if they only have one level 4 bee at the start of their turn and use their power to recall causing the worker to hibernate, do they then get a free level 1 bee to do a regular turn? Or is having their last active bee hibernate the end of their turn?
The empty hive rule only applies at the very beginning of your turn if you have nothing you can do on your turn, so in this case having their last active bee hibernate would end their turn.
Two questions:
1) When exploring with the queenship, do you have to move the number of spaces indicated by adding the strengths of the two bees there? For example, if there was a strength 1 and a strength 3, do I have to move four spaces, or may I move three or less?
2) For planets like Zingi and others, when activating the strength 4 ability, do you have to claim all of the required action? Zingi says “teach one dance and use it twice.” What if you only want to use it once? Can you teach a dance and use it once and not use it a second time? Other planets give you things like a combo of resources and hive mats. If you don’t want a hive mat, can you still claim the resources with the strength 4 ability and not get the hive mat?
Thank you!
Thanks for playing! The wording for the explore action is to move “up to” that number of spaces, so as long as you move at least 1 space, that’s fine.
In Apiary, you must gain benefits if they might impact other players. In the examples you provided, the benefits only impact you, so it’s fine to not fully gain them.
My gaming peeps and I were lucky enough to be taught and play a game of Apiary early this morning (thanks again Tony!) at the Niagara Boardgame Weekend. What a great game! Holds true to the pattern and further solidifies my love of your company and the games you produce. Well done again!!
Thanks Diane! I’m glad you enjoyed your first play of Apiary. :)
Dear Jamey: Thank you very much for publishing this game! I like it very much.
Thanks Sam! I’m glad you’re enjoying Apiary. :)
When you Grow, do you reduce the strength of the bee or is that the minimum requirement
You don’t change the strength of the bee on Grow. You’re just using that much strength for the benefit.
I love this game. When is the expansion coming out? Apiary: Attack of the Space Hornets! Whatever expansion you guys come out with, I am sure it will be great.
Thanks for your excitement! So far the only thing we’ve announced about the Apiary expansion is that design work on it has begun: https://stonemaiergames.com/e-newsletter/
I’ve played Apiary a few times already with 2-3 players and I’ve been absolutely loving it! I have a question about the docking mats. The components list says there are 5 in the box, but my 5th docking mat is for automata. Does the 5th player use the automata docking mat?
Thanks Kirby! There are 6 total docking mats, so one may have slipped out somewhere? Maybe under the insert?
I was wondering why I only had 5 from out of the box. Last place I removed the components out of the punch board, I was sitting on the couch so I checked there just now and lo and behold, I found the yellow docking mat I’ve been missing! Thanks for the quick response and I guess I learned a lesson in only removing punchboard material on a table from now on 😅
I’m glad you found it! I’ve definitely done that with games too. :)
Hi Jamey,
My friends and I played Apiary for the first time over new year’s and had a lot of fun with, but we hit a bit of a speedbump. With 5 players, there ended up being heavy competition for certain spots to place workers on the board, especially in the early game where everyone was trying to Explore in order to get resources. Workers were constantly getting bumped out of spots until someone gave up on what they were trying to do.
Getting bumped moves workers closer to hibernation, which can grant you rewards, but it was still a bit frustrating because it felt like there was nothing you could do within the game itself to ensure you could complete your tasks. The only way for us to avoid gridlock was to negotiate outside the game, just us around the table. Which can work, but I’m curious if you have any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks!
Brent: Thanks for playing Apiary! When you place a worker on an action, that’s when you gain the benefit of the action–you don’t need to wait until later. By having a worker bumped back to you, the benefit is that you now have a worker to place on another action.
Can you give me an example of a task you were trying to complete and why you were unable to do so? I’m trying to figure out if there is a rules confusion that I can clear up. Thanks!
OH wait, you take the action when you place the worker? We thought you completed all actions at once when you used your turn to recover your workers. As in, after placing one or more workers you had to wait to recover them before gaining the benefits of the action you assigned them to. If that’s the case, we must have read the rules quite incorrectly haha
When you place a worker, you pay the cost and gain the benefit, all on the same turn. This is all part of performing an action.
Perhaps the confusion is that you only gain income (from farms) when you retrieve–maybe your group confused income with action benefits?
In hindsight, this does explain a lot! We were trying to take in a lot of information during a frenzy of activity, so I’m not surprised that we mixed something up. Thanks for the clarification!
Jamey, I am loving playing Apiary and truly appreciate you sponsoring Rodney Smith’s episode of “Watch It Played” on this game. Connie Vogelmann and and Kwanchai Moriya have created an awesome game that is beautiful and made with loving attention to detail. Definitely looking forward to future expansions!
Absolutely! Rodney does amazing work for rules videos.
Possibly too soon to ask this, but are there expansions planned for this game?
Check out this progress chart :) : https://stonemaiergames.com/e-newsletter/
With the rule “choose a dance that has not been taught” is the result included in the dance? For example if there is one dance that is convert two queens favor for a honey, could a player teach a new dance that is convert two queens favor for two victory points and a seed card?
Absolutely! The “has not been taught” is just referring to the rectangular tiles, each of which can only be the target of a dance creation once per game.
Okay makes sense. Thanks for the super quick response! Absolutely love the game!
How does that work if both Queen’s Favor tokens were used to create the dance to convert to honey. I don’t have any other queen’s favor tokens to create a second dance like that in the same game
You’re correct that there are limited dance tokens; after you use them, they can’t be used again. But some Queen’s Favor icons are printed on rectangular dance tiles.
Loving the game! SPACE BEEEEEEES!!! Question though, plant Zingi’s strength 4 ability: Teach 1 dance and use it twice, if all dances are taught can you still use this ability and just use a dance twice?
Thanks!
Thanks for playing! For Zingi, it’s only the dance you create at that moment that you can use, so unfortunately there’s no benefit if you’re not creating a dance with Zingi.
Perfect thank you! That is how I read it. I get to enjoy the sweet sweet reward of being right.🤓
Hallo stonemaier games,
We love to play apiary…played it 3 times today…alas emotion went high and when we packed the game a friend spilled wine on the game….2 player aides and all 5 starting hives were wasted… is it possible somehow to get replacementment. Thanks in advance.
If i have to adress it somewhere else please let me know
Hello Moris! I’m glad our game inspired such strong emotions! We’re always happy to replace components if you fill out the form here: https://stonemaiergames.com/about/replacement-parts/
Thx for the quick response. I filled in the form.
Is the queen bee ship suppose to have a stand? I see it constantly in every picture that is posted about the game, but I don’t see it in the components list on this page. So wasn’t sure if my copy was missing it, or wasn’t suppose to have it.
The clear stand and base should be in every copy of the game; if you don’t find it in your copy, please fill out the replacement parts form and we’ll send it to you.
Our research deck ran out, do we reshuffle the discard pile “graveyard” back in the deck?
Yes, please reshuffle it to form a new deck.
Hi Jamey,
Great game! I really appreciate the effort you and your team put into the production of your games. It really brings your games up another level for me.
Can we expect an expansion for Apiary?
Thanks Richard! If we announce that we’re working on an expansion, you’ll see it appear in this progress chart. :)
https://stonemaiergames.com/e-newsletter/
Hi, great game, really enjoying it!
Quick rules question:
Does the rule “you must use all or part of the selected action” mean that it is not a valid move to take a Carve action once the stack of carve tiles is exhausted?
If so, does this extend to Automa? Would Automa go through the motions of a Carve action, or would she skip to the other action below it?
Thanks,
Alex
Thanks Alex! You’re correct that you cannot take a Carve action if there are no Carve tiles to gain. That applies to Automa too.
Brilliant, thanks Jamey! I’d unfortunately done the opposite last night and possibly cost myself the time needed to win – think it calls for a rematch 😊
Hi Jamey,
Another conceptually-linked question that’s cropped up now:
Does reaping a strength-4 bonus count as being able to use part of the action? Can I teach a dance with nothing to convert, or can I upgrade my faction with no means of growing bees or being frames? It’s something we’ve not really paid attention to at our table and now it’s been challenged I think the answer should actually be “no”, given that they are bonuses, not the actions themselves?
Thanks,
Alex
Alex: Great question. You are not required to gain the strength-4 benefit.
Yo, two questions if a player uses the the strength four bonus on Zingi after teaching a dance do they get to use the dance they had previously taught or is there no benefit given. If when using seed card 37 if there is no space for more tiles does the player gain it ten discard it, or not gain it in the first place.
Yo! For Zingi, if you’ve already taught a dance, there’s no benefit from using the strength-4 benefit, as it only applies to a newly created dance (and you can only teach 1 dance per player per game).
It’s hard to answer without the text of the card provided, but I’m guessing this is the card that says that each player gains 1 tile from a hand of tiles and places it for free? Each player definitely gains the tile, and if you can’t place it (or don’t want to), you just discard it instead.
Thank you very much, sorry for not providing the cards text but that was the one.
Hey there Jamey and team!
Thanks for Apiary and all of the wonderful supporting materials here. I’ve played a few Automa rounds and a couple of games with friends and I’m seeking some official rule clarifications because there was some wiggle room in our table’s interpretation of the Appendix. Thanks again!
_
Carve – Brood Rearing: Gain {2} VP per each of your active workers at the end of the game.
Question: Is an ‘active worker’ here defined as workers in my active pool, or does it include those in the Landing Area / on the board (i.e. anything not hibernating)?
_
Faction – Orea: “Whenever you acquire your 4th active worker”
Question: What are some examples of this happening and which worker is the 4th? For example, is this only when I use Grow (or some similar Development/Seed Card) to bring my count of workers in the active pool (or both parts of the Docking Mat?) from exactly 3 to exactly 4? Is it when I reduce the number of my workers (hibernating or not yet gained) outside the game to 0? Is the strategy here to try to maximize times where I have three workers, with one hibernated?
_
Faction – Saha: “Whenever you retrieve, collect an additional income”
Question: This is per retrieval, not per retrieved worker, right? Meaning, when I retrieve X workers, I will collect X+1 times, correct? Not X+X?
_
Planet – Zingi: “Strength 4 bonus: Teach 1 dance and use it twice”
Question: Just looking to confirm because it’s kind of intuitive, but this does *not* allow a player to teach a 2nd or 3rd dance, right?
_
Development – Pollen Patty: “Retrieve 2 workers (no aging) (collect 2 income)
Question: No aging, but we’re still following Page 7 rules on Worker Retrieval, so if a strength-4 worker is retrieved in this way, it must hibernate, yes?
_
Development – Serum: “Retrieve all workers (no aging) (collect income for each)”
Question: Same as above :)
_
Seed Card 4: “Teach 1 dance if you haven’t yet taught a dance, then you may use its conversion once”
Question: Just the order of wording here, but if we’ve already taught a dance before playing this card, may we use that other dance, or is this card not possible to be played after my first dance is taught?
_
Seed Card 8 and 24: “Retrieve 1 worker (no strength change or income)”
Question: Similar to the Developments above, if a Strength 4 worker is retrieved it will immediately hibernate, yes?
_
Seed card 40: “Re-collect from 1 Explore Token”
Question: Just from those stored on my own Docking Mat, right? If I’ve discarded Explore Tokens for some other bonus, I can’t recollect from those?
—
Thank you again! Apiary has been a joy to play and teach, and most of my questions above are just edge cases and hunch confirmation. We’re really enjoying bumbling around.
Hi Chris – Jamey will probably answer soon, but I can answer several of these (and some of them are in the rulebook or appendices, but it’s not easy to find the exact wording that applies to narrow cases):
“Active workers” is everything not in the general supply (i.e. active pool, landing area, on the board). So any of your beeple figures that aren’t available to gain from the “Grow” action.
Orea: It’s your 4th active worker, so yes, you are trying to have exactly 3 active workers, and gain a 4th as often as you can.
Saha: Yes, it’s X+1 income when retrieving.
Zingi: Correct, an individual player may not, in any circumstances, teach more than 1 dance in a game.
Pollen Patty, Serum, certain Seed Cards: If a strength-4 worker is retrieved, and not aged, it does not hibernate. There was a bit of confusion with the instructions to “hibernate immediately” – what that actually is meant to clarify is that if your strength-4 worker is bumped, you can’t wait and move them to the Landing area, and when you recall a strength-4 worker that it doesn’t collect in come first.
Seed card 4: Unfortunately, you can’t use the card for the ability if you have already taught a dance. You can still, however, discard it for 1 basic resource or plant it.
Seed card 40: Yes, you only recollect from the Explore tokens on your docking mat.
Thank you, David! Chris, I’m sorry I couldn’t reply yesterday. If you have any lingering questions, please let me know and I’m happy to help.
Good morning,
TODAY has been Apiary’s official Amazon release date since it’s October 18th launch, with the official product page stating “This item will be released on November 21, 2023. Pre-order now.”. It has been on my calendar since day one (Amazon Prime credit card with points), and I have checked back periodically to confirm, with no changes.
I just went to order and the product page suddenly looks ABANDONED with the only purchase option being a 3rd party! After looking into the historical data on Keepa, it looks like it was abruptly REMOVED a few days ago – around 8pm CST on Nov 16th.
PLEASE tell me this is still being released on Amazon at some point TODAY, as I was going to surprise my family with this for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Thank you.
Sergio: We’ll look into this with the distributor who sells our games to Amazon (they control the listing, not us).
Sergio: I have good news and bad news: The good news is that our distributor who sells to Amazon did have Apiary listed on Amazon, but their inventory sold out over the weekend. They’ve issued a restock order. The bad news is that they haven’t received the restock order yet, so they can’t continue to sell it. They probably won’t receive it until sometime next week. We do offer the game on the Stonemaier Games webstore, though (we have fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia).
Hi Jamey, thank you for the update. I guess I didn’t expect the pre-orders to “sell out”. I will just have to keep an eye on it over the next few weeks.
So, 3 of the four people in our group were able to max out the queens favor and one of those folks got the Retinue bonus which translates to an additional 25 points. Other tiles give you 6-12 points. It seems like this end of game bonus is significantly overpowered. I saw in another comment that is unlikely someone gets to the top of this track, but it was pretty simple for most of us.
Thanks for sharing, Nick! Can you elaborate on what made it simple for most of you? It really is something you need to actively work towards, so if it’s happening quite often, it’s possible there is a rule being misinterpreted.
It was a compilation of us having the queens favor as a part of our income, benefits from seed cards as well as people benefiting from dances as well as development and recruit actions.
How often is each player collecting income each game? You’re right that some tiles and cards have Queen’s Favor–enough that one player might be able to push far up that track–but for all players to gain that much Queen’s Favor in the same game is highly unusual (even with a dance generating QF).
It was through income turns seed cards as well as development tiles and ongoing recruit benefits. We did not take income when workers had to hibernate at level 4 either. Also I will clarify we had one person at 22 and two at 25 with the other player only claiming 1 point. So technically the rd player was nearly maxed out.
Thanks! I understand that it was from a combination of factors. If it happens again that more than 2 players reach 20+ Queen’s Favor, I’d love to see a photo of each player’s final tableau (jamey@stonemaiergames.com)
Is there a specific brand of sleeves that is recommended for Apiary? Or Stonemaier titles as a whole?
BoardGameGeek does a good job of listing sleeve size and options. Personally we used GameGenic Standard American Matte.
Thanks David! Kevin, sorry I missed this question. Stonemaier Games doesn’t have sleeve recommendations, as we use a special cardstock and linen embossing built to be durable for many plays (plus, we’re generally trying to reduce plastic use, though Apiary does have plastic minis and a plastic insert).
Got my first solo play in tonight! Really enjoyed it. The only thing I can’t figure out is what the “gained worker strength” tile is about. I thought maybe it was about Retrieve or Grow actions but I can’t find that token referenced anywhere else in the Automa book. Im sure I’m missing something just can’t figure out what.
Gained Worker Strength is the strength that Automa’s workers start at when she gets new ones. The value 2 or 3 is based upon difficulty.
See the Setup bullet 2 on p.2, difficulty levels (right-most column) on p.3 and Hibernation on p.10. Have fun, David
Awesome thank you
Absolutely loving it so far! Got it Saturday and have played 6 or 7 games so far. only complaint is that the queen ship does not fit on it’s stand very well, its to loose so you have to pick up the stand and can’t pick up the ship. But for sure a 10/10.
Thanks, Arden! We have a few solutions for the QueenShip stand on the FAQ (choose one of these):
–Push the rod less than gently into the QueenShip (our manufacture indicates that this should solve the problem in most copies).
–Glue the rod into the QueenShip; there’s never a need to separate the two.
–Add a strip of scotch tape around the end of the rod to add just a little thickness.
–Move the QueenShip by the rod instead of the miniature.
–Ignore the rod and just use the QueenShip.
Hey Jamey! Love the game, btw. Question: What happens when you have no more workers left? i.e. all of your strength 4 workers have been bumped.
Thanks Michael! That’s the situation for which we added the “empty hive rule.” If you have absolutely no workers anywhere (to place or retrieve), at the beginning of your turn, you get a free strength-1 worker and proceed to perform an action with it.
Got our copy last week and played it over the weekend! I’ve played it at 2 players and solo now, and I have to say that we are loving it so far! An instant classic for us. Some people might be turned off by the randomness of how certain bonuses are laid out but that’s all part of the fun! Make sure you’re setting yourself up to gain those bonuses if you want them. I think it creates a sense of urgency and can completely change how you will play each game. It adds to the strategy. It doesn’t take away from it imo.
Thanks Jamey for always keeping your eye out for amazing games and game developers! Your approach to how you run your business is how all businesses should be modeled.
Thank you Connie for designing such an amazing game! We love it and look forward to your next project!
Thank you, Nick and Maria! I’m so glad you’re enjoying Apiary–it was a lot of fun to work on with Connie.
Good morning, quick automa question. When the automa performs the Advance action, does the pawn go in the “2+” space directly above the leftmost Farm hex or does it go in the blank space where a player would place their pawn? I was initially playing the former but now think it’s the later. Thanks!
Hi Jason. Automa’s workers [pawns] are placed the same way as your workers. Her workers should be interacting with yours on the board, just as another players would.
In general, it always plays the way you play *unless* the Automa rules specify differently.
Have fun,
David
Does anyone have the shipping weight handy?
2.8 kg
Any update on U.K. fulfilment. Did the shipment get to Spiral Galaxy. Thanks.
We’ll update you if anything we previously announced has changed, but there are no changes from the update just a few days ago (https://mailchi.mp/187b2363c7c9/apiary). As noted there, shipments in Europe were expected to begin today, and that’s exactly what has happened. You’ll get your tracking number sometime over the next 2 weeks.
Thank you Jamey. I hadn’t seen that update and it isn’t in my spam folder.
That’s odd–I agree that you weren’t on the email. I’ll look into why that’s the case. Either way, I link updates on this page (above the comments). Also, while looking at your order, I see your note about the Parks and Biddy & Walter realms. They won’t automatically be included with any order; rather, for customers who ordered the original version of them, we’ll send those customers a promo code to use when the reprints are in stock (they were expected in time for this preorder but didn’t make it on time).
Yay! I got my copy. Can’t wait to play it.
So does Connie by chance have any reading, tv documentary etc recommendations about bees?
I’m always fascinated not only by the games I play but the inspiration designers had making the games and I love diving into a theme.
From what I understand from some things she’s said in conversations on BGG, bee keeping is kinda a family tradition for her.
I’m actually surprised that the game manual didn’t include a suggested reading/viewing page for the topic.
Jordan: I’ll check with Connie about this! We don’t typically offer recommended reading in our games, but we do often mention topics like this in design diary posts. Check them out! You’ll see a mention there of games that inspired Apiary and a few book series: https://stonemaiergames.com/games/apiary/design-diary/
Hi Jordan! I hope you enjoy the game! Most of what I’ve learned about beekeeping has either been through my beekeeping textbooks (snooze!) or from my mentor/others in my local beekeeping community, so unfortunately I don’t have a lot of great resources at the tip of my tongue. I will say that I’ve heard great things about Honeyland (it’s on my list of movies to watch, though I’ve heard it’s a bit of a downer). If you are interested in learning more about bees though, I strongly recommend reaching out to your local beekeeping community; they generally can always use an extra set of hands to build boxes, harvest honey, or just do basic hive maintenance. In my experience, beekeepers are incredibly friendly, and are always looking to welcome someone new into the fold. There’s nothing quite like hands-on experience experience either – they’re really fascinating creatures!
Hi there – I just got my copy today! Two questions:
1. The description says that the insert is designed to fit sleeved cards, but I’m not finding that to be true. I’ve tried multiple different Standard American sleeves (Fantasy Flight, Ryker, Mayday) and they all fit along the width of the card, the tops are getting fairly squished in the cavity.
2. Is there a diagram that shows how the components are supposed to go back into the box?
1. That’s correct, the insert is designed in terms of length and width to hold sleeved cards, though it depends somewhat on the size of the sleeves.
2. There are step-by-step photos on the side bar of this page (the page on which you’re commenting) that shows the organization of the components. It may not show up on your phone, but you can see them on a computer for sure. Thanks!
Re #1 – I’ve found the Ryker sleeves to be the “shortest” and suffer the least bending when put into the tray. I’d still like to understand if I’m doing something wrong or if my insert is just off-tolerance from the mold.
Re #2 – I found Jamey’s post on BGG that shows how things go back in the box: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3156846/september-20-insert-and-component-organization
I can’t speak for others, but we sleeved the cards in our copy with the standard Gamegenic sleeves, which measure 66mmx91mm, and didn’t notice any issues with the sleeves not fitting in their intended place in the insert.
Will there be a digital app
Maybe in a few years! It depends on there being a digital partner interested in making it.
Hooray! Just received tracking info for Apiary here in Canada :)
Hi, i’m french and i would like to get this sweet discount, how can i get one french copy ? :(
We’re the English-language publisher of our products; for French versions, please see Matagot’s webstore (when they launch Apiary).
What are the dimension of the main board?
It’s the measurement noted on the component list above: “1 double-sided game board (for 1-3 players and 4-5 players; 650x560mm)”
Thanks, realized it too late🙈
Is the queenship made to be painted?
In the way that any plastic miniature can be painted, yes (but it also functions just fine in gray). :)
What are the dimension of the Seed Deck and any other cards so I can sleeve them! also will box support sleeved cards?
Absolutely, that information is right above you on this page: “59 cards (57x87mm; 45 seed cards and 14 Automa cards)” and “1 insert (designed to hold sleeved cards) and 1 easy-setup resource tray”
I’m always telling my teenager to look at the fine print. I’m so glad he’s not sitting in front of the computer with me right now. I was looking at the wrong country’s price. So sorry. Lesson learned and very chagrined.
I wish this was still the price it was 2 hours ago. Such a shame that it’s gone up in price so much! I wish we could support you but not at this amount. Maybe later in the year I guess….
Heather: I see this and your above comment; I’m not aware of any fine print. The price of Apiary is heavily discounted right now. Normally it will be a $75 game. It’s launch-week price is $59, and for Stonemaier Champions that’s discounted even lower to $47. These prices have been the same since the game launched on our webstore 13 hours ago, and they’ll remain the same through Sunday.
Hi Jamey and the whole Stonemaier team, I ordered Apiary this morning and figured I’d add a few new promo realms to my order. In my haste, I ordered Ark Nova which I already own. If it isn’t too late, can I have that realm replaced with Lost Ruins?
Thanks Luke! We can easily update your order. Can you send an email with your order number and the change you want to contact@stonemaier.com? Thanks!
Hi Jamey,
I also would like to add the 3 new RR packs, and just reached out to SM customer service to add!
Thank you!
Thanks Joel! We’re happy to add them to your order. :)
Jamey, you have great people working with you. I left a comment about MY MISTAKE with my order. You responded promptly with a remedy, which–of course–is appreciated. Following your advice, I sent that email. I hit send at 3:45 pm. My order was actually updated at 3:41 pm, four minutes BEFORE I sent the email. Then, Joe APOLOGIZED for the “late response.”
Keep on doing what you do and give Joe a raise! That dude’s fast!
I’m glad we could both help and that Joe is doing a great job. :)
Hey everyone at SM.
Am I correct to see that there is not a rolling realms promo for apiary? I see the new ones but I have not seen one for apiary. Thanks!
Hi Marc! That’s correct. The Apiary realm is arriving too late to include with this shipout, so we’ll have it on our webstore in 2 months.
I see. Awesome, thank you for the info.
if I buy it today, when are you sending it? Until nov?
Shipping is happening throughout October and probably into early November.
I’m not sure if I’m going to like this Jamey, I think the theme is putting me off. Will need to think about it. Saying that, £52 is pretty cheap for what you get so might be worth a buy. I’ve heard great things about Libertalia so might try that instead!
$47 for Champions should be £38, why is UK being charged £47?!!!
Thanks for your question! In Europe, you pay something called “VAT” (value added tax), which legally must be included in the listed price on online stores. You’re paying the same product price as in the US (where sales taxes are added at checkout), just with VAT added up front as is legally required.
Ok thanks, I guess with 20% added onto the US price it does even out as you said. Is there going to be a retail edition of Apiary and if so what differences would there be? Thanks for answering promptly.
There’s just one version of Apiary (the version you’re seeing today is the same version that retailers will get later in November).
Thanks again, I decided to purchase.
Will this also be available to order through the Canadian website?
Absolutely! All of our products are available on all webstores (after they launch, which will be in about 45 minutes for Apiary).
Can you still pre order it for pickup at spiel ?
Apiary will launch on our webstore later today. It hasn’t been available for preorder, but we have copies at Spiel for sale and demo!
Obviously haven’t had a chance to play the game yet, but I just want to say the Art/Design of the board/components looks awesome. Stonemaier board games always look unique and amazing. Hi-five to the Team.
Thanks Bryan! Kwanchai has a knack for bright, beautiful space art, and I’m always happy to work with our graphic designer, Christine Santana. 3D modeler Heriberto Martinez also did a great job.
Love the honey bee theme and advocacy! So needed especially in todays climate. Are you going to do any additional donations for the bees with game purchases going forward?
Thanks Ben! We base our donations on prelaunch signups, as we view it our responsibility to make these contributions (opposed to linking donations to purchases, which at least indirectly passes on the responsibility/cost to customers). Someday if we make an expansion for Apiary, we’ll do another prelaunch notification.
In the meantime, if there are Apiary customers who believe in this type of advocacy, they are welcome to make donations to these charities.
I don’t think I recall in other games I have played having a token for “Wax”. Not sure what shape/color I would make that either. The closest I recall are the red wax seal’s you get in the encyclopedia board game.
Hey Bryan,
Encyclopedia was published by holy grail games, none of the games made by This company have used wax as a resource. I’m only stating this to ensure there is no confusion of publishing companies.
Yup, was just thinking of any game I had seen with a wax resource (since Jamey talked about it in a youtube video)
Yup, was just trying to think of any game that used wax as a resource. Also sadly Holy Grail Games shutdown (despite encyclopedia being quite good)
I am saddened to see the color purple wasn’t used, I saw a brief flash of it in the worker piece color; in the image labeled with information regarding the design process, personally I hope for colors in upcoming expansions. Orange and purple please :)
I would have loved to include purple and orange, but colorblind differentiation is really important, and my tests indicated that orange and purple blended in with other colors too much. You’re welcome to paint your minis a different color if colorblindness isn’t a factor in your gaming group.
Is there going to be any type of special edition with premium pieces at launch?
Indeed! Every copy of Apiary is deluxe out of the box: Custom wooden resources, custom insert with a resource tray, and all the tiles, factions, and cards that you might normally find as stretch goals in other games. :)
I am sorry to hear about Biddy. We said good bye to my little boy Nitro in August. We have always appreciated the fact that you’ve included them in your company in so many ways.
I’m so sorry about Nitro, Mike. Biddy was a very special little boy to me, as I’m sure Nitro was to you.
You said October 4 is when we can order from your website but when will it be released to local game stores?
Late November is the retail release. :)
What time on October 4th will the order go live?
Around 10:00 am Central (St. Louis time).
Hi. Quick question: is this game going to be language dependent?
There are elements of the game that use icons, but Apiary’s cards and tiles rely heavily on text to provide deep and enriching gameplay.
It looks like Stonemaier tried out a wash on the worker bee miniatures? How did that go? Had you done that before? Also, it looks like the queen bee was ignored for this process?
Indeed, I talk about the wash in detail on Sunday’s “Tales from Production” video. The wash is necessary so players could easily see the numbers on the miniatures (each worker’s strength). It isn’t that the QueenShip was ignored; rather, a wash wasn’t necessary on the QueenShip (as the QueenShip has no numbers on it).
🤔 dumb question.. what range is the $$ yall thinking for the game? definitely a game that i might get once its live.
It isn’t dumb at all! :) Here’s what I said in the September 14 design diary post: “It’s in the $70-$80 range (or $60-$70 with the launch discount for a few days, or $50-$60 during launch for Stonemaier Champions).”
I love bees
Do you think you will expand on this game in the future with expansions similar to wingspan, or do you consider it a complete package with no further plans?
We’ve put everything we have into the game as is–there’s nothing that we set aside for future expansions, nor are we working on expansions. However, if people love Apiary as much as we do and want more stuff, I might ask Connie if she wants to add more stuff via an expansion someday. If that happens, per our usual methods, the expansion will remain separate, allowing people to buy either the core game or the expansion (no combined editions that leave people wondering if they should have waited).
Will we be allowed to purchase two copies of Apiary on Oct 4th?
Absolutely! :)
Sweet.
Ordered 2, one to keep and one to give away to a friend.
Will Apiary be released on the Canada site on October 4, 2023?
Indeed, it’s a simultaneous launch in our 4 webstores (US, Canada, Europe, and Australia).
Awesome! Looking forward to it!
Hi Jamey!,
We recently acquired and played Euphoria. We love it. You mention this game is a good fit for those who like Euphoria. Would you be able to expand on this? What makes it a good fit? And is there enough differences between the two to warrant having both, or does this trump Euphoria?
Thank you in advance
Grace
I’m glad you’re enjoying Euphoria, Grace! There are similarities in principle between the two games, but they’re very different games. Both games involve elements of positive player interaction (i.e., in Euphoria you can work together with other players to complete markets; in Apiary the planets you explore can be visited later by other players). Both games also feature the bumping mechanism of worker placement and actions where the numbers on your workers matter, but Euphoria uses dice for this (randomness) while Apiary does not (your worker’s strength increases when it’s bumped or retrieved). The actual actions in both games are very different–it’s more that if you like the feel of Euphoria, I think you’ll like the feel of Apiary.
Is there any chance the final civ update pack for Tapestry will be available at the same time Apiary goes up for pre-orders? I’d love to get both and save with combined shipping :)
I wish that was the case, but the civ pack is still in production, while Apiary got on the boats a few weeks ago. You could hold off on getting Apiary for a few months and consolidate it with the civ pack, though.
Thanks! I’ll just have to calculate whether the saving in shipping would beat the discounted pre-order price :)
Hi Jamey, maybe I have missed it but what is the main difference between Apiary and Honey Buzz in your opinion? We already own Honey Buzz and enjoy it a lot but we absolutely love Stonemaier games and so we would love to get this one too but as there is limited BG time I would want to be able to justify owning both games.
As similar as the games may sound in summary, in practice they use completely different versions of worker placement (workers level up and are bumped in Apiary), tile-placement (Apiary is much more like Ark Nova than Honey Buzz for this), and the types of actions you take in the game. I’ll gladly have both on my shelf. Apiary also has asymmetric pairings of hive and faction mats, making it a heavier game than Honey Buzz.
Thanks, this is what I thought but just based on the rulebook it’s always hard to tell. Really looking forward to this!
I’m sorry that fans have been curious about the state of your cat and your private life, instead of discussing this promising game. I can’t wait to order and purchase Apiary. Your games are amazing: Charterstone, Wingspan, Viticulture, so we can hardly wait to play Apiary. A big thank you.
It’s actually meant a lot to me that people have reached out about the loss of my cat–Biddy meant the world to me, and I shared him freely with the world throughout his life (including in our games and my videos).
Does this mean you won’t be releasing your open-world game this year then since you’ve already announced two big games this year?
Right now, the game I’m publicly discussing is Apiary. When the time comes to discuss future games, I’ll discuss them in our monthly e-newsletter and elsewhere. We have around 8 games in the works right now, so they will be spread throughout the next 4 years depending on when they’re ready.
Hi Jamey,
Looks Great. I want to clarify… It goes live on your store on 10/4 and will be available at Essen as well? Shipping from web-store happens a few days later? So, there’s a real possibility that if I order from web it’ll beat me home (Chicago) from Essen? One less box to lug across the pond? I am a champion.
Thanks! Yes, it goes live on our webstore on October 4, and we’ll have some copies at Essen (those copies won’t be on the webstore). Based on current freight shipping estimates, shipping to customers will begin in mid-October.
Will the October 4 release also include the Stonemaier Canada store?
Will it be possible to preorder the game online and pick it up at Essen Spiel?
We don’t have that capability set up yet, but it won’t be on our webstore until October 4 anyway, so the timing works out well to just drop by our booth and get a copy. :)
Hi Jamey, will we have the champion benefits (20%) on the essen spiel booth ?
Champion benefits only apply to Stonemaier webstore orders, but we’re looking for other ways to appreciate Champions who buy from us at conventions.
Hi there, is there/will there be a TTS mod for this? Wanna try it before buying.
We make our games available on Tabletopia on the retail release day (so, late November for Apiary).
Looking forward to trying this new game,once we get it looks right up my alley!!
Looks excellent. Just wondering what it is going to cost?
It’s in the $70-$80 range (or $60-$70 with the launch discount for a few days, or $50-$60 during launch for Stonemaier Champions).
How in depth with the play testing for the factions be? Looking at Tapestry how many factions are being redone, and for balancing purposes; there is a need to purchase what was already purchased.
It’s a fair question. With any game featuring asymmetry–including Tapestry–the asymmetry is heavily playtested, and we use all available data points to make everything as balanced as possible. Tapestry works great exactly as it’s printed–there’s no need to buy anything else (the revised civ pack is completely optional). Rather, we’re just open to acknowledging that having 10,000+ plays of a game is going to yield some information that 300+ plays cannot.
I will say, though, that the asymmetry in Apiary is much less significant than in a game like Tapestry or Scythe. This is similar to the approach I took in Expeditions–it’s a small nudge, not a major shift.
It looks interesting. Is there an ironclad edition? 😀
Just kidding. We like all the SM games that we have purchased. And we will pick this up when it comes. I do like hexes and I like the ones in Expeditions.
I am wondering if this would be a good game for play mats?
Thanks Joel! Just one version of Apiary. I don’t think this is one that needs playmats, but let me know if you disagree after you get a copy. :)
Jamey, I don’t know when you started listing out table measurements for your games – I first saw it on the Expeditions box – but THANK YOU so much for including those measurements! They really mean a lot to me, and I hope to see other publishers adopt it as a standard
Thanks Tom. :) I’ve found that a lot of people ask about it, so I try to include that information when possible.
Looking forward to owning and playing Apiary! The worker strength mechanic makes a lot of sense with the theme!
I didn’t notice any instructions for an “automa” section in the downloadable instructions though it says it’s a 1-5 player game.
Is this something supplemental being worked on or is it more like playing the regular game without any push back or external directives from a “solo” mode model?
Currently we’ve only updated the multiplayer rules, but there’s a full Automa rulebook that will be uploaded soon–it’s included in the game, along with the cards. You can see a photo of it in the infographic on the above page. :)
Is there a kickstarter for this? As a beekeeper, this is awesome!
We have something even better than a Kickstarter: We’ve already made the game, and in a few weeks we’ll open orders on our webstore, followed soon after by shipping! The idea is that if you’re excited about the game, you’ll be able to get it in your hands almost right away (and very close to when you pay for it). :) You can sign up for a launch notification here: http://eepurl.com/iybHDA
Will there be deluxe upgrades offered for this at preorder like there were for Libertalia (metal coins)?
For Apiary, we decided to make every copy of the game deluxe–check out the rulebook to see what we mean by that (though it doesn’t show the fancy insert and tray we included).
Hello! I am very excited about this game and love the theme/mechanic combination. When I heard about the “friendly” bumping of workers it reminded me a bit of Hansa Teutonica bumping. Is “blocking” to gain benefits a central part of strategy in Apiary?
Thanks Peter! I can see that comparison to Hansa Teutonica. I’ll delve deep into worker placement in tomorrow’s design diary, but a quick answer is that positioning yourself to be bumped and bumping yourself are big parts of a successful strategy in Apiary.
If Apiary would be the child of love from two other games, which would be its parents?
How about three? Teotihuacan, Honey Buzz,, and Euphoria!
This game. . . utilizing popular themes of anthropomorphic creatures and outer space while combining worker placement with increased player interaction will likely replace a long list of other games on people’s top shelves. Thank you for your part in bringing it to the table top community.
Uh…Jamey…you have a game about birds and now a game about bees. Are you trying to tell us something here? Do we need to have a discussion with our children before they play this game?! ;P
Ha ha…I hadn’t noticed that connection, but sure, if this is a good time to have an important talk with your kids, go for it! :)
Perhaps a future game could have a bunny theme?
Have you played bunny kingdom?
Hello – can we pre-order this game somewhere, please?
You can! But not today. We will launch Apiary on our webstore in early October, followed soon after by shipping. There’s a link on the above page where you can sign up for a notification when this game is available on our webstore.
Is there a partner for a German edition 😳?
Currently not, but if you’d like there to be, please share your interest with Feuerland!
Yep, already did! 😉 fingers crossed 🙂
Feuerland just announced on Facebook that they will publish Apiary and release it sometime in mid 2024. It sounded like they will be part of the second print run of Apiary.
I am very excited about this game!
Hi Jamey!
Congratulations to both you and Connie. This game not only looks amazing, but it looks like a perfect fit to the existing Stonemaier lineup.
I have one question. In your playtesting, how well does this game play at two players? I play games mostly with my partner, so this is always an important question for me to ask. Is there still enough tension at two?
Thanks and congratulation again!
Steve
Thanks Steve! The board is double side, with one side designed for 1-3 players and the other at 4-5. So yes, it scales well for great tension and interaction at 2 players.
I can’t help but feel this announcement was timed to coincide with the release of another sci-fi game set in space, Starfield! Are you a fan, Jamie?
You know, I’ve been curious about Starfield from an open-world perspective, but I just learned about it a few weeks ago–we’ve been planning Apiary’s announcement for many months. :)
If you get the chance to try it… do! I feel like it has a pretty hopeful setting and might even inspire a new boardgame mechanic or two!
Wow, really love the bees + scifi combo here! Definitely looking to buy it as a Champion! :D
As a beekeeper and avid boardgamer I’m excited for this one!
In space, no one can hear you buzz. What a uniquely delightful idea, can’t wait to get this on the table.
I’m hoping Actualol does a review for this game for its release. I really amenjoying the way he speaks and compliments games in such a way that it makes me excited in a way that other reviewers do not. It reminds me of you, Jamey, in your favorite mechanism posts. A long lost brother perhaps?
Overall it looks to be a solid Stonemaier game as I look forward to learning more.
I like the way Jon talks about games! I would be happy to send him a copy of Apiary in October if he wants one. :)
Do it! He’s amazing.
Love this merging of nature + sci fi into an interesting theme!
Was the price point listed anywhere? If so, I missed it somehow. If not, does anyone know how much this game will run?
It’s in the $70-$80 range (or $60-$70 with the launch discount for a few days, or $50-$60 during launch for Stonemaier Champions).
Thank you for the quick reply… will be planning for this one then.
Will Stonemaier Champions be able to pick it up at Essen for the this price ($50-$60) will we have to order it online?
Currently our convention sales do not sync with the webstore, so Champions can either order on our webstore at a discount for the game to ship to them or they can pay a set price at Essen with no shipping cost.
Haven’t played Teotihuacan, I can see the similarity to Euphoria, I can assume what’s similar about Honey Buzz….what’s the Tzolk’in similarity?
On reading the rulebook, Village comes to mind as a comparison, with workers aging off into a graveyard (or “hibernation chamber”) that also controls the end of the game.
Tzolk’in has the element of workers getting stronger over time (it’s implemented differently here), along with several different minigames, the Monuments (very similar to Carvings in Apiary), and engine-building.
This sounds like a plot to a bad syfy movie. It seems like a cool game thou and I will prob def order a copy when it goes to the webstore unless someone wants to pick me up a copy at Essen and fly i back to the US for me.
This game is intriguing! The board game space needs more insect-themed games, and this is certainly an interesting take.
Jamey, I’m wondering if your affinity for Honey Buzz made this more attractive to you as a publisher? Clearly different games, but with bees as a central theme.
Best of luck!
Initially it actually made me hesitant about Apiary, as the original prototype didn’t have the sci-fi twist. Connie was very open to that adjustment, though, and I think it helped the game really sing!
I’m going to call this game “Wingspan 2”!
The box art looks fantastic! Kudos to the artist!
“pollinate the planet to leave it better than when you arrived”
Are the other planets….happy, when giant space bees introduce alien DNA to their ecosystems?
The Mellifera add pollen, water, and fiber to other ecosystems instead of ravaging them, so yes, the inhabitants of the other planets (if they’re even occupied) are happy.
Any possibility of preordering for Essen Spiel pickup? I really want a copy.
The product launch is October 4, the same time as Essen, so you can buy it from our booth at that time. :)
My wife and son both enjoy birds (so we are big Wingspan fans) and insects – so I’m sure they will love this game. Can’t wiat.
i can already hear this game “buzzing” for a beautiful, natural rubber playmat…entirely unnecessary, but such a great upgrade
Connie’s local to me, so I played this game before it was even signed with Stonemaier! So excited for you all to try it!!
I want to live in this neighborhood with multiple game designers!
This looks great! Will it be available at Essen Spiel?
It will!
As a Stonemaier fan and beekeeper, I’m super pumped for the game!!!
Would love to know if Connie Vogelmann is a fellow beekeeper!
she is :)
I backed Andromeda’s Edge which is shipping next July(ish) which I am really excited about as I love involved games, however one down side is that my family does NOT like involved games. Apiary looks like a step or two down from AE. I could see my family playing this game with me and I would still get a good bit of involvement that I like! Super excited about this one!!!
Her grandfather kept bees, so she sort of inherited the hobby!
Wow!
Hello! My first thought when seeing the theme is: the honey bee comb goes perfectly with the Stonmaier logo (both being an hexagon). Looking forward to hearing more about this game!
Hallo stonemaier games,
We love to play apiary…played it 3 times today…alas emotion went high and when we packed the game a friend spilled wine on the game….2 player aides and all 5 starting hives were wasted… is it possible somehow to get replacementment. Thanks in advance.
If i have to adress it somewhere else please let me know.
Kind regards
Moris
I’m glad our game inspired such strong emotions! We’re always happy to replace components if you fill out the form here: https://stonemaiergames.com/about/replacement-parts/