YORKTON - As you might expect, a game called Hyve is thematically about bees.
And, since World Bee Day is May 20, it seems like a most-appropriate time to review this one from Matthew Folger and Ari D'Arconte, and from Aerobellum Games.
But first, a little digression to tip the chapeau to the industrious, and oh so important bee.
It was Slovenia which initially proposed that the United Nations (UN) proclaim May 20, as World Bee Day. In December 2017, following three years of international efforts, the UN Member States unanimously approved Slovenia’s proposal and proclaimed World Bee Day.
“There is no life without bees,” states the Republic of Slovenia web page devoted to Bee Day.
“Bees are some of the most important pollinators, ensuring food and food security, sustainable agriculture, and biodiversity, and they significantly contribute to the mitigation of climate change and the conservation of the environment. In the long-term, the protection of bees and the beekeeping sector can help reduce poverty and hunger, as well as preserve a healthy environment and biodiversity.
“Bees are also important in terms of sustainable agriculture and creating rural jobs. By pollinating, they increase agricultural production, thus maintaining diversity and variety in our fields and on our plates. In addition, they provide millions of people with jobs and are an important source of farmers' income.
“Nevertheless, scientific studies show that there are more and more negative effects on the health of bees, which makes them increasingly endangered. This, in turn, requires us to take extra care of their survival, as harmful factors cause a decline in the resistance of bees, which affects their susceptibility to diseases, pests and the like. In addition, this is also problematic in terms of the protection and preservation of the environment, as bees foster biodiversity in nature and have a positive impact on the entire ecosystem and are a good indicator of the state of the environment.”
It’s certainly food for thought, and Bee Day is a good way to get people thinking about how we protect the key pollinators.
But, this is still a game review so let’s take a closer look at Hyve.
To start Hyve is a print and play game, and thanks to a Kickstarter campaign with the support of some 1,160 backers, there’s a lot of material for this one. That means a lot of play versatility, which is always a positive.
In this case it also means players -- typically solo -- are in for some serious thinking. While PnP games may generally skew toward simpler offerings this one is ‘heavier’.
“Players can expect a very 'crunchy' game with a lot of decision making and challenge,” related designers via email. “The game is actually surprisingly hard, and that's part of the reason that we have so many difficulty levels and variations.”
Just the rule book hints at the challenge coming in at about 25-pages – the base rules nine pages. You won’t print this one and be playing in 15-minutes. There is study-time required, so be forewarned.
In broad terms you are in charge of a bee colony and the decisions you make based on the results of dice rolled, will determine how thriving your colony is.
“The most unique mechanic is probably that your bees are represented by rolling dice, and those population levels are kept in check by how much "Bee Bread" you can produce each turn. This gives you a sort of up-and-down management of population but with a steady progression to the game systems in the background,” explained Folger.
While the game exists as an in-depth challenge, it’s roots are more visual.
“The idea came from just working with visual design elements primarily, laying out a board, arranging various elements until I came up with the six honeycomb shapes around the center word "HYVE" and the rest was inspired from there. If you're new to game design, I'd try and work within some type of graphic medium for prototyping and arranging things, it can spurn ideas forward,” said Folger, adding, “I was trying to create an engaging, challenging and colourful game that would simulate some of the inner workings of a hive of bees. Having a solo, print-and-play, bee-themed game seemed like a great way to launch our new game company.”
But the art still impresses its designers, who noted, “I feel the most satisfying element of the game is that you end up with a fairly presentable colorful piece of art after you've finished the game, something you could put on a fridge or something.”
So, this game is not a lite, time-filler. You need to dedicate time to really delve into Hyve, and that admittedly will not be the PnP experience every gamer seeks, but if you want to experience a PnP that pushes the genre well into the realm of ‘serious game’ then this one should be considered. You can find Aerobellum Games on Facebook.
