Apiary

Designer: Connie Vogelmann
Publisher: Stonemaier Games
Players: 1–5
Play Time: 60–90 minutes
Age: 14+
Year: 2023

Overview

Apiary is a medium-heavy strategy board game that combines worker placement and engine building. Players control advanced, space-faring bee factions trying to expand their hive, explore planets, develop technologies, and score the most points before the hibernation cycle ends.

Core Gameplay

• Each player has a personal hive board and a group of worker bees with different strength levels.

• On your turn, you either:

  1. Place a bee to take an action, or

  2. Recall bees to gain income and increase their strength.

• The game uses a “bump” system: placing your bee in an occupied action space pushes the other bee back to its owner, and that bee becomes stronger.

• Stronger bees unlock more powerful actions and better scoring opportunities.

Main Actions

• Explore planets to gain resources and benefits.

• Expand your hive with new tiles.

• Carve monuments for end-game scoring.

• Develop upgrades that improve your engine.

Strategy Notes

• Timing your recalls is critical for maximizing income and bee strength.

• Interaction comes from the bumping mechanism rather than direct blocking.

• Multiple scoring paths allow different strategic approaches each game.

Apiary is well regarded among Eurogame fans for its strategic depth, unique worker evolution system, and high production quality.