As a photographer, my goal is to capture those special moments of your family, as they are right now. I also want to inspire you to create family memories of your own, especially in this modern age where it seems like everyone has a phone or tablet in their hands. Family game time is a great way for you to connect and make memories without devices or screens. Please use this blog as your personal resource to find the best games for your family!
THE BEARS AND THE BEES
This game from Grandpa Beck's Games is a beautiful mix of strategy, puzzle, and competition with a few stings! "Build "hivalries" with your opponents as you race to be the first to play all your cards in this beautiful tile-laying game.
HOW TO PLAY
Each game begins with the Queen Bee at the center of the hive and with every passing turn, cards are added to the hive by players who connect matching, or wild, colors on their edges with other cards in play. Each card played must connect with at least two sides, and every side that connects with another card must match. Match more than two sides and you'll earn a bonus play. String those bonus plays together and you can leave your opponents behind in your trail of pollen!
Be careful though, attack cards played by your rivals, like Flowers, Worker Bees, and the dreaded Bears can sticky up your plans to go out by forcing you to draw!
I've found the best way to learn how to play any game is to watch a video tutorial. Here's the link for the quick tutorial for The Bears and the Bees: https://www.grandpabecksgames.com/pages/bears-and-bees.
OUR EXPERIENCE
I originally found Grandpa Beck's Games when I stumbled across this video from JK! Studios: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV2g28S9uHk. This game is easy to learn and simple enough for kids to play, if they know their colors. No reading is required as long as there is someone to keep track of what the special cards do. We love Grandpa Beck's games, but this game is my choice when teaching a new game to people who are not gamers. It's simple and slow enough so people do not get overwhelmed and there are helpful reference cards included. My only complaint about this game is that the cards are hexagon shaped and are impossible to shuffle. Obviously, there is no fix for this, since the shape of the cards is the whole point of the game.
Also, if you get stuck or have a question, you can text or call Grandpa Beck with his number on each game box. We have actually talked to him before and it was great fun!
WHERE TO BUY
- You can purchase The Bears and the Bees for $16.99 directly from Grandpa Beck's website at: https://www.grandpabecksgames.com/products/the-bears-and-the-bees.
It's also available at Amazon, Walmart, and other retailers.
PROS
- EASY: great for beginners or non-gamers
- FAST: 10-15 minutes
- ALL AGES: perfect family game
- HELPLINE: can text/call Grandpa Beck
CONS
- HEXAGON SHAPED CARDS: impossible to shuffle normally
OVERALL RATING
The Bears and the Bees gets a final rating of 5 out of 5 stars for an interesting game that is fun for the whole family, even those who cannot read yet. It's the perfect game for people who don't particularly like playing games and for younger kids.
WHAT MORE REVIEWS?
Check out the links below for more helpful game and product reviews!
