There’s something magical about a game that feels like a meadow in motion, where flowers bloom with every turn, bees hum quietly in the corners, and occasionally, a bear barges in to stir up trouble. That, my friends, is The Bears and the Bees, a tile-laying game that starts out gentle and grows into a brilliant tangle of color, competition, and strategy.

I brought this game out on a rainy afternoon, the kind where tea tastes just a little better and stories flow like spring rivers. The moment the box opened, everyone leaned in. The tiles are hexagonal and gorgeous—each one decorated with shimmering gold foil and soft, jewel-toned colors that made the table look like a wildflower garden come to life. There’s no board, no complicated setup. Just draw your tiles and begin.

The rules are simple enough to teach in a few minutes, but—oh!—the choices sneak up on you. On your turn, you place one tile next to another in the ever-growing hive.

The catch? Each side that touches must match in color. Easy at first, but as the hive spreads, every move becomes a delicate dance of color-matching and careful planning. The grouping below shoes how the honeycombs fit together.

Some tiles have bees on them. Lovely little workers, helpful and buzzing with bonus moves. Other tiles? Bears. And bears do what bears do best—they lumber into the hive and cause glorious chaos.

The above tiles are wildcards that ignore the color-matching rule, making space where there was none, breaking up strategies, and giving clever players a chance to reset the board in the most delightful way. The goal is to be the first to play all the tiles from your hand—but along the way, it becomes a tangle of choices, lovely colors, and just enough tension to keep things buzzing. And the best part? Even when you’re losing, the hive looks so beautiful, it’s hard to feel too upset. Often the special cards become crucial towards the end of the game.

The Bears and the Bees is the kind of game I’ll reach for again and again—easy to teach, satisfying to play, and absolutely gorgeous on the table. Whether you’re six or sixty, it’s the kind of experience that makes you slow down, laugh out loud, and maybe, just maybe, root for the bear once in a while.

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