Elf Creek Games

from Around the Table Q3 2022

Arcane Wonders

Fall Flavors

the first expansion to the hit worker-bee placement game, Honey Buzz

by Caleb Wilson, Resident Storyteller, Elf Creek Games

Oh, hello! Where are you flying off to so fast? Ah, you must be the Queen’s newest accountant. I can tell by your energy that you must have just hatched this last year. Such a strong buzz about you!

Do you feel that touch of cool in the air? It means fall is coming. Soon after that we’ll all need to crowd into the hive for winter. And there’s so much still to do around Sweetwater Grove! I know you’re rushing about doing all of your normal duties, coordinating the foraging, making honey, and delivering orders to the market, but if you want to really impress the Queen, you’re going to need to take on some new duties as well. Thank you so much for being such a good multitasker!

Don’t mind me, I won’t get in your way. I’m retiring this year, and I’m ready to relax. I’ve never been more ready for a big, beautiful festival to celebrate all the hard work me and my colleagues put in for the hive.

Ah, but you’d like some guidance on how to impress the Queen? That I can offer. I’ve been around the hive a few times.

One thing your team might notice when they’re foraging out in the field is fruit! Delicious fruit, just lying there on the ground! Well, it turns out that our woodland friends have a taste for more than just honey. That’s money, out there amongst the flowers. A good entrepreneur will find a market for the windfall fruit, even at the same time as they’re scouting for flowers.

Another thing that’s very important is getting the hive ready for the cold. We don’t want our supplies of honey to spoil over winter, so someone needs to cap the nectar cells. Don’t worry, it’s not too hard, and I’m sure you’ll be great at it. You just might want to do it sooner rather than later … the Queen appreciates workers who stay busy!

But maybe the most critical of your new tasks is getting the hive decorated to celebrate, well, not just me, but all the retiree bees! All of the old bees will be making our way over the festival hall as the days get cooler, so you young whippersnappers might have to work even harder. But that’s what you love, isn’t it?

Hey, and as long as we’re talking, I’d like to give you a few pointers on exactly how I most want to see the hive decorated. My favorite colors are yellow, purple, and red. So, maybe your team can keep their eyes peeled for any nice leaves in those colors when they’re out in the field?

I would so love to see the whole hive festooned with my favorite-color leaves, all while my beloved colleagues are offering up a toast in my honor!

Well, I’d better not keep you any longer. Rattle your wings and be on your way. And long live the Queen!

Caleb Wilson’s fiction has appeared in places like Weird Tales and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, as well as in text-based computer games such as Lime Ergot and The Northnorth Passage. When he’s not writing, you might find him working at his local public library.