Waggle Dance
Waggle Dance Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Each Forebee must organise their Worker Bees to produce as much honey as possible to see the hive through the coming winter.
At the start of each game decide the Game Length. The first player to reach the Honey Target is the winner.
| Game Length | Honey Target |
|---|---|
| Short (15 mins per player) | 5 |
| Standard (30 mins per player) | 7 |
| Long (45 mins per player) | 9 |
Setup
Each player takes on the role of a Forebee in a bee hive.
Place the Action Cards in the centre of the table in alphabetical order, A to G, as per the illustration.
There are 14 Queen Bee card types. Select 10 of these and shuffle them to form a Queen Bee deck of 30 cards.
Place the Nectar Cubes beside their matching coloured 'Claim Nectar' Action Card (D).
Place the Egg Counters and Honeycomb Tiles in separate piles to form a supply.
Each player places 3 Honeycomb Tiles honey-side down in front of them to form their part of the hive.
Each player chooses a set of coloured Worker Bee Dice and places 6 in front of them to form her Worker Bee Dice Pool. All remaining dice should be placed to one side for use later in the game.
Determine the first player by rolling the Volunteer Dice. The first player receives the Day/Night card and places it in front of her, Day side up.
1a. 2 and 3 Player Setup
In a 3 player game take 4 dice from the spare set of dice and roll them one at a time. Place these on the Action Cards A, C, E, and G, covering up the corresponding numbered spaces on each card. If you roll the same number twice roll it again - all four placings should be different numbers.
These dice do not need to be re-rolled or moved for the duration of the game.
In a 2 player game, repeat this exercise twice more (using 12 dice in total) so that 3 positions on Action Cards A, C, E and G are covered.
Components
- 1 Day/Night Card
- 1 Volunteer Dice (large)
- 12 White Egg Counters
- 12 Action Cards: A-G (6xD)
- 41 Queen Bee Cards
- 48 Honeycomb Tiles
- 72 Worker Bee Dice (in 4 player colours)
- 90 Nectar Cubes (in 6 colours)
Turn Sequence
During the Day phase, each player rolls and places her Worker Bee onto the Action Cards or into her honeycomb.
Once all Worker Bees have been placed the first player turns the Day/Night Card over to Night.
During the Night phase, each player resolves the Action Cards in A-G order.
Once completed, the Day/Night Card moves clockwise around the table to the next player and is flipped back to Day for the beginning of the next game turn.
Day
At the start of each Day every player collects their Worker Bees and then all players roll them simultaneously. For the first turn each player will have 6 Worker Bees to roll.
Then, starting with the first player, each player places one of her Worker Bees on one of the following seven actions:
- A: Claim Tile
- B: Hatch Egg
- C: Claim Egg
- D: Claim Nectar
- E: Trade
- F: Make Honey & Move Nectar
- G: Draw Queen Bee Card
For Action Cards A - Claim Tile, C - Claim Egg, E - Trade and G - Draw Queen Bee Card, the Worker Bees are placed onto the matching positions on the Action Card. Once a position has been covered it may not be selected again that turn. Once all six positions have been covered that Action Card may not be chosen again.
For Action Card D - Claim Nectar, the Worker Bees are placed onto the matching Claim Nectar Flower Card 1 to 6. Unlike the actions above, any number of Worker Bees may be placed onto the same numbered Claim Nectar Flower Card.
For Action Cards B - Hatch Egg, or F - Make Honey & Move Nectar, the Worker Bees are placed on the Tile in the player's Honeycomb where an Egg is being stored, or where Nectar is being stored or will be placed. Players may only place into their own Honeycombs. You may place Worker Bees onto partially-filled or empty Honeycomb Tiles, although it is normally unwise to do so.
Each player places one Worker Bees at a time. The first player places her first Worker Bees, then the next player (moving clockwise) places her first Worker Bee, and so on back to the first player. The first player then places her second Worker Bee, proceeding again around the table. This is repeated until all Worker Bees have been placed.
A player may only decline to place a Worker Bee if a Queen Bee Card allows them to do so. Once a Worker Bee has been placed it cannot be moved unless a Queen Bee Card allows it.
Night
See below for specific details of each Action Card.
The actions of each and every bee are resolved 1 Action Card at a time, working in alphabetical order from A (Claim Tile) to G (Draw Queen Bee Card).
When resolving an Action Card with multiple Worker Bees, the actions are resolved in clockwise order from the first player. After each action has been taken return all Worker Bees to their player's Worker Bee Pool.
Once all actions have been taken, the Day/Night Card moves clockwise to the next player, who will play first in the next turn. It is flipped to day and a new game turn begins.
Action Cards
A: Claim Tile
Each Worker Bee may take one Honeycomb Tile from the supply.
All Tiles must be placed immediately to extend that player's Honeycomb.
If there are no Honeycomb Tiles available then any remaining Worker Bees return to the player's Worker Bee Pool with nothing for the Hive.
B: Hatch Egg
For every Tile in a player's Honeycomb where a pair of Worker Bees of the same value have been placed on an Egg Counter, return the Egg Counter to the supply and take a new Worker Bee of the appropriate player colour from the reserve.
Note that because Hatch Egg occurs before Claim Egg an egg cannot be hatched in the same turn as it is claimed.
Examples of Hatching Eggs: In the 1st example, blue uses a pair of 1s to hatch an egg and receives a new dice. In the 2nd example, orange uses a pair of 3s to hatch an egg and receives a new dice.
C: Claim Egg
Each Worker Bee may take one Egg Counter from the supply.
Each Egg claimed must immediately be placed onto an empty Tile in the player's Honeycomb. If the player does not have an empty Tile to store a collected egg then it must be returned to the supply. A player does not have to claim an egg if she does not wish to.
Only one Egg Counter can be placed on each Honeycomb Tile. That Tile must not contain any Nectar Cubes or have already been Made Honey.
If there are no Egg Counters available then any remaining Worker Bees return to the player's Worker Bee Pool with nothing for the Hive.
D: Claim Nectar
Each Worker Bee placed does not claim one Nectar Cube. Instead, the Nectar Cubes are claimed by area majority. The number of Worker Bee for each player on a Flower Action Card should be compared:
- The player with the most Worker Bees on a Flower may take two Nectar Cubes of that colour from that card.
- If the majority is a tie then each player takes only one Nectar Cube.
- The player who has the second most Worker Bees may take one Nectar Cube of that colour.
- If the second most Worker Bees is tied neither player may take a Nectar Cube.
- Any remaining Worker Bees return to the player's Worker Bee Pool with nothing for the Hive.
After Nectar Cubes have been claimed from all 6 flowers, players must immediately place the Cubes on Honeycomb Tiles or return them to the relevant flowers. These Tiles cannot contain an Egg Counter, or be Honey-side up.
Each Honeycomb Tile can store up to four Nectar Cubes. Nectar Cubes of different colours may occupy the same Honeycomb Tile but may not be combined to Make Honey unless allowed by certain Queen Bee Cards. If a player has no storage available, any extra Nectar Cubes are returned to the relevant flower.
If there are no Nectar Cubes left on a Flower any remaining Worker Bees return to the player's Worker Bee Pool with nothing for the Hive.
Examples of Claiming Nectar:
| 1st place (most bees) = 2 nectar | unless tied 1st place = 1 nectar each |
| 2nd place (2nd most bees) = 1 nectar | unless tied 2nd place = no nectar each |
| 3rd & 4th place | = no nectar |
In this first example the purple player has the most bees present and may claim 2 nectar as a result. As the yellow player has the next highest amount of bees present he may claim 1 nectar. The blue player has the least bees and as a result claims no nectar.
In this second example the purple and yellow players are tied for the most amount of bees and so they both claim 1 nectar. Blue in second place also claims 1 nectar.
In this third example the orange player claims 2 nectar but purple and blue are tied for second place and so claim nothing.
In this fourth example orange and blue are tied for first place and receive 1 nectar each. Yellow and purple are tied for second place and each receive nothing.
In this fifth example orange is the only player present with only one bee. This is still the most however and so the player therefore claims 2 nectar.
E: Trade
Each Worker Bee may undertake a Trade. This happens in two different ways;
- The player may return two Nectar Cubes of the same colour from any Tile(s) in their Honeycomb, and then take one Nectar Cube of any other colour from a Claim Nectar Action Card.
- The player may return one Egg Counter to the supply and take one Nectar Cube of any colour from a Claim Nectar Action Card.
A player may only trade once per Worker Bee, either trading two Nectar Cubes or one Egg Counter. If she has multiple Worker Bees on the Trade Action Card then one trade per Worker Bee may be made.
The new Nectar Cube(s) must be placed immediately onto any available Honeycomb Tile. They do not need to 'replace' the traded Nectar Cubes or Egg Counter.
F: Make Honey & Move Nectar
For every Honeycomb Tile containing four Nectar Cubes of the same colour, where a pair of Worker Bees of the same value have been placed, the Nectar Cubes are returned to their Claim Nectar Action Card, and the Honeycomb Tile is flipped to the Honey side.
Note that because the Claim Nectar action happens before Make Honey, it is possible to place Worker Bees on an empty or partially-full Honeycomb Tile in anticipation of the Make Honey action.
A player may also Move Nectar between two Honeycomb Tiles if he or she has placed a Worker Bee of the same value on each of those Tiles. It is possible to use the same Worker Bee to Move Nectar and Make Honey if properly paired, see example 4 below.
If pairs of the same value Worker Bees are placed on different Honeycomb Tiles it is possible to Move Nectar and Make Honey in the same turn.
Examples of Making Honey & Moving Nectar:
In the 1st example, orange uses a pair of 3s to make 4 yellow nectar into 1 honey.
In the 2nd example, yellow uses a pair of 5s to make 4 purple nectar into 1 honey.
In the 3rd example, blue may swap any number of white and yellow nectar between these two Honeycomb Tiles.
Blue may not move any nectar in or out of the Honeycomb Tiles containing the pink, orange and purple nectar.
In the 4th example, orange will move 1 blue nectar into the Honeycomb Tile that already contains 3 purple nectar.
Orange may then Make Honey in the same turn, as they have placed a pair of Worker Bees of the same value on the Honeycomb Tile.
G: Draw Queen Bee Card
Each Worker Bees may take one Queen Bee Card from the draw pile. There is no limit to the number of cards a player may hold in her hand, or play during her turn.
Each Queen Bee card states whether it must be played in the Day phase or the Night phase. Other than this, a card may be played at any time, by any player, in any order, as and when they are applicable.
NOTE: See the Queen Bee Cards reference (overleaf) for explanations of card icons.
Each Queen Bee Card should be resolved as it is played. It is not possible to interrupt the effects of the card by playing another one.
If there are no Queen Bee Cards left any remaining Worker Bees return to the player's Worker Bee Pool with nothing for the Hive.
Once this action has been completed the game turn ends. All players should collect all their Worker Bees ready for the next turn. Move the Day/Night Card on clockwise to the next player, flipping it to day.
Winning the Game
At the end of each Night if any player has reached the Honey Target then she is declared the winner.
Ties are resolved by most Honey, then fewest Worker Bees then by most leftover Nectar Cubes.
Queen Bee Cards
Queen Bee Cards carry the following icons:
- Play during the Day — sun icon.
- Play during the Night — moon icon.
- Keep this card in play for 1 turn (1 x Day & Night Phase).
- Any WHITE pictured dice = A player's dice / during a player's turn (any rolled value).
- Any GREY pictured dice = An opponent's dice / during an opponent's turn.
- This dice can be played as any number (wildcard).
There are 14 Queen Bee card types:
- Volunteer (Day) — Roll the Volunteer Dice along with your Worker Bees and use it for this turn only. At the end of the turn the Volunteer Dice goes back to the supply.
- Overtime (Day) — Immediately before you place a Worker Bee, change the value to any other.
- Directions (Day) — Place any number of Worker Bees of any rolled values on a Flower where you have already placed a Bee.
- Shift Change (Day) — When it is your turn to place a bee, you may instead choose to place 2 bees, or place no bees until your turn comes around again.
- Sick Day (Day) — Before any Worker Bees are placed remove one Dice from one other player for the turn. That Worker Bee may not be placed this turn.
- Wrong Turn (Day) — Move one of another player's Worker Bees from a Claim Nectar Action Card to another regardless of value.
- Scouting (Night) — Draw the top three cards from the Queen Bee Deck, select one and place the other two on top of the deck.
- Feint (Day) — Rather than placing a Worker Bee you may move one you have already placed following normal placement rules.
- Queen's Gift (Night) — Take either one Egg Counter or one Honeycomb Tile from the supply.
- Expertise (Night) — Hatch Egg or Make Honey once using two Worker Bees of any value.
- Bounty (Night) — When you Claim Nectar take one additional Nectar Cube of the same colour.
- Efficiency (Night) — You may Make Honey once with only three Nectar Cubes of the same colour.
- Alchemy (Night) — Make one Honey using four Nectar Cubes of two different colours in any combination.
- Shuffle (Night) — Move as many Nectar Cubes as you wish between two Honeycomb Tiles.
FAQ
Q: What happens if I do not have enough room for all of the nectar I have collected this turn? A: Decide which colour cubes to keep and then return the rest to the flowers they were claimed from.
Q: Can I move nectar between the rooms of my honeycomb after I have collected and stored it? A: Only with a card effect, or by placing bees in those rooms as described under 'Make Honey & Move Nectar' overleaf.
Q: Can I store nectar and eggs in the same room? A: No. An egg completely fills a room so it cannot be used for anything else.
Q: Can I choose which Nectar Cubes to discard if I run out of room? A: Yes, you can discard any Nectar Cubes collected that turn.
Q: Can I make honey with nectar of different colours? A: Normally no. The effects of particular Queen Bee cards make this possible.
Q: Can I make honey with bee values which are not paired? A: Normally no, but the effects of particular Queen Bee cards make this possible.
Q: If I have more bees than any other player what happens? A: Every player takes turns to place their bees as normal. When all other players run out of bees place all of your remaining bees.
Q: What if there is nowhere for me to place my bees? A: It should always be possible to place your bees somewhere. Remember that flowers may take any number of bees.
Q: Can I place bees in an empty room? A: Yes. However this has little value unless you can fill the room with enough nectar to make honey during the same turn.
Q: Can I hatch an egg the same turn that I claim it? A: No, because B (Hatch Egg) resolves before C (Claim Egg).
Q: What happens if the supply of rooms/eggs/nectar/cards runs out? A: Your bees return home empty handed on this occasion.
Credits
Publishers: Grublin Games Publishing Ltd. Game Design: Mike Nudd Producer & Editor: Henry Jasper Art Direction & Graphic Design: Rachel Dobbs Box & Card Illustration: Mateusz Szulik Custom Dice Design: Davide Averara
Thank you to all of our Kickstarter backers, playtesters, translators & proofreaders (listed on the Celebration Poster) for their essential contributions to Waggle Dance!!
Copyright Grublin Games Publishing Ltd. (2014)