In early 2017 we reviewed a brand new social gathering recreation from Calliope Video games referred to as Hive Thoughts.

It was a success with all of the teams we performed with and we solely had one grievance – it seemed like a kids’s recreation.

The truth is, we have been fairly shocked with how a lot we loved the sport due to what we’d anticipated by seeing the sport field.

That’s proper. Our largest subject was with who the goal market was for the sport as a result of the visuals didn’t match who would really take pleasure in taking part in the sport.

Effectively, Calliope Video games has just lately launched a revised model of Hive Thoughts and we need to give them an enormous high-five for doing so!

Sure, the branding is a giant enchancment. However that’s not the one factor that makes this model a greater social gathering recreation.

We’re excited to let you know all about it.

Hive Thoughts is a brilliant easy social gathering recreation to play.

The purpose of the sport is to suppose like everybody else (suppose just like the “hive”). The extra your solutions match different participant’s solutions, the extra factors you’ll rating. Gamers scoring much less factors will discover themselves falling to the underside and finally being kicked off the sport board.

The sport ends as quickly as one participant (or extra) strikes off the sport board. All of the gamers nonetheless on the sport board win.

To start, gamers place their pawns on the first area on the sport board and take a pencil and piece of paper . The deck of query playing cards are positioned inside attain of all gamers.

Gamers take turns being the energetic participant. Every spherical, the energetic participant attracts a query card and chooses one of many questions on it to learn aloud. Then all gamers have 2 minutes to put in writing down their solutions.

After time is up, the energetic participant is the primary to learn the solutions they wrote. Upon studying every reply, all gamers who wrote that very same factor increase their arms. Gamers rating 1 level for every participant who wrote the identical reply.

For instance, if I wrote “Darth Vader” as one in every of my solutions for “What are the 4 greatest film villains of all time?” and a couple of different gamers additionally wrote Darth Vader as one in every of their solutions, we every rating 3 factors for our Darth Vader reply. If I’m the one participant that wrote Darth Vader, I solely rating 1 level.

After the energetic participant is finished, the following participant declares their solutions (that haven’t already been talked about) and so forth till all have said their solutions and written down their factors. Then participant complete their factors for the spherical and examine them.

Initially of the spherical when the energetic participant chooses a query, additionally they roll the die. The consequence on the die signifies how most of the lowest scores will transfer down one area on the board. This can be 1, 2, or 3 of the bottom scores. As well as, the die has one facet that exhibits a star. On this case, gamers with the bottom rating transfer down one area and gamers with the very best rating transfer up one area.

For instance, if the scores are 13, 13, 12, 10, 9, 9, and eight and the die consequence confirmed 2 dots, then the gamers with the bottom 2 scores (the two gamers who scored 9 and the 1 participant who scored 8) will all transfer down one area.

So long as all pawns are nonetheless on the board, the sport continues with a brand new spherical. The following particular person in flip order turns into the energetic participant and attracts a brand new query card.

If a number of participant’s pawn strikes off the sport board, the sport instantly ends.

When the sport ends, all these off the board lose and everybody nonetheless on the board wins!

New and Improved Visuals and Sport Play

As I discussed on the outset, we’ve actually loved taking part in Hive Thoughts with varied teams through the years. And we’re enthusiastic about this new model of the sport as a result of it’s even higher in various methods.

The ingredient we’ll begin with is the one we’ve already talked about – the branding and visuals.

BRANDING & VISUALS

Ought to we decide a guide by its cowl?

Most likely not. However we repeatedly do.

The identical goes with board video games. We make all types of judgements based mostly on first impressions of seeing the paintings on a recreation field.

As you’ll be able to see on this photograph with the unique Hive Thoughts recreation field on the left, Calliope Video games performed up the “hive” side of the sport by leaning right into a bee theme. The field additionally offered kid-like paintings, font type, and a cute tagline of “The Sport of Beeing Alike”.

Open opening the sport field, that very same theme shined via as nicely with the sport board paintings wanting very interesting to kids.

So proper on the outset once we received the unique recreation, we assumed it was a recreation for little youngsters and it sat unplayed for some time.

Nevertheless, as soon as we performed the sport, we have been hooked.

But, we nonetheless discovered that when introducing the sport to new gamers, we’d inform them to look previous their first impression and simply benefit from the recreation – which all of them ended up having fun with as nicely.

With the brand new field paintings, Hive Thoughts seems to be extra like a recreation for teenagers and adults – those that usually tend to play a celebration recreation than kids.

Huge kudos for the visible change in hitting the audience extra instantly!

COMPONENTS

Whereas this may occasionally look like it goes hand in hand with the visuals, we see elements as a separate enchancment.

By dropping the bee theme, Calliope Video games was additionally in a position to enhance on the elements by making them extra generic.

Normally saying one thing is “generic” is a foul factor. Nevertheless, on this case it’s an enchancment.

That’s as a result of it lets gamers give attention to the precise recreation play somewhat than being distracted by a theme when a theme isn’t wanted.

Within the unique, the pawns have been a bee form. Nevertheless, they have been arduous to inform what they have been and so they wouldn’t stand upright very nicely. So that they have been a bit fiddly.

Going with generic pawns was a very good transfer as a result of they solely really want to point a shade. They usually don’t tip over.

The Query playing cards additionally shifted from the bee theme paintings to thought-bubble paintings. Whereas we just like the shift in type, we want the font alternative on the brand new playing cards was higher. The slender font is tougher to learn.

The straightforward recreation board can also be an enchancment.

The unique recreation board was break up into two areas. On the left was the beehive with totally different ranges – the place the bee pawns would transfer down till they’re kicked out of the hive. On the best have been areas the place the queen bee would transfer. With the advance within the recreation mechanics (which we’ll cowl subsequent), the best facet of the board is now not even wanted. Thus, condensing the board to simply be circle areas was a very good transfer.

The brand new recreation board can also be double-sided. There are 6 areas on one facet and eight areas on the opposite. So gamers can select how lengthy of a recreation they need to play by which facet of the board they select. And that’s a pleasant addition too.

One other part Calliope Video games has added to this new model is a sheet of stickers for gamers to make use of if they should higher distinguish the colours. Among the pawn colours are related and gamers with ranges of shade blindness might need to use these sticker for that goal.

We additionally love that all the things matches in a extra compact recreation field.

GAME PLAY MECHANICS

Whereas the central recreation play is similar – ask a query, write down solutions, rating factors, and the decrease scores drop down a stage – there’s a small adjustment within the mechanics that we expect is implausible.

As talked about above, within the unique, there’s a flower monitor {that a} queen bee strikes alongside. Gamers roll an ordinary 6-sided die to see how far the queen bee strikes and which area she lands on determines how most of the lowest scores will drop a stage.

Effectively, this mechanic was improved in the most straightforward method – a single die does all of it!

Now gamers merely roll a customized die that has the outcomes proper on it.

It sounds so easy. And it truly is.

It’s one other nice instance how simplifying to the necessities in designing a recreation could make a giant distinction. Draw back all of the pointless components and maintain the give attention to the central ingredient of a recreation. And on this case it’s the questions and solutions.

Bravo throughout on the brand new model of Hive Thoughts, Calliope Video games!

We extremely suggest choosing up a duplicate of Hive Thoughts for your loved ones!