
- BGG rank
- BGG #13,052
- BGG rating
- 6.2
Moonlight: The Land of the Wolves
- 2 players
- 15–30 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2025

2023
Rules assistance for Alveola: The City of Bees
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Alveola: The City of Bees is a board game released in 2023 for 2–4 players, 15–35 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Thomas Favrelière and its main mechanics are Tile Placement, Layering, and Open Drafting.
A new swarming has arrived! Take flight with your bee colony and start building a new hive. Choose the tiles that you want to use carefully in order to place your workers and gather as much honey as possible. Have the hive rise to the top and control it with your queen! But beware of hornets prowling around, looking for food! Put the flowers to good use, as they can trigger powerful abilities. On its turn, players must carry out these steps in this order: Use a Flower Ability, Select a tile to Expand or Raise the Hive, Place or Move a Bee, Move a Hornet.
Alveola: The City of Bees supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Alveola: The City of Bees is 15–35 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Alveola: The City of Bees for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Alveola: The City of Bees has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Alveola: The City of Bees belongs to these categories: Animals, Abstract Strategy, and Puzzle. Its main mechanics are Tile Placement, Layering, and Open Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Alveola: The City of Bees are: Thomas Favrelière. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Alveola: The City of Bees as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.