
- BGG rank
- BGG #277
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Calico
- 1–4 players
- 30–45 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2020

2020
Rules assistance for Radioactive Bees
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 1 player

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Radioactive Bees is a board game released in 2020 for 1–4 players, 30–60 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by José L. Navas and its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence, Tile Placement, and Hexagon Grid.
Radioactive Bees is a tile placing strategy game that resembles a post-apocalyptical beehive under construction. The purpose of the game is to place tiles of different shapes to earn points and prevent opponents from using their tiles to earn points for themselves. During each turn, players position one of their tiles on the board, keeping within the hive’s pattern. The tiles may be placed in any direction or position. When all the available spaces have been covered up on the board, the game continues on top of the tiles already in play. Each new tile must be placed so that it covers part of at least two unique tiles from the layer below. A tile may not be used to completely cover up a tile of the same shape from the layer below. No part of a new tile may be placed with a gap underneath it. All tile placement options must be exhausted before starting a new layer. If a player still has a tile that fits in an unfinished layer, they must place that tile regardless of whether an opponent has started a new layer. A player may not miss a turn unless none of their tiles can be placed or if they have run out of pieces. In such cases, opponents continue playing until they run out of possible moves, thus ending the round. When the round has ended, players mark every uncovered bee with one ring. Players accumulate points by keeping their bees uncovered and by adding radioactive rings to their bees. The more rings a bee has, the more points it gets at the end of the game. Finally, players remove all tiles from the board and start a new round. The rings that have been placed remain on the tiles for the rest of the game, even if they are covered in a subsequent round. SCORING Players accumulate points in two different ways: 1. During each round when their bees get covered by an opponent’s tile. If one or more of your bees are blocked by an opponent's tile, the targeted bee's current point value is added immediately to your score. If players cover up their own bees, they get no points. 2. At the end of the game, by totalizing the value of the rings adquired on their bees. END OF THE GAME The game ends when, at the end of a round, one or more bees have earned enough radioactive rings to receive radioactive markers and emerge as mutant queens. The player with the most points, after the score for the final round is calculated , wins the game. -description from designer
Radioactive Bees supports 1–4 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 Radioactive Bees is 30–60 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 Radioactive 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.
Radioactive 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.
Radioactive Bees belongs to these categories: Animals, Abstract Strategy, and Puzzle. Its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence, Tile Placement, and Hexagon Grid. 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 Radioactive Bees are: José L. Navas. 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 Radioactive 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.