Honeycomb

Honeycomb

The little bee sitting atop the Honeycomb is guarding his honeycomb and wants to stay there while you play. Your job will be to carefully remove the honeycomb pieces, one at a time, without pushing out a piece that will make him fall.

All pieces are made of lightweight plastic and you will assemble the honeycomb before you can play. The two orange sticks (right and left on the blue base) are push sticks and may be used to push pieces out of the honeycomb. You may need to stabilize the honeycomb with one hand while playing. 

The spinner is hard plastic and has 3 color sections, one for each of the color pieces in the honeycomb, and two spaces for lose a turn.

Object:
Don't be the player to make the bee fall.

Set up:
You will need to build the honeycomb first. Press the two yellow plastic side pieces into the blue stand. Slide the cardboard insert into the back and lay the honeycomb form flat on the table with the blue part hanging off the edge of the table (to make it completely flat). The insert is added so that once you have the honeycomb built, you will be able to stand it up without pieces falling out. Now randomly add the honeycomb pieces. They are shaped like hexagons and will need to be placed in certain orientations to fit. Once you have filled the honeycomb, press the inset flat on the back with one hand (to keep the pieces in place) as you stand the structure upright. Slowly remove the cardboard backing and you are ready to play. 

Play:
Players take turns spinning the spinner. If you spin one of the three colors, you remove a piece of that color from anywhere on the honeycomb. If you spin lose a turn, your turn is over without removing a piece. Use the push stick to gently put pressure on a piece. If it slides out the back and falls out of the honeycomb easily, your turn is over. If it seems tight, move on to another piece and test until you find one that removes easily. Pushing a tight piece out may make the honeycomb collapse and the bee fall. Eventually players will have to start pushing tight pieces out. Once you remove one piece, your turn is over. All players take turns removing one piece until someone removes a honeycomb piece that makes the bumblebee fall.

Try this:

• Use your finger instead of the push stick. Can you feel the difference between the tenseness of some and the looseness of others?
• Choose one color and see if you can push them all out without the bumblebee falling.
• Call one color, instead of using the spinner for each turn, and push out any one of that color.
• Set up the grid by putting some of the pieces upside down on the table. Ask the player to pick up each piece and turn it in-hand to the right side before placing.
• Hold the spinner in one hand instead of leaving it on the table. Practice flicking different fingers to spin the dial.
• Look for a nice rounded O in the web space before flicking the spinner.
• Keep any pieces that you successfully push out. When the honeycomb topples, the one who toppled it loses. The player with the most pieces is the winner.
• Play alone. How many pieces can you get out before the bee falls? Play again and try to push out more pieces.
• Work on manual dexterity, graded pressure, tool use, coordinated use of both hands, finger isolation, in hand manipulation, spatial relations, figure ground, visual discrimination, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation 
   

In the box: Honeycomb game stand, cardboard insert, 48 honeycomb pieces, 2 push sticks, 1 spinner, bumble bee 
Ages 4+, 2-4 players

For more information, click on the image below.