Bal Vadisi

Bal Vadisi means "Honey Valley" in Turkish, and it is a cozy beekeeping tycoon set on a small floating island of hexagonal tiles. You start with one little hive, a handful of bees and three flower beds. Bees fly out to the flowers within reach of their hive, and every flower makes its own honey, from cheap and hardy clover to fragrant lavender, healing thyme, linden and dark chestnut, the most precious honey of all. Your beekeeper walks over to harvest full hives and carries the honey home to storage.

The seasons turn. Spring wakes the colony with cherry trees, daisies and clover, summer brings the peak honey flow, autumn belongs to heather, and in winter the bees stay home, cluster to keep warm and eat their stored honey. A next-goal card always shows what to do and pays a reward when you claim it. There are 180 goals in six chapters, from First Honey to Valley of Legends, and they open new parts of the game as you go.

You sell honey at the market or deliver villagers' orders, which pay much better and match the flowers you grow. Later a workshop turns honey and wax into jars, beeswax candles, comb honey and gift baskets that sell for more. Staff take work off your hands: an apprentice harvests full hives, a gardener boosts nectar, a market seller sells for you and a workshop master speeds up production. Research, ten queen breeds, ten hive levels and five highland apiaries that send their own honey every day keep the valley growing. Swarms, lucky blooms, mites, rainy days and honey fairs add small surprises.

Put hives in the middle of your flowers, because each hive only reaches a few tiles and hives sharing the same flowers split the nectar. Tend your beds, which can reach ten stars, to raise nectar and honey quality. A Water Fountain makes hives within three tiles produce 20% faster. Before winter, leave honey in the hives or feed syrup, since a colony that runs out starts to lose bees. Treat mites quickly, as an infested hive makes 40% less honey, and save big sales for a honey fair day, when prices are 40% higher.

After a few hours you can hand the valley to your apprentice and start a New Valley with Golden Combs, which make every honey worth more for good. Your bees also keep working for a few hours while you are away. Bal Vadisi suits players who like calm, long-running management in short visits. It plays with a mouse, keyboard or touch, works in portrait or landscape, and has a cinematic mode for simply watching the bees.

A next-goal card always shows what to do. Plant flowers, build hives, harvest the full ones, sell the honey and use the money to grow the valley. Once the workshop opens, honey and wax become jars, candles, comb honey and gift baskets. Over time, staff can harvest, garden and sell for you.

After a few hours you can hand the valley to your apprentice and start a new one with Golden Combs, which make every honey worth more for good. While you are away, your bees keep working for a few hours.