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The Beekeeper's Picnic

@beekeeperspicnic / beekeeperspicnic.tumblr.com

A professionally voice acted point and click adventure game featuring retired Sherlock Holmes, releasing March 2025!
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It is the 1920s, and in a sleepy Sussex village, beekeeper and former world's greatest detective Sherlock Holmes (James Quinn, Apostasy), is trying to arrange a pleasant clifftop picnic for his lifelong companion Dr Watson (Andrew James Spooner, Muppets Most Wanted). The only problem is that a series of mysteries keep getting in the way!

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Features

  • Explore a seaside town It’s the day of the village fete, a suspicious new neighbour has taken a lease on  a long-abandoned cottage and something strange is happening down on the  beach…
  • Interrogate and befriend a fully professionally voice-acted cast of eccentric characters including a clown with a tragic past (Felix Trench, Wooden Overcoats), the local leader of the women's institute (Alison Skilbeck, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, (yes that one)) budding young naturalist (Alice Osmanski, Sanditon), a wannabe showman (Layla Katib, Victoriocity) and a prickly police officer. And lots more. I love this cast to bits.
  • Make deductions and decisions. Puzzles have multiple solutions, some of which may please your neighbours more than others.  What path will you choose? Who will you enlist to help you?
  • Phone for help of you get stuck! Your older brother Mycroft (Richard Rycroft, Game of Thrones) is always ready to act as your consultant, just give him a call at his club if you need a hint. 
  • A  relaxing bespoke soundtrack by @sandygarnelle

🐝Full version now available for PC/Linux/Steamdeck!🐝

Want to play on macOS? Read this guide!

Hey so, I'm @jabbage, and I've spent the past few years and thousands of hours making the funny, poignant, cosy, queer game I always wanted to play. I can't wait to share it with all of you!

Steam | Itch.io | Discord | Press Kit

(Also feel free to ask me a question about it!)

#sherlock holmes#game development#indie games#adventure games#cosy games#queer games#dr watson#I had to add him as a tag because they need to be together#that's sort of the whole thesis of the game#asexual sherlock holmes#Youtube
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✨Guide to Getting The Beekeeper's Picnic Running on Mac✨

So the bad news is, all of the "get your game made using the Adventure Game Studio game engine easily ported into Mac!" guides that I've found aren't resulting in something which... actually runs. I think an official Beekeeper's Picnic macOS release is going to require me to outsource to someone who has more of an idea about what they're doing, and that'll take more time :c

But the good news is...

I have found a pretty easy temporary solution in the form of ScummVM, a program designed to let you play many classic graphical point-and-click adventure games. And BKP, apparently.

So, here are some steps on how to use it:

  1. Firstly, you'll want to get the itch.io version of The Beekeeper's Picnic. Download the Windows version, and double click on the Zip file to unzip it.

2. Download ScummVM.

3. When you open ScummVm for the first time, it'll look like this. Click Add game...

4. Select the 'Windows' folder that you unzipped. When Scumm comes back with what it's found in that folder, click 'The Beekeeper's Picnic' and then 'Choose'

5. At this point, Scumm might get very confused. It might panic. It might show you a message that looks something like this:

You must shush it like a skittish horse and click 'Add anyway'.

6. Then a screen will come up with lots of tabs and options. I just kept everything as default and clicked 'Ok'

7. You can now select The Beekeeper's Picnic and click Start! And it should run!

Some stuff to be aware of

  • This works on the couple of Macs I've been able to test it on. I don't know if it will work for everyone. If you buy the game and it doesn't work give me a shout and I'll be happy to refund!
  • I'd advise saving the game often, just in case. I haven't extensively tested it in Scumm, so better play it safe.
  • You won't get automatic updates, so you might watch to check back on Itch.io from time to time to make sure you have the latest version.
  • You can play other point and click adventures this way! Why not treat yourself to Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo while you're at it? It's my favourite!
#The Beekeeper's Picnic#MacOs
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chaos-and-sparkles asked:

Listen

LISTEN

I'm so so unwell about the Beekeeper's Picnic okay like I had to cry for a solid 30 minutes after playing it in order to be functional again. Please accept my soul my loyalty and my firstborn. I'm so so obsessed I've never loved any game this much before. The book references, the HELIOCENTRIC MODEL OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, the tender way Sherlock calls Watson "my dear, dear Watson", the reveal and all the feels at the end, the sense of community and the lovely characters in this game, the sheer love emanating from it - I'm so obsessed, I will be replaying it multiple times over.

I hope you won't mind if I make fanart/animatic/fic about it?

Like I need you to understand you have permanently altered my brain chemistry I'm screaming crying throwing up, the way they love each other (and all the options for us to define the kind of love that it is - including the secret fourth option that isn't brotherhood or friendship or romance but something beyond definition entirely) makes me so so feral it made my aroace soul so happy like. I need you to understand how much this game means to me. It's the most objectively perfect depiction of Sherlock and Watson and the most soothing beautiful art and environments and game play ever. Genuinely sending you so much love and appreciation 💖

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jabbage answered:

WAAAH thank you so much, what a lovely message 💖 I've read it through three times already and I'll genuinely treasure it. I felt it was right to make it so the player can choose the exact nature of their feelings for each other, but the "secret fourth option" is that one that means the most to me and I think wanting to portray that kind of love was very central to me wanting to create the game.

If you made any fanworks that would be *awesome*, please let me know if you do!

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linguisticsfetish asked:

Hi! I just finished my first playthrough and I loved it so much! I'm def gonna replay a few more times to check out the different options. I really liked that you could give roses to so many characters. It took me a bit of running back and forth but I gave them to every character that would take them. I also really loved the character of Ruffles, his story was really moving and hopeful despite it all. Was there anything in particular that inspired his character?

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I love to hear people have gone around giving everyone roses! :D I had fun deciding who would accept one and who wouldn't.

I think there were a few things that inspired Ruffles.

Way back in the mists of ancient time when I was in my late teens I took part in collaborative comic competition/shared storytelling universe called Hotel Haven OCT (original character tournament!) and as part of that I made a whole bunch of circus-adjacent characters. Ruffles and Tilda share a little creative DNA with some of those. It was fun to be able to use an idea that had been lying around in my brain for so long.

I also just really like Pierrot-style clowns. I think it's kind of sad that a lot of recent pop culture clowns are supposed to be scary, when clowning is this joyful kind of theatre which transcends language and culture. I wanted to make a clown character who had a tragic element to him, but who was ultimately positive and hopefully quite loveable.

This was the reference photo I used most for his design!

Also

#beekeeper's picnic spoilers
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Reblogged amypihcs
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So I've been watching this new Watson show occasionally. I'm sort of bummed out by it because I was foolish enough to hope that it would be taking place in the original era and would really be focusing on John Watson as we know and love him. And instead it's set in the here and now which I always hate and he's a neurologist and there's all this stuff going on and it's a bummer. I think the bit that is the weirdest for me is how overwhelmingly heterosexual it is. Holmes once again has knocked up Irene Adler and Mrs. Hudson is some woman that he's having noisy sex with and oh God.

It feels as if the show is just terrified somebody somewhere somehow will think a homosexual thought so they have to banish it with constant heterosexuality.

I mean, I appreciate that all the actors are giving it their best and I think their choice of casting for Moriarty is very interesting and I applaud them for that, but overall it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Sherlock Holmes gestalt. I feel like it should really just be its own thing, but I guess they decided to slap some Sherlock Holmes in there to get a built-in viewership.

A show set in the correct era that really focused on Watson's years without Sherlock Holmes would have been vastly preferable.

Yes, I'm rambling.

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Please please someone give me an Edwardian era medical drama with Watson processing his grief for Holmes by solving medical-adjacent mysteries (with Mary is his partner in solving crime/emotional support).

Basically I want Casualty 1909 but with Watson, I don't think that's too much to ask for.

EDIT: I did not mean to reblog this to my game blog but hey it's staying now

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Watching the Doctor Who episode Flatline

A) because it's a great episode and

B) To watch Clara Oswald save Beekeepers Picnic Sherlock Holmes from getting turned two-dimensional

#He's driving the train
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Just finished The Beekeeper's Picnic! I think anyone who enjoys the Holmes stories (or classic point and click adventure games) will get something out of this one. No spoilers, so here's Watson

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journalwithscribbles asked:

Hi! I'm pretty new to the Sherlock Holmes fandom, just started watching the Granada Sherlock Holmes series a few weeks ago. I've already finished all the canon stories now, moved on to AO3, and found out about your game and finished it just now! I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really enjoyed your "Golden Visions" fanfic and I have been thoroughly enjoying finding little tidbits of it in the game! It's one of my favourite fanfictions and some of the concepts work wonderfully in the game. Thank you for your fantastic writings and your great game! :)

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jabbage answered:

Thank you so much!!! That fic a result of me:

a) getting tired at how long it was taking to make the game and wanting to get some cute Sussex content out into the world sooner

b) wanting to try out some of the emotional beats and dialogues of the game

c) thinking about all the little hints I was dropping in the Beekeeper's Picnic that Holmes can't see especially well. In the game it's just my way of excusing the player not being able to see or do things Holmes should be able to (and a bit of a joke about it all being low res pixel art) but it got me thinking how losing his eyesight would affect him emotionally, and how Watson as a doctor might seek to help him.

It's kind of a fanfic for my own game but the game hadn't come out yet.

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Hey so fun fact... there are kind of two important fanfics connected to the Beekeeper's Picnic.

There's the one mentioned in the ask above, which i wrote part way through making the game and explores similar emotions.

There's also this one, which was the first Sherlock Holmes thing I ever wrote - this one is a bit spoilery for the game!

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In about an hour and a half I'm going to be playing more of the game with Tobias Weatherburn aka Toby III!

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vinshuka asked:

I finished The BeeKeeper's Picnic today. It was wonderful, I used to love playing these kind of point and click adventure games when I was a kid. I love the animation for Holmes sneaking, it made me laugh. Thank you for for all your hard work.

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Thank you! I love that animation, it's my absolute favourite.

#nice asks
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rooniper asked:

Hey! Hi! Just wanted to say after playing The Beekeeper’s Picnic that your musical was such SUCH an amazing part of the whole game! Especially the theme that plays in Watson’s room. Just loved it in general, amazing job!! Much love

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sandygarnelle answered:

OMFG tHanK yOU So MucH you can't even understand how much that means to me :,,,3

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yessssssssssss

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princeinspace asked:

I have been looking forward to Beekeeper's Picnic for years and I was everything I hoped for and more!! Just simply fantastic! I loved how Bertie, Jeeves and Bunny Manders showed up, that was so much fun! Are there other cameos or references that I missed?

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For cameos, there's also a certain silly old bear!

#beekeeper's picnic spoilers
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imayjustbejamesmoriarty asked:

Apart from all the little inside jokes that made me giggle and all the amazing things in the game, two things that really stuck out for me were: 1. Mycroft seems genuinely happy to hear from sherlock, which warmed my heart and 2. I adore the choice of holmes' voice actor

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Mycroooooft!!! It's no secret that I'm a big Mycroft fan, and tend to prefer versions of him who care very deeply for their tearaway little brother in their own particular oddball way (which I think lines up with the little we see of him in the original stories). I loved our actor Richard Rycroft's warmth and charm!

And James Quinn who plays Holmes did an absolutely phenomenal job and I love his performance to bits. I've had to listen to his voice for hours and hours and hours at this point and it never feels like a chore!

#bkp spoilers#beekeeper's picnic spoilers
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