The game description starts with three statements:[1] The goal of the players is to plan out and execute the perfect heist that will net them all the honey that is at Honeycon, a human convention.

[1] The game mechanics are based on Lasers & Feelings by John Harper (designer of Blades in the Dark).

If the character's Criminal score reaches 6, the Bear is lured into a life of crime and betrays the party.

[4][5][6] J. Zambrano, writing for Bell of Lost Souls, noted that it was simple to learn and easy to run.

[8] In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "If there is a perfect archetype for Howitt's one-page RPGs, my money is on Honey Heist, a heist game in which players are bears (or, in rare cases, a badger) ...