WINGSPAN

Players 1 – 5 / Age 10+ / Time 45 mins +

So, it might not be well known by everyone yet, but sadly I am going to be hanging up my review pen as of August this year. Its been a great run that saw me through Covid, personal tragedy and a lot in between. As I close out my selection, I wanted to finish covering some of the great games that are still around for you to play! One of my personal favourites is bird set, card driven masterwork WINGSPAN from Stonemaier games. Designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and Stonemaier Games, it sees players take the role of bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors (yes they are a rare breed indeed). This assortment of people and game players has also led to a few Facebook groups and many a game club adventure!

THE GAME

You are tasked with collecting bird. Eggs, breeds, nests, the whole shebang. What do you need to do so? Well Rodney at WATCH IT PLAYED explains with some gusto https://youtu.be/lgDgcLI2B0U and I don’t have the same vim.

What I would add, with vim, is this.

WINGSPAN is a delight of well balanced (but moderately process driven) tasks and technique. The game pivots on a sense of being lovely to look at, with that money spent, paid back with a lovely bird box, crafted dice, high res cards but with a really vigorous game underneath this. Players are tasked, with set collection, skill matching and extra bonuses in a way that adds hurdles each play. You are seeking to discover, attract and maintain the best birds in wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats that grant glorious gifts (if used in the action phase). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth:

• Gain food tokens via custom dice in a birdfeeder dice tower
• Lay eggs using egg miniatures in a variety of colors
• Draw from hundreds of unique bird cards and play them

These all feed into some luck and a lot of skill wins. The sheer delight of looking into the world of bird wildlife with a handy step by step growth spurts, aid knowing what you need to get it there. There are about 5 additional expansions, each adding that level of quality and playability. If you want a family game or friends party game, then this is not it. If you want a game to master and muster up your skilled with others and alone, then look no further.

Featured Components:

• 170 unique bird cards (57x87mm) + 10 unique bird cards in the swift-start teaching guide
• 26 bonus cards (57x87mm)
• 16 Automa cards (57x87mm)
• 103 food tokens
• 75 egg miniatures
• 5 custom wooden dice
• 5 player mats (400 x 280mm)
• 1 birdfeeder dice tower
• 2-piece custom tray (now made of eco-friendly sugarcane–it’s white instead of the purple shown in older photos and videos)
• 1 goal mat
• 8 goal tiles
• 1 first-player token
• 40 action cubes (8 per player)
• 1 scorepad (50 sheets; 1 sheet used for all players each game)
• 3 rulebooks

Featured Accessories and Expansions:

• European expansion
• Oceania expansion
• Wingspan Asia
• neoprene playmat
• extra scorepad
• Nesting Box
• speckled eggs
• jigsaw puzzles
• and more!

Wingspan’s box measures 30x30x7cm, and it weighs 2.4 kg.