![]() ![]() This general range reflects migratory species, and birds like barn swallow and osprey that have wide distributions. The range maps are only meant to reference which continent the birds are found on. The wingspans of birds are also shown, and these become important for some of the bonus cards. Instead of building a nest and laying eggs, the action for the cowbird card is to lay an egg on a different cup nesting species card. ![]() Brown-headed cowbirds are notorious in the birder world for their egg dumping strategy, and this is reflected in game. The Wingspan team clearly did their homework. Habitat and food preferences are noted, as well as information about nest types and relative clutch sizes. The natural history of each species is reflected on each bird card. © Ken Keffer The Game That’s a Field GuideĬumulatively, the deck of cards serves as an introductory field guide to 170 species of North American birds. Although their online shop is temporarily closed to “concentrate on creating new artwork for Wingspan,” it brings me great joy knowing that prints of Wingspan birds are available. Kudos to illustrators Natalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, and Beth Sobel, for their collective attention to detail on the species cards. This also reinforces the mechanics of the game and the steps of play. The templates map out the first 4 turns of a game helping ensure you’re on the right track. The videos by Watch It Played and Quackalope Games help navigate the logistics of a turn. The actions pay bigger dividends late in the game.Ī couple of features that are especially helpful for new gamers are the online tutorial videos and optional template scenarios used for starting a game. The engine-building design of Wingspan means early plays can be maximized throughout the rounds. Each turn is kicked off with one of four actions: play a bird, gain food, lay eggs, or draw bird cards. Points are accumulated for the birds, eggs, cached foods, tucked cards, and various bonus scenarios.Įach player gets 26 turns to create the highest scoring nature preserve possible. Games take roughly 40-70 minutes to complete.įor bird folks, the objective of Wingspan is to populate your habitat-based playing board with a diversity of bird species. The game can be played with 1–5 players, ages 10 years to adult. These are some of the most powerful cards when it comes to game play, and I hope this was a subtle hint that was curated into the layout.įor board game enthusiasts, Wingspan is a “competitive, medium-weight, card-driven, engine-building board game,” according to the Stonemaier Games webpage. Other bird stars on the box include the ruby-throated hummingbird, eastern screech-owl, western tanager, and Carolina chickadee. A cover-worthy specimen, Oklahoma’s state bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher, soared to the top of the box. My initial impression of Wingspan is that it is visually stunning. ![]() My household is literally late to the game on this one, but I’m so excited that our copy of Wingspan has arrived just as we are hunkering down for a pandemic winter in the Midwest. I recently joined the 13,000 member Wingspan Facebook Group only to see that my good friend Alyssa had posted to the page just 6 hours earlier. For much of 2019 and early 2020, unopened Wingspans were being sold on the second-hand market for prices that fell somewhere between black-market bathtub kidneys and Tickle Me Elmo.Īs 2020 progressed, I continued to see social media posts of friends locked down with loved ones, building cherished memories as they competed head-to-head growing their Wingspan flocks to victory. It sold out a 10,000 unit printing before I even had a chance to jump on the bandwagon. The game, by designer Elizabeth Hargrave, was an instant hit. Last year, Stonemaier Games created quite a flutter within both the birding and board gaming communities with the release of Wingspan. ![]()
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