Feathered Friend

There’s a comfort in sitting down to play Wingspan, with the theme and components laid out before you it feels less like a competitive game and more of a group relaxation exercise. In terms of components and table presence there’s actually quite a lot to look at and take in but it never feels overwhelming, just something you let wash over you. Huddled around the usual table at our local board game café with cups of tea and coffee we almost feel like we’re in a bird watching hut, just enjoying a calm afternoon looking out over this cardboard landscape. Surely these feelings of tranquillity are as big and important a part of board gaming as rock solid rule bases that set your mind alight, aren’t they?

Anyway, Wingspan, what is it? Well in the hobby we’d describe this as an engine builder, which is a game that requires players to construct a system within the game that will efficiently propel them to victory.  Nope? Ok, more detail required. In this game players start with a board displaying three empty environments, which over the course of the game you fill up with cards, each of which displays a different bird. So why are you filling up environments with birds I hear you ask! Well on your turn you can you can activate one of the environments to either gain food tokens, lay eggs or draw cards, all of which are essentially resources you need in the game. The key here is that each environment provides a more enhanced version of that action the more birds you have there. Also each bird offers its own ability when its’ environment is triggered. So here in lies the engine, create an efficient array of birds so each environment offers you the optimal output when activated. 

End game scoring is quite a point salad as you’ll score your birds, end of round objectives, end of game objectives and also other bits like certain birds can thematically hunt and store cards behind themselves scoring points, a mechanism known as tucking. You can also score from how many eggs you’ve laid and various other things. Needless to say whatever you do you can pretty much score points from it.

I’ve had the pleasure over the years of introducing people to the hobby of modern board gaming through light, simple yet interesting games like Splendor, Barenpark or Point Salad to name but a few. However, once people have got their feet wet they start to look around and explore the hobby themselves maybe looking for that next step up, often coming back to me with questions about other games and on several occasions they’ve asked me about Wingspan. There’s something very intriguing about the delightfully welcoming cover art with its soft colours and the title that people want to engage with. This isn’t about war or backstabbing people, this isn’t a loud science fiction explosion happening on your tabletop, this is gentle, this is nature, this is what people want and need in our current climate.

Something else that people need, well, want, are to have nice possessions. A large factor within the modern board gaming hobby is the quality of components and the standards by which people judge a product. In a society so driven by digital technology the resurgence in escapism to board games has been large. There’s a desire to handle quality tactile components, the days of dusty track roll and move games with small plastic pawns has been ushered out, the people want textured card stock, chunky dice, thick cardboard and beautiful art. All of this is provided by Wingspan, quality production runs throughout in typical Stonemaier fashion and the satisfaction of rolling those big dice through the bird box can’t be understated. People outside of the hobby might well think this strange but it is certainly an aspect of the hobby that has become important. Primary reviewers will often have sections of their reviews that look purely at the quality of the components and if you’re going to get nice bits for your bucks.

Common questions from people not immersed in the hobby with regards to playing ‘one of our games’ are “Is it really complicated?” and “Does it takes ages?” Of course I will always answer “no” to both questions so as not to scare people away but I can feel confident in relation to this here. Game length can be a tricky area to get right, the balance between being too short and feeling rushed and being overly long and causing people to drift off and lose attention is slim. Difficult to say if Wingspan or in fact any game gets this absolutely spot on but I guess it does a good job. Turns do whip round at a decent pace thanks to only having to decide between one of the four actions, with you generally having decided upon your next action before the game gets back to you and not a huge amount happening on other player turns to alter your plans as such, apart from maybe that bird you’ve been waiting for appearing on the selection tray, quick grab it and lay some eggs next turn.

Game mechanism wise there are perhaps a few issues that have been highlighted in various notable reviews, a prime example being personal objectives. Something you’re trying to achieve during the game to add a few extra points to your score, however you often have no direct way of influencing the likelihood of it happening or strategising towards it. Whilst this is a valid criticism and can bring a certain frustration I would argue this actually leans into the theme. You’re often waiting for the right bird cards to appear and that could be looked upon as essentially bird watching couldn’t it? You know the bird is out there but can’t guarantee it’ll land in front of you, however if it does that’s a pleasant moment. In many respects the fact those birds perhaps don’t appear is quite alright, perhaps we’ll see them next time. I’m not entirely sure that was the reasoning behind that design aspect but either way I’m happy to go with my reasoning.

Although the game delivers a tranquil relaxing experience, it would be fair to say that this comes with a drawback, well what would be considered a drawback to some. The relaxing nature and relative lack of any player interaction or for want of a better word nastiness, means Wingspan doesn’t really provide memorable games or moments, there’s no real roller coaster of emotion which is something we also experienced from San Juan which we covered in a previous post. That’s not to say you don’t remember enjoying the game as a whole, it just never really has dramatic or stand out pivotal moments of monumental success or complete failure that produce lengthy post game discussion. Again this isn’t an issue for everyone and in honesty that again fits the vibe really. A lot of people who are perhaps not massively into modern board gaming are just enjoying not having to sit through the hours of Monopoly. 

Those of us within Cardbaudit have found Wingspan and to a large extent Elizabeth Hargrave’s follow up title Mariposas have as much a place in our gaming agenda as any other games that would stereotypically fit with us. Did this come as a surprise? Well not really, its’ release came several years into our journey in this hobby which has very much encouraged us to embrace non stereotypical titles. However if we had crossed paths with Wingspan at the entry point into the modern hobby or you’d told my young Warhammer playing self that we would be playing games about birds and butterflies you might’ve received a raised eyebrow. 

It can’t be shied away from that the games immediately gaining our attention in the early days were thematically gun heavy or containing zombies and war but the hobby and community around it have certainly altered that and it’s only for the better. Not because I’ve moved totally to tranquility and nature, dispatching a zombie with a shotgun still feels as joyous as ever, but because our gaming sessions meander between looking for birds, racing push bikes, building a construction site, running a farm and saving the world from diseases which is largely down to having an array of different people from different backgrounds bringing games to the hobby, which can only be a positive thing. Bravo Elizabeth Hargrave it’s safe to say Wingspan has really made a nest for itself in this hobby and I’m sure it’ll continue to circle around us for many years to come.