Wingspan Review

  Wingspan is a simple game about birds. Wingspan is a board game created by Elizabeth Hargrave and Stonemaier Games in 2019. Since then, it has found a lot of success in the board game community and the developers have released many expansions. 

The base game of Wingspan can be played with one to five players. Each player gets a board to play on. The board has three rows with five spaces each. The game is played by playing bird cards in these spaces to gain points and make it easier to get more bird cards. 

The official Stonemaier website describes Wingspan as “a competitive, medium-weight, card-driven, engine-building board game.” This is because as a player plays their cards they can play off of one another, creating an engine that generates more points and resources to play more birds. However, the game only lasts for four rounds, so players have to be careful and strategic about timing.

I have played Wingspan a lot with my family, so much that we now refer to it as “Bird Game” and play it nearly every time we are together. It is fun and different every time because players have to plan their game differently based on the birds they are dealt in the beginning of the game. Playing the game and accomplishing goals is an incredibly rewarding and satisfying experience. 

Although the game is competitive and players are competing to see who can get the most points, it is a very relaxing game and does not feel very competitive. The player’s entire focus is on building their board and accomplishing their goals. The only time they interact with other players is if they have a card that activates when they take their turn and each round everyone competes for a collective goal. 

The game has beautiful artwork on the cards of all the birds and at the bottom of each card is a little fact about the bird. Many of these cards raise awareness about habitat loss and other dangers that these birds face. The game boards themselves are also illustrated as each of the three sections has a theme (water, grassland, and forest) and are illustrated to show that. 

Those who are interested in playing Wingspan will find a very welcoming community awaiting them. There are many people who adore this game and are active members in a thriving online community. There are countless things players can buy online from the community, from 3D-printed birdhouses to little miniature game pieces. 

Wingspan is an incredibly fun game that does not take long to learn, but can be rewarding to master. It is beautiful and serene yet still competitive and engaging. When Wingspan first released, it was nearly impossible for people to get their hands on one because it was so successful, but now anyone can find it in most board game stores, online retailers, and in a digital form.