Why You Should Play Wingspan
Written by Naomi S. ‘26
Dear reader,
I am writing a letter to you about how Wingspan is one of the best games in the world. Wingspan was invented by Elizabeth Hargrave, an American women game designer. Wingspan is a multilayered game that takes about 1–2 hours and has a card element. Board game experts call it an “engine building” game.
The game is broken up into 4 phases and each phase has a goal. My favorite goal is the one that says whoever has the most cards that have bird beaks facing left. On my first turn, I would mostly do one of two things: gain food from the bird feeder to play a bird card for my next turn or play a bird card if I have all the food necessary to play it. On rare occasions, I might start with the gain card option. I would only choose that if I started the game out with all food no bird cards.
The object of the game is to find the most efficient way to gain points as almost every action you make in the game gives you points. The reason why Wingspan is one of the best games in the world is because of its replayability due to never having the same card order, the mechanics of the game, and the awards it has acquired.
The development of the game is equally balanced between gaining birds and playing birds. This perfect balance encourages the players to be more creative with their strategies. Ever since the first time I played I have had to experiment with many different strategies. To find the most efficient actions to gain points, we use a game mechanic called “engine building.’’ When it is used, “The combination of birds you play becomes more and more efficient at generating points each turn, like an engine running faster and faster,” as Dan Kois wrote in Slate. The simile that he uses to describe the mechanics helps me picture the objective of the game more efficiently.
Have you ever played a game that you liked but it was not fun the next time because you already know how to win, making it boring? Well, Wingspan is not that game. Wingspan has over 170 birds and infinite combinations of play. Each bird has unique abilities that complement its actual behavior. As a bonus, each bird card contains interesting facts about the bird on each card. I can stand for the game’s replayability as I have played the game about 20 times and I have not gotten tired of it. According to the Stonemaier game company, 700 birds will be released with the Oceanic, Asian, and European expansions.
Whenever I play Wingspan, I find satisfaction in always trying to sabotage my opponent’s bird sanctuary, instead of trying to build my own bird sanctuary. My ultimate goal is to perfect the tucking strategy even though I have played the game numerous times before. The tucking strategy is where you play a lot of water birds that have the tuck a bird card under that bird as their ability and place those in the water habitat. Each time you tuck a card you gain a point and the point of the game is to find the most efficient way to gain points. I love the expansion packs with all the new birds and features. Whenever I play the game, I get so wrapped up in it that I don’t notice the time flying by. And when the game is over I want to play again to find where I can improve my current strategy or try a new strategy.
The game was released in 2019, and that same year it won the 2019 Kennerspiel des Jahres award for hobby games, the equivalent to the Oscar for board games. Also, “it sold over a million copies in over 18 different languages” and in the first year Stonemaier sold 450,000 copies. The game premiered in 2019 and by the end of the year had won the Diamond Climber Award, The Dice Tower Award, Deutscher Spiele Preis, Golden Geek Award, and Spiel des Jahres award here too, In 2021 they won the American Tabletop Award, and Golden Geek Award two years in a row. According to Board Game Geeks (BGG) WingSpan is ranked 24 in the world of board games.
Some might say that Wingspan is too confusing, too long, and too boring but if you compare it to some other games then I do not think so. All games are complex and confusing at first if you do not have an experienced player. When you play start out playing Wingspan by yourself without anyone to help then that is understandable. To solve this problem just go to your trusty friend, YouTube. Wingspan may be long as it takes 1–2 hours but it can’t compare to Monopoly which takes 3–5 hours. Wingspan can be boring but all games can be. All games are boring if you play them repeatedly or they are just not your type of game.
Sincerely,
Naomi S, representer of Wingspan
Works Cited
Anderson, Brian. “Wingspan review: A soothing tabletop game about birds.” Vox, 2 February 2022, https://www.vox.com/22913070/wingspan-board-game-birds-tabletop. Accessed 4 October 2022.
Kois, Dan. “Wingspan: Elizabeth Hargrave’s board game is changing how we play.” Slate Magazine, 15 August 2021, https://slate.com/culture/2021/08/wingspan-board-game-elizabeth-hargrave-review-profile.html. Accessed 4 October 2022.
“MODA — Designing Wingspan: A Conversation About Designing Board Games with Elizabeth Hargrave — Calendar.” Museum of Design Atlanta, 30 August 2022, https://www.museumofdesign.org/calendar/2022/8/30/wingspan?discoveratlanta. Accessed 4 October 2022.
Shersby, Megan. “Wingspan board game review, plus expansions.” Discover Wildlife, 29 June 2022, https://www.discoverwildlife.com/reviews/wingspan-board-game-expansions/. Accessed 4 October 2022.
VanderMeer, Jeff, and Sayaka Matsuoka. “‘Wingspan’ Fans Find Escape, Connection, and Their Inner Birders During Pandemic.” National Audubon Society, 1 March 2021, https://www.audubon.org/news/wingspan-fans-find-escape-connection-and-their-inner-birdees-during-pandemic. Accessed 4 October 2022.
