Sometimes we have so many board games in our collection it isn’t possible to play them all. Even if you clear your schedule every evening and manage to get 2 or 3 different games, even a collection of 50 or 100 games can easily take months. For me there are certain games I plat repeatedly. Like most people I don’t have time each weeknight and have to save my gaming itch until the weekend. After receiving some new games like Parks 2nd Edition and Splendor Duel, some of my favourite titles have been gathering a little dust.
My weekend treat recently was Wingspan a nice chill activity after a busy week. There I was with birdfeeder, an abundance of cards and pretty eggs to place. My first mistake in this game was forgetting one of the key components of choosing cards in Wingspan. In the game you are given 5 cards to choose from which can be traded for one of the food sources per card kept. Normally in a game of Wingspan, you’ll keep two maybe three cards and have 3 or 2 foods respectively. My hand gave me no easily played single food source birds but did have some nice recurring brown powers I could activate. However, I completely forget to keep any food making my first few moves in round 1 very slow to get any birds played.
In an engine builder like Wingspan playing no birds round 1 isn’t an issue as the game builds over time. But here comes my other mistake – not playing eggs. Sometimes luck of the draw means you only can focus only a few different habitats. This game was a grasslands and wetlands special. However, as you build out your rows of birds each one you place after the first costs one egg (as if it is hatching the bird). However, for some reason I completely forget this mechanic even though it is clear on the main game boards.
It wasn’t until I played my 4th bird, that I realised my mistakes. A then retrospectively thinking on the game I realised my first mistake with the food. I am happy to share my mistakes (or maybe you think cheating?). To share the foibles of the human experience is what connects us. We all must read the rule book to learn a new game. Even the effective YouTube tutorials take time to watch. The first few plays of more complex games will inherently have mistakes as you get used to the mechanics. But there is nothing worse than having to return to the rulebook.
Now of course many games come with appendixes for certain cases occurring that may raise questions. But for me reading the rules of any game is the worst part of the hobby. Even as a seasoned an avid heavy gamer rule books still confuse and bemuse me. Even the best written ones take me a few reads and play throughs to get used to. You could call me old school for reading them instead of the video options, but it is just the automatic item I reach for every time.
But it in it all I still had a good time even though I never finished the game. As soon as the mistake was noticed I shut up shop and put the box away for the night. But it taught me again that my memory isn’t perfect. But rest assured next time I play I won’t forget the food or the eggs but I am sure another game will bring up mistakes needing to be rectified.
So, here’s to gaming mistakes – they happen just embrace it. Don’t let them bring you down. Maybe in the process you might make your own tabletop classic…
