Featherweight Fiesta is a super sweet and simple game that’s quick to learn, quick to play and has a distinct style that reminds me of the Pixar short ‘for the birds’ and brings me back to childhood in such a unique way. Its premise is simple enough; position birds in specific ways to ‘take selfies’ that give you points based on difficulty, but the tactile nature of play makes it a joy to bring to the table for new players, young and old.
How Does it Play?
Players take it in turns to either place a bird on the wire or move one to a different position along it. They can exchange eggs for more moves and claim points for one selfie card per round, collecting a new one each time they complete one. This continues until either the birds are all placed, or the selfie cards are all used, and I have found games last around 15 -30 minutes, depending on the number of players. It’s such a great introductory game for players with less board-gaming experience or ones who don’t enjoy such heavy games. Usually, I find myself attracted to more complicated games with a thick rulebook to read my way through and lots of strategizing for the best moves, but Featherweight Fiesta surprised me with how much I enjoy it’s simplicity.
It also includes a second way to play – the co-operative mode – which allows you to work with other players to maximise the number of points by completing multiple selfie cards at once, this makes for more carefully thought-out gameplay, taking slightly longer but providing just as much entertainment.
The final phase of the game always seems to bring a smile to any player’s face: being able to ping the birds off the wire in a final test of dexterity, aiming to leave one bird left on the wire for bonus points. Despite having only accomplished this once or twice it is such a fun addition to the game and there have been whoops of victory from any who managed to do it. This game seems to bring out the silliness in players that I love to see at a games night.
Components
One of the things I love about this game is the interactivity of placing the bird pieces on the wire itself, which is easy to set up and looks so sweet with the box lids creating a countryside scene below. The birds are well made, sturdy enough to survive any amount of falling off the wire to the road below and their design is fun and colourful. The telephone poles that hold the wires can sometimes be difficult to stand up straight, but this does not seem to affect the game play and I have no real complaints to be made about the quality of the game.
Final Thoughts
I would definitely recommend this game to anyone trying to invite less experienced players to their table; it’s great for family and is a whole lot of fun for a short and snappy game that will hold the attention of even begrudging participants – having played it with friends who are far from board game lovers, I can say this from experience.
