Wingspan is an amazing concept that has crossed beyond the boundaries of typical board games. Designer Elizabeth Hargrave has now made a career from designing interesting themed titles, including flowers, mushrooms, and butterflies. Her passion is to create games that have themes she is actually interested in. And with Wingspan (her most popular game), she hit the jackpot.
I only recently bought Wingspan in April 2025, but after at least five playthroughs, I can understand the longevity of this product. Wingspan is one of the most relaxing board games I have ever played. Now I am well aware that for twitchers (birdwatchers), it must be a peaceful experience, hoping to spot a feathered friend. But as a general animal appreciator, I came into Wingspan with little knowledge about any birds.
Wingspan really does capture the theme and feel of the subject perfectly. Other games I like, such as Patchwork, could have any theme attached, and often I just think of it as a Tetris puzzle. Even my two top games, Ark Nova and Azul, don’t immerse me anywhere near Wingspan.
As I have said, it is the calming presence of Wingspan that has captured my attention. It isn’t so much the cute eggs, awesome dice tower, or even the fantastic facts. For me, it is the simplicity of the four actions used throughout the game.
Now I am a competitive board gamer. For years, I have been considering creating a spreadsheet of wins and losses for every game my wife and I play. Wingspan hits a little differently, while in other games I enjoy the process, they are a little stressful, but in Wingspan, it feels like there is less pressure. That seems odd in a fixed number of rounds and total turn within the game – but it is true! I think it is to do with the generous nature of the gameplay design.
In Wingspan, once you have played birds, not only do you get more efficient action choices from those locations, but you also get recurring effects that make those actions even better. A bird in the Wetlands that lets you draw two extra cards and discard one – yes, please! Predator birds that hunt and tuck other birds for free points – I am going to use that every time, thank you. I also love the fact there is no discarding from your hand, meaning you get to keep your options open.
Another enjoyable part of Wingspan is the superb components. Even down to small details like the choice of cube colours. The quality of the paper used in the rulebook and goal board. Beautiful faux-leather game boards like a scrap journal you’re about to fill. All these small details really make a difference.
I don’t think many games could claim that they have wondered if you might enjoy their theme as a personal hobby. I am not going to become a railway engineer despite awesome titles with the theme. I have no desire to create a space enterprise or even build my own zoo. But Wingspan has made me think: “you know what, I could get into bird watching and learning about birds”. This became apparent to me when I saw an app advertised on the main home page of the App Store. Now that just proves the level of engagement Wingspan can have!
Back to the game itself, there are some excellent mechanics utilised. Therefore, strategies can be employed to make the best of each game. Allowing players to choose the number of cards and which food resources to use. A great balance. Will you be greedy and take more cards, but food is more problematic? Or will you double down on a strong brown effect bird to get that engine going? I like the variety (even in the base game) of the goal cards. I like that on the second columns onwards you can discard specific resources (a card, egg or food) depending on the action. This just gives the games lots of choices without analysis-paralysis.
One of the most exciting prospects for me will be adding some of the fantastic-looking expansions. Will I go for more birds like the European expansion offers. Or will I go for a more dynamic change to the game, adding nectar as an additional food resource? Even Asia offers somewhere in between both of these expansions and can be played as its own game. These are all questions I will explore as I grow into Wingspan.
As I conclude, I just want to mention the tightness of the design so far in the games I have played. Between my wife and me, there has never been more than five to ten points for the victor. In the last game we played, I only secured victory because of the high-value birds; having lost on every single other scoring category, my birds really came through for me. I’m certain Wingspan will make it into my personal top 5. I might even suggest it is even at fifth place and will improve its position with each play. Perhaps you’ve found the same joy as me, or there are other relaxing experiences out there, but this is the beauty of board gaming – a never-ending discovery of something new.
