Finally got the Wingspan Nesting Box. It fits all the current expansions and has room for the future. I swear it must clock in at like 20lbs.
Still a little annoyed that all the Wingspan stuff that holds sleeved cards won’t fit the mote or less widely available and “standard” sleeves (Wingspan cards are not the same size as many other games) but thats not really anything a little 3D printing can’t fix.
Love it, but the Oceania expansion is still unplayed.
Me! Absolutely love the game, quibbles and all. It’s beautiful, has a theme I like (birds, I have two), the components are great (bird dice tower and eggs especially), and it’s a very pleasant play. My main issue now is how to integrate everything together. The nesting box is neat but holy hell it’s huge. Also after putting all the cards together, it’s going to be some really tall stacks, as I play with card sleeves too.
Edit: Saw that the nesting box is still in pre-order status on their website, have they started shipping already?
I just got the steam version but am a bit overwhelmed by the tutorial. Going to try again soon. :)
Similar. When I played it, it felt like it had lots of bells and whistles whose main contribution was to make it more difficult to learn. Possibly some people just like complex rules and the process of learning them.
Sorry to say but I really don’t. Wingspan is one of the few games I’d rather sit out than join a table to play. It’s simply too prone to RNG for me to enjoy and I have been bored playing every time.
Not saying the game itself is bad but it is not for me nor I for it. Earth is similar but more enjoyable for me - but if I can I’d rather play something more complex.
Not knocking anyone who does enjoy this one or owns all of the content, mind you. Just wanted to add that, trivially, indeed not everyone enjoys everything that’s popular. :)
I’m in your team.
The production is awesome, art and all. I took the game with an extension (the first, European) because I like engine builder and, yeah, couldn’t be wrong, right?
But for an unknown reason, nothing happened on the table. A good review point the problem, IMHO: It lacks of drama.
The extension make things more interesting, IMHO. Maybe with all extension Wingspan become a “complete” game, dunno.
I think there can be a bit of drama, if you consider the drama of “can I build my engine fast enough”… or maybe just dont add up points in your head until the very end and hope for the best. I do think there’s a sort of vaguely chill vibe that maybe tamps down on some of the drama.
Definitely not too much of the sort of “let me bait my opponent into doing X which they think is a good move but it will actually benefit me” (well there’s some of that but not a ton).
I‘ve never played the game and am curious: what is it that you like about Wingspan?
That’s a pretty good question and I’ve never sat down and wrote a list of things I like about it. First time for everything though…
[After writing out this list, I actually think doing something similar for favorite games would be a good way to get more content here]
- In general, I’m drawn toward “engine building” games
- there’s something comforting about the game having a defined end after four rounds (rather than when some victory condition is met)… note that this doesn’t necessarily mean the game plays quickly!
- the end of round goals (one of the way you can score points) are randomized. This keeps things fresh
- the “bonus goals” (which are another way to score points) are also randomized on a per-player basis, which creates an interesting asymmetry… all players are working to score points, but each player’s path to that end is different
- (i think this has a lot to do with the randomized nature of the end of round goals and bonus goals) plays great with just 2 people but also fun with 5-7 (6 and 7 player variants require the Asia expansion)
- it may not seem like it at first but there actually can be quite a bit of player interaction
- the artwork is really gorgeous… will have to take a pic next time we play for an example
- the components are fairly high quality for the price point
- despite the relative complexity/weight, setup and breakdown are really easy
Overall, I very much recommend it. That said, there are things i dont like as much about it
- people are generally intimidated by the complexity the first time they play. I have found though that about 3/4 through the first game things start to click.
- because it has a lot of randomization via card draw and dice roll, there is a fair bit of luck involved. Sometimes you just don’t get the cards.
- although there is some player interaction, I wish there was more. I think this is addressed in one of the expansions (but admittedly I haven’t played all of the expansions)
The only game I like more is Terraforming Mars. I play it less, though, as it’s a but longer and the folks I play with don’t like it as much.
