Wingspan: A Comprehensive Guide to Playing and Mastering the Board Game
Wingspan, designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and published by Stonemaier Games, is a critically acclaimed engine-building board game that tasks players with attracting a diverse array of birds to their wildlife reserves. With its stunning artwork, engaging gameplay, and educational elements, Wingspan has captivated board game enthusiasts worldwide. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the intricacies of the game, from setting up your first game to employing advanced strategies to dominate your opponents.
What is Wingspan?
At its core, Wingspan is an engine-building game. Players take on the role of bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to their network of wildlife preserves. Each bird provides unique abilities that enhance your engine as the game progresses. By strategically selecting and playing birds, you can create a powerful ecosystem that generates points through egg-laying, tucking cards, gathering food, and competing for end-of-round goals.
Components of the Game
Before diving into gameplay, let’s familiarize ourselves with the essential components:
* **Bird Cards:** These cards depict various bird species, each with unique abilities, habitat preferences, food costs, nest types, wingspans, and point values.
* **Player Boards:** Each player receives a personal player board representing their wildlife preserve, divided into three habitats: Forest, Grassland, and Wetland.
* **Food Tokens:** These represent the food sources required to attract birds, including seeds, worms, fish, rodents, and berries.
* **Egg Tokens:** Eggs are a primary source of points and are placed on birds in your habitats.
* **Action Cubes:** These cubes are used to track your available actions each round.
* **Birdfeeder Die:** This custom die determines the available food in the birdfeeder.
* **Goal Tiles:** These tiles determine the end-of-round goals for each of the four rounds.
* **Bonus Cards:** These cards provide secret objectives that can earn you additional points at the end of the game.
* **Automa Components (for Solo Play):** These components allow you to play against an automated opponent.
Game Setup
Setting up Wingspan is crucial for a smooth and enjoyable gaming experience. Follow these steps:
1. **Place the Game Board:** Position the main game board in the center of the table, within easy reach of all players.
2. **Place the Birdfeeder:** Put the birdfeeder next to the main game board. Fill it with one of each type of food token.
3. **Shuffle the Bird Cards:** Thoroughly shuffle the deck of bird cards and place it face down to form the draw pile.
4. **Reveal the Bird Cards:** Draw the top three bird cards from the deck and place them face up in the bird tray next to the draw pile. These are the available birds that players can choose from.
5. **Prepare the Goal Tiles:** Shuffle the end-of-round goal tiles for each round (I, II, III, and IV). Draw one goal tile for each round and place them face up on the main game board.
6. **Distribute Player Boards:** Each player receives a player board, action cubes (of their chosen color), and eight food tokens (one of each type and two additional of their choice).
7. **Deal Bird Cards and Bonus Cards:** Deal each player five bird cards and two bonus cards. Players must choose which bird cards and bonus card(s) to keep. To keep a bird, you must pay the food cost shown on the card. Discard any unwanted bird cards into the discard pile. At the end of this process, you will have 5 food and 5 bird cards and one bonus card.
8. **Determine the First Player:** Randomly determine the first player. The first player receives the first player token.
Gameplay: A Round-by-Round Guide
Wingspan is played over four rounds, each consisting of a decreasing number of turns. In the first round, each player has eight actions, decreasing to seven, six, and finally five actions in the subsequent rounds. On your turn, you must choose one of four actions:
1. **Play a Bird:**
* To play a bird, you must have enough food of the specified types shown on the bird card. Discard the required food tokens back to the general supply.
* You must have an open space in the appropriate habitat (Forest, Grassland, or Wetland) on your player board.
* Pay the egg cost (if any) indicated on the leftmost available space in the chosen habitat by placing egg tokens from your supply onto other birds in your habitats. In the first column this cost is always zero eggs, second column is one egg and so on.
* Place the bird card in the chosen habitat, covering the leftmost available space.
* Activate the bird’s “when played” ability (if any).
2. **Gain Food:**
* Place your action cube on the leftmost available space in the “Gain Food” row on your player board (in the Forest habitat).
* Take food tokens from the birdfeeder based on the dice rolled. The first action space gains one food, the second gains two food, etc.
* If the birdfeeder does not have the food type you need, you can spend one food token of any type to “reset” the birdfeeder. Discard all the food tokens from the birdfeeder back to the general supply, then roll all five dice and refill the birdfeeder.
3. **Lay Eggs:**
* Place your action cube on the leftmost available space in the “Lay Eggs” row on your player board (in the Grassland habitat).
* Lay eggs on birds in your habitats. You can lay one egg on each bird that has available nest space. The number of eggs you can lay is determined by the action space on the player board. The first action space lets you place two eggs, the second three eggs, and so on.
* You can lay eggs on any bird in any habitat that has available nest space. You cannot exceed the nest capacity of a bird. Return any excess eggs to the general supply.
4. **Draw Bird Cards:**
* Place your action cube on the leftmost available space in the “Draw Bird Cards” row on your player board (in the Wetland habitat).
* Draw bird cards from the bird tray or the top of the draw pile. You can draw one card per action, as indicated by the action space on the player board. The first action space lets you draw one card, the second two cards and so on.
* If you draw from the bird tray, immediately replace the drawn card with a new card from the top of the draw pile.
* You can have a maximum of five bird cards in your hand. If you exceed this limit, you must discard cards until you have five.
Activating Bird Powers
Many bird cards have special abilities that trigger under specific conditions. Understanding and utilizing these abilities is crucial for building a powerful engine. Bird abilities are categorized into three main types:
* **When Played:** These abilities activate immediately when you play the bird card.
* **Once Between Turns:** These abilities can be activated once between your turns when a specific trigger occurs, such as another player gaining food or laying eggs.
* **End of Round:** These abilities activate at the end of each round, providing a final benefit before moving on to the next round.
Carefully read each bird card to understand its abilities and how they can be used to your advantage. Some abilities may require you to discard food tokens, tuck cards from your hand under the bird card, or interact with other players.
End-of-Round Goals
At the end of each round, players score points based on the end-of-round goal for that round. These goals vary and can include having the most birds in a specific habitat, the most eggs on birds with a specific nest type, or the largest wingspan of birds in your preserve. Players compare their progress towards the goal and award points based on their ranking. The player with the most progress earns the most points, followed by the second and third-place players (depending on the player count).
Game End and Scoring
After four rounds, the game ends, and players calculate their final scores. Points are awarded for the following:
* **Bird Cards:** Each bird card has a point value printed on it.
* **Eggs:** Each egg on a bird is worth one point.
* **Food Tokens:** Each food token is worth one point.
* **Tucked Cards:** Each card tucked under a bird is worth one point.
* **Bonus Cards:** Points are awarded for completing the objectives on your bonus cards.
* **End-of-Round Goals:** Points earned from each of the four end-of-round goals.
The player with the highest total score wins the game.
Strategy and Tips for Mastering Wingspan
Wingspan is a game of strategy, planning, and adaptability. While luck plays a role in the cards you draw and the food available, skillful players can mitigate the impact of randomness and consistently outperform their opponents. Here are some tips for mastering Wingspan:
* **Early Engine Building:** Focus on building a strong engine in the early rounds. Prioritize birds that provide efficient resource generation, such as those that allow you to draw more cards, gain more food, or lay more eggs.
* **Habitat Specialization:** Consider specializing in one or two habitats to maximize the benefits of your bird abilities. For example, if you focus on the Wetland habitat, you can draw more bird cards and cycle through the deck more quickly.
* **Food Management:** Food is a critical resource in Wingspan. Pay attention to the food requirements of the birds you want to play and ensure you have a steady supply. Birds that provide food generation are invaluable.
* **Card Cycling:** Don’t be afraid to discard cards to find the birds you need. The ability to cycle through the deck and find specific birds is a powerful advantage.
* **End-of-Round Goals:** Pay attention to the end-of-round goals and try to position yourself to score well in each round. Even a few extra points in each round can make a significant difference in your final score.
* **Bonus Cards:** Choose bonus cards that align with your overall strategy. Focus on completing the objectives of your bonus cards to earn valuable points at the end of the game.
* **Adaptability:** Be prepared to adapt your strategy based on the cards you draw and the actions of your opponents. Sometimes, you may need to deviate from your original plan to take advantage of opportunities that arise.
* **Understanding Bird Powers:** Knowing the birds and their powers will drastically improve your gameplay. You’ll learn which birds work well together, which birds are extremely powerful, and which birds fit your personal play style.
* **Tucking:** Tucking cards underneath birds can be a great way to score extra points, especially with birds that have a tucking ability. Pay attention to which birds allow you to tuck and try to maximize the number of cards you tuck throughout the game.
* **Egg Spamming:** Some players focus on egg spamming (laying a ton of eggs). This can be a viable strategy, especially if you have birds that grant benefits for laying eggs. However, be aware that focusing solely on eggs can make you vulnerable in other areas of the game.
Advanced Strategies
Once you’ve mastered the basics of Wingspan, you can start exploring advanced strategies to gain an edge over your opponents:
* **Blocking:** Pay attention to your opponents’ boards and try to anticipate their plans. If you see an opponent focusing on a particular habitat or strategy, you can block them by playing birds that disrupt their engine or denying them access to resources.
* **Drafting:** In multiplayer games, consider drafting bird cards to deny them to your opponents. If you see a bird that would be particularly beneficial to an opponent, you can take it even if it doesn’t perfectly fit your own strategy.
* **Combo Synergies:** Identify birds that have synergistic abilities and try to play them together. For example, some birds may provide benefits for playing other birds of a specific type or in a specific habitat.
* **Resource Denial:** In some situations, it may be advantageous to deny resources to your opponents, even if it means sacrificing your own progress. For example, you can spend a food token to reset the birdfeeder, denying your opponents access to the food they need.
Variants and Expansions
Wingspan offers several variants and expansions that add new layers of complexity and replayability to the game. Some popular options include:
* **Wingspan: European Expansion:** This expansion introduces new European bird cards with unique abilities, as well as new bonus cards and end-of-round goals.
* **Wingspan: Oceania Expansion:** This expansion adds new Oceania bird cards, player boards, and a new nectar resource that can be used to activate bird abilities.
* **Wingspan: Asia Expansion:** This expansion introduces new Asia bird cards, a dual-layered player board for a shared food web, and flock cards.
These expansions add variety to the game and can significantly alter the gameplay experience.
Conclusion
Wingspan is a captivating and rewarding board game that offers a blend of strategy, engine-building, and avian appreciation. By understanding the game’s rules, components, and strategies, you can embark on a journey to build the most thriving wildlife preserve and become a master ornithologist. Whether you’re a seasoned board game enthusiast or a newcomer to the hobby, Wingspan offers an engaging and educational experience that will keep you coming back for more. So, gather your friends, set up the game, and prepare to take flight in the world of Wingspan!