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canyonwalkerThis past weekend we played the board game Wingspan when a few friends visited with a copy. It's a game Hawk and I heard over a year ago... and have been meaning to get around to trying because of the obvious thematic connection with birds.
From the box art, to the playing mats, to the card art, to the birdhouse dice tower(!), to the tokens, to even the rule books, the production values are all very high quality.
Gamer-geek friends of ours told of early printing runs of the game selling for up to $100 per copy. Given just the physical quality of the game I can see why avid gamers would be willing to shell out that kind of money. Prices have settled out since then. We ordered a copy on Amazon today for just $50. There were moments as we played we weren't sure we wanted to buy a copy, though....
This complexity is doubly frustrating because the game presents itself as a richly detailed work that will teach players facts about birds in a fun setting. It's even implied that, as an educational game, it's for kids. What a crock! While the cards do all contain bird facts it is impossible to appreciate them while trying to decipher the complex rules and strategies.
Getting through a single play-through was a struggle. Hawk and I each were on the verge of quitting a few times. I almost quit before we even started actual play. Just the rules explanation (from an experienced player) with all the fussy mechanics made it sound like a badly designed overload. Then, as we progressed through the play, we noticed that a lucky card or two early on in the game could give a player a seemingly insurmountable advantage. Hawk had the short end of that luck in the first round and wanted to quit and start again. "I'm okay with quitting," I countered, "But I won't start another game."
As we wrapped up our first play of the game our frustrations were already softening. Yes, the game was definitely frustrating. The rules are complex. Some cards are unbalanced game-winners. It is not an "educational" game. But dammit, it's intriguing! And it's about birds. That's why we have a copy on order now.
First Impression: Beauty
Our first impression of Wingspan is that it is a beautifully done game. From the box art, to the playing mats, to the card art, to the birdhouse dice tower(!), to the tokens, to even the rule books, the production values are all very high quality. Gamer-geek friends of ours told of early printing runs of the game selling for up to $100 per copy. Given just the physical quality of the game I can see why avid gamers would be willing to shell out that kind of money. Prices have settled out since then. We ordered a copy on Amazon today for just $50. There were moments as we played we weren't sure we wanted to buy a copy, though....
Second Impression: WTF?
As we started to play the game the joy of the quality of the materials faded as the complexity of the rules became apparent. This is frankly a hard game. Even the basic mechanics of the rules are hard to understand, let alone understanding any coherent strategy atop them.This complexity is doubly frustrating because the game presents itself as a richly detailed work that will teach players facts about birds in a fun setting. It's even implied that, as an educational game, it's for kids. What a crock! While the cards do all contain bird facts it is impossible to appreciate them while trying to decipher the complex rules and strategies.
Getting through a single play-through was a struggle. Hawk and I each were on the verge of quitting a few times. I almost quit before we even started actual play. Just the rules explanation (from an experienced player) with all the fussy mechanics made it sound like a badly designed overload. Then, as we progressed through the play, we noticed that a lucky card or two early on in the game could give a player a seemingly insurmountable advantage. Hawk had the short end of that luck in the first round and wanted to quit and start again. "I'm okay with quitting," I countered, "But I won't start another game."
Third Impression: Maybe It'll Grow On Us
We toughed through the game. The player who caught a lucky card early on did win, though not by a runaway margin like we feared. Second place was close behind him, and my third place score was close behind that. Hawk did finish last; the bad luck she caught early on hampered her for most of the game. Even some good cards she got in later rounds only closed the gap partway.As we wrapped up our first play of the game our frustrations were already softening. Yes, the game was definitely frustrating. The rules are complex. Some cards are unbalanced game-winners. It is not an "educational" game. But dammit, it's intriguing! And it's about birds. That's why we have a copy on order now.
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Date: 2021-04-29 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-04-29 05:48 pm (UTC)As an example of how hard Wingspan is, players are forced to make complex and very consequential decisions just in the setup step. Players are dealt 5 cards and 5 resource chits each, and have to select just 5 total from them. Doing this in such a way that you don't shoot yourself in the foot requires not just understanding the basic mechanics of the game rules— which are already very complex— but also figuring out basic play strategy. All before the first turn even starts!