Games with Friends

“Hmm,” Jill mused thoughtfully, surveying the landscape before her, the colorful birds, the verdant grassland, the berries that were both for us and the critters. “I think I’m going to lay eggs,” she said decidedly. Nobody blinked. We watched as she reached into the container holding all the colorful eggs and retrieved one pink and one brown one and plopped them both on the card displaying the Black-eared Wood Quail. Then it was my turn. I took no time at all in playing my Fork-tailed Swift, even though it cost me one berry and one worm, and just like that Ellen was up. She eyed the birds that were available for the taking, and I held my breath. Don’t take the Trumpeter Swan; don’t take the Trumpeter Swan,” I muttered under my breath. Almost as if she heard me, she swooped in and grabbed the swan to get a closer look. Due to my involuntary groan, she smiled slyly and kept the card, messing up my plans for the next three turns.

If you haven’t played Wingspan before, it’s a competitive, card-building game in which you collect birds for your various habitats and try to gain the most points using said birds or eggs or your bonus challenges. But what really makes the game stand out is the beauty of its design. The artwork is nothing less than exquisite as each bird seems to have been meticulously painted. Getting to roll the food dice through the creative bird feeder is everyone’s favorite action, and Amanda has a particular fondness for the pink eggs. But one of the best designs, in my opinion, is that you can choose one strategy for yourself and stick with it all game long, and it’s just as valid of a strategy as any other. In one game, Ellen chose to focus on Bonus points, Missy collected eggs, and I aimed for the most bird feathers. Our final scores? Missy - 56, Ellen - 55, Katrina - 55. So close! That’s a mark of a well-designed game.

Jill straightened the food tokens in front of her while Ellen tried to partner her Trumpeter Swan with a Northern Loon. I was nervously counting out rounds to see if I’d actually have a chance at making my Bonus challenges when Suzanne came out of nowhere and whooped us all. But we laughed and marveled at the names and colors and beauty of Wingspan. “How about next month again?”