A Boardgame recommendation from Bard and Bear
By Megan Edmonds
Board games are a classic cold-weather hobby. Find some folks you like, gather round a table, pull out a game or two or twelve, and pass the time from sunup to way-too-early sundown. Whether it’s the warm glow of cooperative success or the fires of a heated rivalry, you’re warm, you’re entertained, and you’re happy.
Birdwatching, on the other hand, doesn’t tend to make the list of winter pastimes. Those birds have long flown south, unless… you’ve got a copy of Wingspan!
Wingspan isn’t new: it was released by Stonemaier Games in 2019. It’s also not a hidden gem – out of thousands of games, it takes spot 38 on Board Game Geek’s definitive ranking list.
So why are we recommending it to you now?
Because the days are cold and dark and long, and that’s not changing soon.
So when you gather with friends to play, we want you to think happy thoughts of spring. While you do that, we want you to master the incredible engine-building mechanic Elizabeth Hargrave created, and marvel as your turns go from a few stilted actions in the early rounds to a flurry of synchronized strategy in the end game. We want you to enjoy the beautiful, colourful art of birds both familiar and unknown (and with the Wingsong app, you can even hear them sing!).
A final note of caution to temper our enthusiastic recommendation: it is a long game, and the learning curve can be steep. New editions come with a Swift Start pack to help learn the game, and we’re running a Learn to Play Night in January that could be just the ticket if you prefer to skip the rulebook entirely. Come visit us at The Bard and Bear Games Café at 237 James Street North and give it a try to help decide if it will make the cut for your home collection – we’ve also got expansion packs, and versions with fish and dragons!
Now get gaming and dream of a warm spring to come!
