Wingspan
Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:06 pm
I don't think anyone here is big into the board game hobby, at least not as much as I am, but has anyone caught wind of this game?
Unlike other titles in the hobby, it's actually been getting some interesting press in terms of write-ups in venues like the New York Times and The Smithsonian, because it has an unusual theme (birds and bird-watching instead of the standard space/fantasy/Renaissance trading themes typical of the genre), and is the first time game design by a woman, females being very unrepresented in the hobby.
Well, people have been going just nuts over this thing. Reviews have been raving, print runs kept selling out which promoted the publisher to write an apology explaining the economics of board game design in the Boardgamegeek forums, and it was selling on Ebay for $1,000 for a time (this is a $40 game). It also just won the Kennerspiel des Jahres, which is sort of the board game equivalent of winning a Best Picture Oscar.
After I heard of the second printing being completed I monitored my go-to place for buying games online, refreshing every 20 minutes or so until I saw they had 50 copies available. Placed my order, took another look, and they were all gone. They lasted less than half an hour.
After one play through with my gaming group, everyone was in love with it, and it is the only game in months that makes it to the table with multiple plays every time we meet. One of my friends even bought his own copy and a 3D printer at the same time so he could make custom components for it. I've been in the hobby for most of my life and I've never seen such enthusiasm for a game before.
Just thought I'd throw it out there--from a lot of what I've encountered, this game is even winning a lot of people over who aren't normally into board games. Most of the folks here seem to have a bit of a geek side to them, so if you are one of them, check it out:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/266192/wingspan
Unlike other titles in the hobby, it's actually been getting some interesting press in terms of write-ups in venues like the New York Times and The Smithsonian, because it has an unusual theme (birds and bird-watching instead of the standard space/fantasy/Renaissance trading themes typical of the genre), and is the first time game design by a woman, females being very unrepresented in the hobby.
Well, people have been going just nuts over this thing. Reviews have been raving, print runs kept selling out which promoted the publisher to write an apology explaining the economics of board game design in the Boardgamegeek forums, and it was selling on Ebay for $1,000 for a time (this is a $40 game). It also just won the Kennerspiel des Jahres, which is sort of the board game equivalent of winning a Best Picture Oscar.
After I heard of the second printing being completed I monitored my go-to place for buying games online, refreshing every 20 minutes or so until I saw they had 50 copies available. Placed my order, took another look, and they were all gone. They lasted less than half an hour.
After one play through with my gaming group, everyone was in love with it, and it is the only game in months that makes it to the table with multiple plays every time we meet. One of my friends even bought his own copy and a 3D printer at the same time so he could make custom components for it. I've been in the hobby for most of my life and I've never seen such enthusiasm for a game before.
Just thought I'd throw it out there--from a lot of what I've encountered, this game is even winning a lot of people over who aren't normally into board games. Most of the folks here seem to have a bit of a geek side to them, so if you are one of them, check it out:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/266192/wingspan