Game review: Wingspan – European & Oceanic Expansions

What are the Wingspan Expansions?

If you’re a fan of Wingspan, you’ll have been very excited to see two new expansions have been released for the original game – the European expansion and the more recent Oceanic expansion. Each offers you a brand-new deck of birds and the first thing you’ll probably do is leaf through the decks to see which you recognise and adore the beautiful imagery. Each expansion comes with new bonus cards, eggs, goal tiles and scorepads, the Oceanic expansion also comes with a new food source – nectar –  as well as accompanying food dice and player mats to use it. The new birds come with new powers and both expansions are shuffled into the original Wingspan deck – individually or together. With both expansions this doubles your original deck size.

Is it Fun?

Wingspan and its subsequent expansions are a delight to play, there is something to be said for the very tactile nature of this game with so many well designed and quality components. Increasing the deck to include birds with new powers and food sources obviously increases the complexity of the game so add one expansion at a time! Each expansion comes with a reference tile which makes it easier to remember the steps within a turn and as with the original, the rulebook is well designed and colourful which means looking things up is not a chore! 

Is it Educational?

The knowledge gained through playing this game is widespread – from picking up bird names by becoming familiar with the decks to learning all about the environmental interactions and the niches that species fill. A brilliant game to play with all ages from 10+ and there is something magical about playing with a deck containing birds found in your own back garden or at a local nature reserve. I can now tell people that a mute swan gets its name from being less vocal than other species and that great tits can use conifer needles to retrieve larvae from trees!

Conclusion

If you’re a fan of Wingspan then the expansions are only going to add to your enjoyment of the game! If you’ve never purchased a game expansion before then perhaps start with the European deck which doesn’t involve learning about a new food source or using new player mats.

Dr Louise Robinson is Lecturer in Forensic Biology and Dr Ian Turner an Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching, both at the University of Derby.