The Wingspan box (English edition)Photo: Stonemaier Games
The Hindi edition sold in India by Green Elephant GamesPhoto: Green Elephant Games
The back of the boxPhoto: Tabletop Universe
What's in the boxPhoto: Tabletop Universe
Set up for four playersPhoto: Stonemaier Games
Every bird card has its own powerPhoto: Stonemaier Games (photo: Tim Chuon)
Laying eggs on your birdsPhoto: Stonemaier Games (photo: Tim Chuon)
Taking food from the birdfeeder dicePhoto: Stonemaier Games (photo: Tim Chuon)
The birdhouse dice towerPhoto: Stonemaier Games (photo: Tim Chuon)
Food dicePhoto: Stonemaier Games
Video

Strategy game

Wingspan

Calm card game about birds where every new bird boosts your turns.

1–5players · best with 2-4
40–70 minplaying time
10+recommended age
Learning curve
Involved4 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
Luck and skill
LuckSkill
Interaction
Low
Set-up
About 5 min
Reading
Some

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for Couples and pairs looking for a calm, thoughtful game

Think twice if You want loud, interactive game nights; players mostly build their own reserve

How we rate it

Learning curve. Wingspan is one of our reference games for 4, with 7 Wonders. Each turn is simple (pick one of four actions), but you're juggling food, eggs, cards, goals and a lot of different bird powers.

Luck & skill. Which birds you draw, especially in your starting hand, and how the food dice fall add real luck. Planning ahead and adapting still decide most games.

Interaction. You mostly build your own reserve. You compete for the face-up birds, the food in the birdfeeder and the round goals, and a few birds react to other players' turns.

Set-up. Stonemaier says set-up takes about 5 minutes once you know the game. Then everyone takes a few more minutes to choose which starting birds and food to keep and one bonus card. The first time, press out the tokens and put together the birdhouse dice tower (Stonemaier has a short 'How to Assemble' video, 4XN0TgPs4p4). The Swift-Start guides make the first game simpler.

Reading. Most birds have a one- or two-line power in English that you read when you play or use them, and bonus cards have short text. The fun facts on the cards are optional. An official Hindi edition is available.

Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

Buying link pausedWe haven’t found an available Amazon listing for this edition.

Is Wingspan right for you?

Great if

  • Couples and pairs looking for a calm, thoughtful game
  • Bird and nature lovers, including school students who like biology
  • Families ready to step up from Ludo, UNO or Monopoly to real strategy
  • Playing alone, using the solo mode included in the box

Skip it if

  • You want loud, interactive game nights; players mostly build their own reserve
  • Reading English card text would slow your group down (look at the Hindi edition instead)
  • Your budget is tight, since the English base game is imported and is not a cheap buy

A place on the honours list

Good company to be in.

Recognition from beyond our table.

Kennerspiel des Jahres · Winner · 2019 official award mark
Winner · 2019

Kennerspiel des Jahres

The German jury’s award for games with a little more depth.

Meet the jury’s choice ↗
More recognition 1

Deutscher Spiele Preis (German Games Prize, voted by players), 2019 (Winner (1st place))

How Wingspan plays

Each player has a board with three habitats: forest, grassland and wetland. Over four rounds you play bird cards into those habitats. Each of the 170 bird cards is a real species with its own picture, point value and food cost.

  • Time to teach: about 15 minutes.
  • Reading and language: Most bird cards have a short power written in English that you need to read and follow. An official Hindi edition exists for families who would rather play in Hindi.
Taking food from the birdfeeder dice · Photo: Stonemaier Games (photo: Tim Chuon)

How to Teach Wingspan · Stonemaier Games · Official

Choose a video · Watch right here

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Choose

    On your turn, place one of your action cubes and do one thing: play a bird, gain food, lay eggs or draw bird cards.

  2. 2
    Play

    To play a bird, pay the food shown on its card, plus an egg or two if it goes further along the row. Then put it in a habitat where it can live: forest, grassland or wetland.

  3. 3
    Activate

    To use a habitat, put your cube in its row. The forest gives food from the birdfeeder dice, the grassland lays eggs and the wetland draws cards. Then the birds in that row use their powers, right to left, so a full row gives you much more.

  4. 4
    Win

    There are four rounds of 8, 7, 6 and 5 turns, and each round ends with a goal everyone competes for. After round 4, add up points for birds, bonus cards, goals, eggs, stored food and tucked cards. Highest total wins.

Read the official rulesWingspan rules page: rulebook, appendix and solo rules (Stonemaier Games) · English
The full explanation: how a game of Wingspan goes

On your turn you do just one of four things. You can play a bird from your hand by paying the food shown on it. Or you can use one habitat: the forest gains food from the dice in the birdfeeder tower, the grassland lays eggs on your birds, and the wetland draws new bird cards.

The more birds you have in a habitat, the stronger its action becomes. Many birds also have powers that switch on when you use their row. Early turns feel small, but by the last round one action can set off a whole chain of bonuses. This is what people mean when they call Wingspan an 'engine-building' game.

You get fewer turns each round (8, then 7, 6 and 5), so every choice matters more as the game goes on. Each round also has a goal, such as having the most birds in one habitat, that scores extra points.

At the end you add up points from your birds, bonus cards, round goals, eggs, food stored on birds and cards tucked under birds. The highest total wins.

What's in the box

What's in the box · Photo: Tabletop Universe
  • 170Bird cards
    every one a different real North American bird, with its own art, food cost, points and power
  • 10Swift-Start bird cards
    used with the Swift-Start guides for a first game
  • 4Swift-Start player guides
    walk new players through their first turns
  • 26Bonus cards
    secret scoring goals, such as birds of a certain type
  • 16Automa cards
    for the solo mode, which has its own rulebook
  • 103Food tokens
  • 75Egg miniatures
    marbled eggs in several colours
  • 5Food dice
    custom wooden dice
  • 1Birdfeeder dice tower
    cardboard birdhouse that you put together the first time
  • 5Player mats
    40 x 28 cm, with forest, grassland and wetland rows
  • 40Action cubes
    wooden, 8 in each of 5 player colours
  • 1Goal board
    double-sided: a competitive green side and a gentler blue side
  • 8Goal tiles
    double-sided
  • 1Bird tray
    holds the 3 face-up bird cards
  • 1First-player token
  • 2Food and egg trays
  • 1Scorepad
    50 sheets
  • 3Rulebooks
    rulebook, appendix explaining every bird power, and Automa (solo) rules

Box: 30 × 30 × 7 cm, 2.4 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.

The list is from page 1 of Stonemaier's current English rulebook (WS_Rulebook_r24, the Swift-Start printing), with three additions from Stonemaier's Wingspan page: 16 Automa cards, 2 food/egg trays and 3 rulebooks in all. Older printings, and the text on some Indian listings, have no Swift-Start cards and list a 2-piece GameTrayz tray and 4 plastic resource containers. Green Elephant's page for the Hindi edition lists the same contents as Stonemaier, including the 10 Swift-Start cards.

Where to buy

Buying link pausedWe haven’t found an available Amazon listing for this edition.

How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.

About the editions

Green Elephant Games is the authorised distributor for Wingspan in India, in both English and Hindi. The English edition is made abroad and imported; the official Hindi edition (विंगस्पैन) is made by Green Elephant Games in partnership with Stonemaier Games. On Amazon.in, check that the brand is Stonemaier Games and that the seller is genuine.

Before you choose

  • The listing and box should say Stonemaier Games. The Hindi edition also credits Green Elephant Games. Amazon.in search results included Wingspan listings branded LEROKAS and Artnery Games, and one titled 'KO Version'. None of these are sold under the publisher's name.
  • Be wary of a new copy that costs a fraction of the usual price; much cheaper sets sold under the Wingspan name come from other makers, not Stonemaier Games.
  • Check the components. A genuine box has 170 different bird cards, 75 egg miniatures, 5 custom wooden dice and a cardboard birdfeeder dice tower. Blurry art, flimsy cards, plastic dice or a missing dice tower suggest a copy.
  • Current genuine copies include the Swift-Start Pack. Check that the box or listing mentions it.
  • Check the Amazon.in seller name. Clone listings copy the genuine listing's title word for word, including the 'Wuth' typo, so the title alone proves nothing.

What reviewers and players say

Wingspan is one of the most praised games of recent years. Critics love the field-guide bird art, the real bird facts and the calm, satisfying way your birds build on each other, and it won Germany's Kennerspiel des Jahres in 2019. Turns are quick, and the last round, when one action sets off a chain of birds, feels great. The catches: card draws and dice bring a fair bit of luck, everyone mostly builds their own reserve, and late in the game laying eggs can become the obvious move. It also costs more than most games, though the official Hindi edition is cheaper.

What people love

  • Beautiful, accurate bird art with real facts on every card, which bird and nature lovers adore
  • Each bird makes later turns stronger, so the game builds to a satisfying last round
  • Lovely pieces, like the birdhouse dice tower and the pastel eggs
  • A solo mode in the box, and it plays well for couples

Common complaints

  • Little interaction: at times it feels as if everyone is playing their own game
  • The luck of the draw, especially your starting hand, can swing a game
  • Late in the game laying eggs can be the obvious best move, which makes endings feel samey
Based on 7 reviews and discussions

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

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RulesMediumEasyEasy
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Also worth a look (not in our catalogue yet): Wyrmspan – Stonemaier's dragon-themed follow-up with a similar build-your-reserve feel.

Questions people ask about Wingspan

Is Wingspan available in India?

Yes. Green Elephant Games is the authorised distributor for the English and Hindi editions. Make sure the brand is Stonemaier Games. Our buying link is currently paused while no available Amazon offer is confirmed.

Is there a Hindi version of Wingspan?

Yes. There is an official Hindi edition (विंगस्पैन), made by Green Elephant Games in partnership with Stonemaier Games. Green Elephant's page for it lists the same contents as Stonemaier's English edition, including the 10 Swift-Start cards.

Can 2 people play Wingspan?

Yes. The base game plays 1 to 5, and two players is a common way to play it. There is also a solo mode in the box. Wingspan Asia adds a dedicated 2-player Duet mode and can be played on its own without the base game.

Is Wingspan suitable for children?

Indian stores list it as 10+, though a few listings say 14+. Children need to read and follow the English text on bird cards, or play the Hindi edition. The Swift-Start guides that come with current copies are designed to make the first game easier.

Game facts

Designed by
Elizabeth Hargrave
Publisher
Stonemaier Games
In India
Green Elephant Games (authorised distributor of the English and Hindi editions in India)
First published
2019
Players
1–5
Language
Some English – Most bird cards have a short power written in English that you need to read and follow. An official Hindi edition exists for families who would rather play in Hindi.
Box size and weight
30 × 30 × 7 cm, 2.4 kg
Awards
Kennerspiel des Jahres (Germany's Connoisseur Game of the Year), 2019 (Winner); Deutscher Spiele Preis (German Games Prize, voted by players), 2019 (Winner (1st place))
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.