The New Haven Bird Club will once again hold free Wingspan Game Events at the Whitney Center’s Cultural Arts Center, 200 Leeder Hill Drive, Hamden CT (the same room where NHBC Monthly Meetings are held). These events are for anyone who plays or is interested in learning how to play Wingspan.
- Friday, January 17, 2025 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
- Sunday, February 9, 2025 from noon to 3 p.m.
- Friday, March 21, 2025 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m
Wingspan is a board game that debuted in 2019 that uses bird behavior and characteristics to control the flow of the game. An article in Audubon summed it up best: “Wingspan players take on the role of bird enthusiasts aiming to attract avian visitors to their wildlife preserve. The heart of the game is its deck of 170 illustrated bird cards, each depicting a North American species. Up to five players take turns placing these cards into their appropriate habitat, collecting food, laying eggs, or drawing new cards, with each action unlocking new resources. It’s what’s known in board game parlance as an engine-building game – one in which players try to create an increasingly effective system for generating points. The game lasts about an hour, and the player with the most points wins.”
If you own a Wingspan game set and would like to bring it so that we have enough sets for all to play, please let me know at jswattbirds@gmail.com. We anticipate up to 20-25 players so that we would need up to 5 game sets. To learn more about Wingspan, its rules, or to watch a tutorial video, go to https://stonemaiergames.com/games/wingspan/rules/. The many different actions and variables to each round may seem very complex at first, but becomes easier to remember with each round. We will set up tables with players of different skill levels. For those who have never played before, we will have a learning session. To learn the game, we will play a demonstration round at first, then break up into groups playing open-handed rounds giving participants a chance to learn and ask questions.