The simplicity and lightness is different... the different versions of ticket to ride are mostly expansions, even if they are base games. You can look at the effort required to create a 'giant deck of different cards' and applaud it (and hey, they found a successful system with a high chance of selling). You can also look at it and feel like you would rather that effort go towards new games. I donno... it's obviously a high quality cash grab, as weird ad it sounds. It's high quality, but created because 'they know it will sell on top of previous success and similarity'
@nshaw1299 you also have a million Carcassonne games, Clank games, Catan games. Successful games will have spin offs. I personally rate Wingspan a 6/10, don't care or it, it's fine. Do I mind Finspan existing? Not at all. PS: Publishers are companies. They need profit. Why wouldn't they sell stuff that - well - sells?
Buying more Ticker to Ride increases the variety of maps to play for the same core ruleset with minor changes. Wingspan and its spinoffs are similar but don't feel like each subsequent one is increasing the variety in the original, you're just buying games that fill the same niche with some differences. At least that's how I feel, I would only own one of these at most. I feel the same way about Everdell.
nah this comparison doesn't hold. Most Ticket to Ride versions are actually either expansions for the base game, or base game versions with alternative maps and a couple of extra mechanics (a long tradition in euro games). Some versions are smaller, easier or legacy versions of the game, and people respond to them in pretty much the same way they respond to Finspan (i.e., some are excited, others don't care for them or see them as cash grabs). I don't think people are personally offended Finspan exists, but they express that they don't need it and won't buy it
Regarding the production note on the technical issues, I hope Mike makes a separate video to give his thoughts and rating for the game. If not, a post in writing of his thoughts and rating would be great. Although the spatial elements were mentioned in the overview, they should've been discussed more in the review. The spatial elements are interesting and sets it apart from the other span games. Otherwise, this was a solid review.
I love Wingspan (and don’t understand the hate from gamers). Couldn’t get on board with Wyrmspan though with all the imaginary dragon species. But Finspan, I’m on board again and super excited to get a hold of it!
I’m in the exact same boat. Wyrmspan was fine, but felt like I’d always go back to Wingspan due to theme and comfort with the game. I also don’t hate the dice as much as others. I thought for a while fish would be a good theme for a Wingspan sequel so I’m happy it’s finally here!
I play both solo only and the mechanics of the cave and the dragons and the solo were superior IMO to Wingspan. I have always been a huge fan of dragons. I prefer a dragon theme to bird.
Good to hear Camilla say this one spoke to her much more than wingspan. I’m also pretty fine with wingspan. I enjoyed the Asia two-player variant the most of any wingspan stuff but I’m still just “good” with it. I’ll have to try this one and see if I enjoy it as much as yall did. 😊
What was Mike's score out of curiosity? Also real nice job editing: I mostly listen instead of watching and didn't notice the cuts until I heard Camilla mention Mike!
"Should Finspan exist" is like asking "should Undaunted: Battle of Britain exist" or "should Unmatched Legends Vol 2 exist": And the answer is "Yes, why not?" Now, Dominion expansions...
Exactly. Show me some consistency or admit your bias. Unless you vocally complain about every new Great Western Trail, Ticket to Ride, etc you should just confess you've got some irrational hangup with Stonemaier's success.
@@violentfrog_ 100% agree. So many hypocrites calling out SM for making a sequel to a successful game (why on earth shouldn't they?) but they are fine with 3 versions of Gloomhaven, like, 7 versions of Zombicide, 3 almost identical versions of Nemesis, 3 versions of Great Western Trail, about 10 versions of Pandemic, 5 versions of Clank!, (yes, 5) and so and so on but SM decide to do what looks like quite a thoughtful and interesting take on one of their IPs and all of a sudden it's "Boooooo! How dare you?! Boooo!" F***ing morons.
@@jacobjslee Yep, 3 versions of Gloomhaven, 7 versions of Zombicide, 3 almost identical versions of Nemesis and so on and so on. Lot of hypocrites in this hobby.
I really appreciate that you are always looking to improve your production. This is regarding the new cut edit in the video, i think it will work really well for solo videos, but in group videos in looks off, as if you are doing a second take, doesn't feel very natural. Just my opinion.
Yes, I made a note in the description of the video. They even refer to me at one point. It’s not an ideal solution, but I tried to make the edits as smooth as possible under the circumstances.
@@michaeldilisio557that makes more sense. I wasn’t used to cuts in these videos, especially four noticeable ones. Glad it’s just a technical issue and not the new direction
I've recently gotten into fish keeping so I am personally excited for this! My main question was if it's just saltwater fish and if the have excluded freshwater fish. Thematically it would make sense an would lend to a future freshwater expansion!
I would love a more interactive span game, but seeing how many people think Oceania/Asia and Wyrmspan were "doing too much" and prefer vanilla wingspan (which i accept but don't understand) I doubt that will happen. I still love them though and can't wait to get my copy of this to try out
There are 3x as many species of Fish as there are species of Birds. In Wingspan, there are 435 bird cards (expansions included), there are 530 Shark species (just Sharks!) so you could just make Sharkspan and it would have more cards potentially than Wingspan. Finspan is ripe for expansions.
The issue is not with number of fish or birds, the issue is with number of different mechanics. In all 3 of these games many different birds/wyrms/fish have pretty much the exact same ability (so different card, but same mechanic). Its easy to come up with 1000 more card names, whats hard is coming up with even 1/10th of that many new interesting mechanics. And seeing how these are mainstream lighter games there are a lot of limitations as to what you can implement. So number of card 'names' does not equate to expandability.
Since Wingspan was explicitly inspired by RftG, the lack of "cards as resource" in it (and many other children of RftG) does leave something to be desired
I was always somewhat intrigued by Wingspan but never pulled the trigger and much like Tom I like birds well enough but I love fish so I'm getting this. Cool that the barrel eyed fish is in it (I saw it in this video), one of my favourite absolutly bonkers fish.
On Jaime's video, there is both fresh and salt water fish. Many people asked him about it. Possible expansions would be water mammals and more sharks. I also want the squishy eggs😂! The vertical board is unique in its way too. I haven't seen what table space it'll occupy though?
lol . Tom you can use the same starting setup in fin span as wing span . Just keep your cards and 1 of each food . I don’t see why you cant use the discarded cards in fin span in wing span also .
Exactly right! I played Wingspan correctly twice, and the constant feeling of always being one food short or one egg short got to me. From then on, we keep all 5 cards and all 5 foods. More fun that way.
Right on ! I also have more cards to pick from . I always play with 6 cards to draw from . I think I will add the discard pile and see if I like that .
It's a good question. I certainly don't just play however I want with any game. I do play by the rules (as best I can understand them) the first few times and often times permanently. There actually aren't a lot of games where I blatantly break the rules, as I agree it risks destroying game balance. For Wingspan specifically, the point of breaking the rules by starting with more stuff is that it makes the game more fun for the people I play with: my family. We are not tournament players, but we each do try to win. That said, the game still has to be more fun than frustrating. The starting rules were making Wingspan too frustrating (and not just for me), so we changed the rules. No, I would not expect to impose this house rule at convention or game night, just when playing with my family. As an aside, we actually played one game where one player decided to stick to the rule, but they let the rest of us start with all cards/food - as a result they came in last by about 15 points. Wingspan really is an engine building game and getting that head start is a big deal. I don't recommend breaking the rules. I do it in this case because Wingspan is a beautiful looking game that my family enjoys playing, but that starting rule was just too punishing for it to be enjoyable. Yes, it unbalances the game. No, we do not care. Because it means we still play it to this day.
My first experience with the series was a THREE HOUR 4p game of Wyrmspan. I loved the card combos but they're only fun for like 1-1. 5hrs max. Is this one different?
I’m not sure I like the jump cuts, it makes it seem like the 3 are making mistakes that need to be skipped… but I do understand it makes it more efficient
I’m glad to see another good game in the Wingspan “family”. Interesting mechanics, intuitive, great theme. Funny that gamers care about games existing that they don’t have an interest in. The more the hobby expands the better imo, no one can deny the impact Wingspan has had and the timing of it with Covid. I don’t play it much anymore but it was one of the games that really got me in the hobby, and so holds a special place. Plus I’m with Tom, I like the marine theme even more!
That player board is massive. I've had trouble fitting 3 player Wingspan on my table, so Finspan seams to be a solo game. Wingspan does also scale like that. A 5 player Wingspan game is vastly different than 2 players. Pink birds are almost useless at two, but immensely valuable with more players.
The game sounds like a more complicated version of Reforest. It does share with Reforest, however, the mechanism of discarding cards as resource. Which one is better, Reforest or Finspan? I left a message to James Steinmeier in a youtube video that he should make those span games simultaneous play to save time. They are multiplayer solitaire anyway. James did not agree with me.
• Love Wingspan, love birds, own all the expansions (not a big fan of nectar, just gimme more birds)! • Didn’t buy Wyrmspan, uninterested. • Won’t buy Finspan, not as interested in fish. • Now, if they ever make one for insects, it would be an INSTABUY!! Love bugs!
I don't know about this one. I'm a diver so I do enjoy seeing fish especially big ones and colorful ones, but I'm a birder first. There is not much cuter than a long tailed tit. Show me any fish that can be considered cute. Theme aside I just like the elegance of wingspan and I'm not feeling it with this one. Obviously I haven't played it (yet) but I don't think it will replace wingspan for me. I never really got into wyrmspan either and that theme did absolutely nothing for me.
I like the look of the game, nice and clean. Also: Who cares if they print another ‘span’ game. Let publishers print what they want, they will make a profit or they won’t. It’s so silly and painfully petty to make such an issue out of it.
I'm disappointed to hear the player scaling issues of Stonemeier Games continue. I enjoy a lot of their games at 2 or 3 players, but at 4 or 5 they play so differently in a way that negatively impacts the experience or take so much longer to play that I never play them with that many after a try or two. I understand the challenge there especially with games that are not very interactive and low conflict. Either the pacing remains the same and downtime between turns and game length stretches out, or the pacing dramatically changes to have a smaller difference in game length. I feel like they haven't hit a sweet spot in between those endpoints in a while.
Wingspan base game had 170 unique birds, Finspan base looks like it has 152 unique fish cards, so base Wingspan wins on total unique cards, base Finspan wins on more global presence
I really don't get why the boardgame community is so toxic these days and it really makes me sad. :( The game has a great look and if I don't want another solitaire tableau builder, Ill just get another of the 2500 new games each year.
It’s just hard to get excited for yet another multiplayer solitaire, tableau building, point salad euro; especially when it’s based on another MSTBPSE.
I like Wingspan and the bird theme. I do struggle in that game to build an engine. I can't get the food to play the card to meet the goals. The Wyrmspan theme seems okay, but the game sounds more complicated, so I'm not planning on getting it. I like the simplicity of this one, and I like the fish theme. So, I will consider getting this one if I see it in a store.
Waiting until the Wingspan Kingfisher will catch one of my Finspan fish 😅😌 anyway, totally agree with all final thoughts, just didn't understand why Tom didn't give it an 8.5 at least after how he compared it to Wingspan and Wyrmspan 😁
Thanks for your answer Tom, and of course an 8 is wonderful and fair like you say, it was only your words "I like this one a tiniest bit better than both of those" that already evoked an 8.5 in my brain 😅
I have the first two games, all the Wingspan expansions, and will get this one as well. I expect I'll love it! I was neutral on the dragon theme of Wyrmspan, but now that Jamey has stated they see this as a trilogy of games and have no plans to take it further, I rather wish they'd gone a different route, theme wise with Wyrmspan, something rooted in the natural world, like bugs/insects or mammals. If they do expansions for Wyrmspan they'll have to go with more made up creatures whereas sticking with the natural world, like Wing and Fin, would've given endless options and fit more with the other two games.
Friendly reminder that Dune Imperium Uprising, which could arguably be described as a patch at best on an existing game, is one of the top games for a bunch of reviewers for 2024 and probably for at least a couple of the people crying about a new X-Span game. Game designers shouldn’t have to build a better mouse trap every time they set out to create. If the game looks good, is fun, and the theme resonates with the public, then who cares if it shares DNA with a bunch of other games? Great review, looks like a ton of fun, and I’m with Tom: fish are where it’s at. Will cop
Yep. And for some reason people seem perfectly fine with about 7 versions of Zombicide and 3 versions of Gloomhaven and 3 near identical version of Nemesis. The list goes on. Why are Stonemaier treated differently. This looks like an interesting and thoughtful, well made sequel to a popular IP. What on earth is the issue with that? Too many joyless and spoilt people in this hobby sadly.
Try not to judge Stonemaier games too harshly. They haven't come up with a decent game in years. The creativity well dried up long ago so of course they'll reprint the same game a third time. Why wouldn't they when they know they have an existing pool of people ready to buy it? Don't they have, like, 3 different Scythe games? Personally, I'd like to see some roll and write versions coming up next. Viticulture would make an excellent r&w.
Wingspan originally was a great title as it has meaning, wyrmspan and finspan is just stupid, they should have new names but then it wont be as obvious to people its part of a series.
I really don't care that much about fish. And I wish I had never bought "Wingspan". Not just that the game isn't that good, it's also completely outdated now and has inferior rules. Stonemaier Games make me sad.
I guess I don't understand comments like this. If you don't like the game, that's fine. But to say that a game that millions of people enjoy is "outdated" seems odd.
Funny how the ones complaining that there is a 2nd sequel to wingspan are the ones buying all the editions of pandemic, ticket to ride, catan, carcassonne etc. 😂😂😂 And also the span games are vastly different, idk wtf is the problem
Wingspan with even less player interaction (no resource pool, no public card market), worse graphic design, and no diminishing action economy? No thanks
@@CptRoboto Comments are a valuable source of feedback for content creators. They can provide insights into what viewers like or dislike, suggestions for future content, and overall reactions that can help shape the direction of your channel.
I get that games are iterative in their design, but this feels too iterative to Wingspan for me to be terribly interested. It doesn't seem to offer really much besides it being fish - and for those people interested in fish and that attracts them, then I'm genuinely glad they have the option. I just don't see it bringing any new experiences to me that Wingspan doesn't have.
It’s just the name for me. I don’t think this is a real term. Unnatural, made up terminology, that sounds odd is jarring to me for an otherwise interesting looking game. Biggest real gripe is the solitaire nature.
It's definitely getting there. I think there was something like five thousand games released in 2024. That in itself is insane but almost every game is a rehash or remake or a reiteration of an existing game. I can't think of any games that were truly unique. Most of the games I bought last year were old classic games and the new ones were all iterations of a previous game (Clack Catacombs, Thunder Road: Vendetta, Dune Imperium Uprising, and King of Tokyo Duel).
I thought there couldn't be a more boring theme than birdwatching, then they announced Finspan. For me it is a matter of theme and I'm just not into nature themed games.
Honestly, it really feels like this is bloating the line. If you like the theme, go for it, but it feels like SM is going towards being the X-span or Scythe machine
@xshadowscreamx I agree with you. That's also bloated in my opinion. Again, if you like it, go for it, but that's just my opinion. Im happy you have a different one.
Would love to know why SM seem to be the only company that get crap for releasing IP sequels and Gloomhaven, Nemesis, Zombicide and about 10 other big IPs get away with it. Hypocrisy maybe? Not sure. It's very weird. This seems like a pretty thoughtful and well made spin-off. So what's the issue?
If you don't care that 20 versions of Ticket to Ride exist, then you shouldn't care about 3 different span games.
The simplicity and lightness is different... the different versions of ticket to ride are mostly expansions, even if they are base games.
You can look at the effort required to create a 'giant deck of different cards' and applaud it (and hey, they found a successful system with a high chance of selling).
You can also look at it and feel like you would rather that effort go towards new games.
I donno... it's obviously a high quality cash grab, as weird ad it sounds. It's high quality, but created because 'they know it will sell on top of previous success and similarity'
@@nshaw1299 You said plenty but still meaning the same. Just like Ticket to Ride.
@nshaw1299 you also have a million Carcassonne games, Clank games, Catan games. Successful games will have spin offs. I personally rate Wingspan a 6/10, don't care or it, it's fine. Do I mind Finspan existing? Not at all. PS: Publishers are companies. They need profit. Why wouldn't they sell stuff that - well - sells?
Buying more Ticker to Ride increases the variety of maps to play for the same core ruleset with minor changes. Wingspan and its spinoffs are similar but don't feel like each subsequent one is increasing the variety in the original, you're just buying games that fill the same niche with some differences. At least that's how I feel, I would only own one of these at most. I feel the same way about Everdell.
nah this comparison doesn't hold. Most Ticket to Ride versions are actually either expansions for the base game, or base game versions with alternative maps and a couple of extra mechanics (a long tradition in euro games). Some versions are smaller, easier or legacy versions of the game, and people respond to them in pretty much the same way they respond to Finspan (i.e., some are excited, others don't care for them or see them as cash grabs). I don't think people are personally offended Finspan exists, but they express that they don't need it and won't buy it
Regarding the production note on the technical issues, I hope Mike makes a separate video to give his thoughts and rating for the game. If not, a post in writing
of his thoughts and rating would be great.
Although the spatial elements were mentioned in the overview, they should've been discussed more in the review.
The spatial elements are interesting and sets it apart from the other span games. Otherwise, this was a solid review.
I love Wingspan (and don’t understand the hate from gamers). Couldn’t get on board with Wyrmspan though with all the imaginary dragon species. But Finspan, I’m on board again and super excited to get a hold of it!
Me too
I’m in the exact same boat. Wyrmspan was fine, but felt like I’d always go back to Wingspan due to theme and comfort with the game. I also don’t hate the dice as much as others. I thought for a while fish would be a good theme for a Wingspan sequel so I’m happy it’s finally here!
I play both solo only and the mechanics of the cave and the dragons and the solo were superior IMO to Wingspan. I have always been a huge fan of dragons. I prefer a dragon theme to bird.
Exactly the same for me - the wyrmspan theme/art just turned me off, but I'm enjoying the look of the fishies
Same. I bought wyrmspan but I never played it yet. This excites me more than dragons.
An Apiary... is where bees are kept. I think Tom meant to say AVIARY.
I did indeed! Guess I got stung!
@thedicetower 😂
The Apiary is going to be included in Stingspan
@cheackertroop 😂😂
@@cheackertroop
The Apiary was included in Apiary
Maybe the span games aren't about the animal cards we drew, but about the puns we made along the way.
Good to hear Camilla say this one spoke to her much more than wingspan. I’m also pretty fine with wingspan. I enjoyed the Asia two-player variant the most of any wingspan stuff but I’m still just “good” with it. I’ll have to try this one and see if I enjoy it as much as yall did. 😊
What was Mike's score out of curiosity?
Also real nice job editing: I mostly listen instead of watching and didn't notice the cuts until I heard Camilla mention Mike!
My rating is an 8.5
@michaeldilisio557 hey Mike hope you're well! Safe flight next week!
"Should Finspan exist" is like asking "should Undaunted: Battle of Britain exist" or "should Unmatched Legends Vol 2 exist": And the answer is "Yes, why not?" Now, Dominion expansions...
Yep, people complaining about another one in the series just have it in for this company for some reason. So many other companies have done it already
Agree. Ticket to Ride have done this kind of remixing of base mechanics. Of course we are up to 9 zombicides, 5 ever dells, 4 Terra mystica, etc.
Exactly. Show me some consistency or admit your bias. Unless you vocally complain about every new Great Western Trail, Ticket to Ride, etc you should just confess you've got some irrational hangup with Stonemaier's success.
@@violentfrog_ 100% agree. So many hypocrites calling out SM for making a sequel to a successful game (why on earth shouldn't they?) but they are fine with 3 versions of Gloomhaven, like, 7 versions of Zombicide, 3 almost identical versions of Nemesis, 3 versions of Great Western Trail, about 10 versions of Pandemic, 5 versions of Clank!, (yes, 5) and so and so on but SM decide to do what looks like quite a thoughtful and interesting take on one of their IPs and all of a sudden it's "Boooooo! How dare you?! Boooo!"
F***ing morons.
@@jacobjslee Yep, 3 versions of Gloomhaven, 7 versions of Zombicide, 3 almost identical versions of Nemesis and so on and so on. Lot of hypocrites in this hobby.
I really appreciate that you are always looking to improve your production.
This is regarding the new cut edit in the video, i think it will work really well for solo videos, but in group videos in looks off, as if you are doing a second take, doesn't feel very natural.
Just my opinion.
I can’t help but agree. It looks like mistakes were made and used for reshoots.
@@dbungart3044 They had to cut Mike's part because of technical issues.
@@Pigeon3434 Gotcha that makes sense.
Yes, I made a note in the description of the video. They even refer to me at one point. It’s not an ideal solution, but I tried to make the edits as smooth as possible under the circumstances.
@@michaeldilisio557that makes more sense. I wasn’t used to cuts in these videos, especially four noticeable ones. Glad it’s just a technical issue and not the new direction
I've recently gotten into fish keeping so I am personally excited for this! My main question was if it's just saltwater fish and if the have excluded freshwater fish. Thematically it would make sense an would lend to a future freshwater expansion!
So many unintentional puns. It's impressive. I particularly enjoyed when Tom mentioned it "scales" weird. 😂
Surely the reason there are no freshwater fish is that the game is set in seas and oceans where freshwater exclusive fish can't live in.
I would love a more interactive span game, but seeing how many people think Oceania/Asia and Wyrmspan were "doing too much" and prefer vanilla wingspan (which i accept but don't understand) I doubt that will happen.
I still love them though and can't wait to get my copy of this to try out
Any thoughts on the horizontal cards vs vertical cards?
@@ianoble you need a bigger table
It makes sense to me. Fish are long, not tall.
@@notsaved I think you meant “you’re going to need a bigger table.“
All the Span games draw me in with the art, production, and theme, but this is the only one I am interested in maybe playing.
There are 3x as many species of Fish as there are species of Birds. In Wingspan, there are 435 bird cards (expansions included), there are 530 Shark species (just Sharks!) so you could just make Sharkspan and it would have more cards potentially than Wingspan. Finspan is ripe for expansions.
The issue is not with number of fish or birds, the issue is with number of different mechanics. In all 3 of these games many different birds/wyrms/fish have pretty much the exact same ability (so different card, but same mechanic). Its easy to come up with 1000 more card names, whats hard is coming up with even 1/10th of that many new interesting mechanics. And seeing how these are mainstream lighter games there are a lot of limitations as to what you can implement. So number of card 'names' does not equate to expandability.
I'm nominating Gawr Gura for a future Finspan card.
The new “cards as resources” thing sounds a bit like San Juan! I wonder if that’s why Zee liked it so much.
Since Wingspan was explicitly inspired by RftG, the lack of "cards as resource" in it (and many other children of RftG) does leave something to be desired
I was always somewhat intrigued by Wingspan but never pulled the trigger and much like Tom I like birds well enough but I love fish so I'm getting this. Cool that the barrel eyed fish is in it (I saw it in this video), one of my favourite absolutly bonkers fish.
Maintain, no way this fits on my normal table unless we’re aggressively staggered across from each other. Which makes for awkward table seating.
On Jaime's video, there is both fresh and salt water fish. Many people asked him about it. Possible expansions would be water mammals and more sharks. I also want the squishy eggs😂! The vertical board is unique in its way too. I haven't seen what table space it'll occupy though?
Really? Freshwater species don't really make sense in the context of the board, where there is a reef, pelagic, and deep water zones.
lol . Tom you can use the same starting setup in fin span as wing span . Just keep your cards and 1 of each food . I don’t see why you cant use the discarded cards in fin span in wing span also .
Exactly right! I played Wingspan correctly twice, and the constant feeling of always being one food short or one egg short got to me. From then on, we keep all 5 cards and all 5 foods. More fun that way.
Right on ! I also have more cards to pick from . I always play with 6 cards to draw from . I think I will add the discard pile and see if I like that .
Well, you can do that, but it's not in the actual rules, and I'm hesitant to possibly unbalanmce a game.
Yeah you could break the rules in any game but what's the point?
It's a good question. I certainly don't just play however I want with any game. I do play by the rules (as best I can understand them) the first few times and often times permanently. There actually aren't a lot of games where I blatantly break the rules, as I agree it risks destroying game balance.
For Wingspan specifically, the point of breaking the rules by starting with more stuff is that it makes the game more fun for the people I play with: my family. We are not tournament players, but we each do try to win. That said, the game still has to be more fun than frustrating. The starting rules were making Wingspan too frustrating (and not just for me), so we changed the rules. No, I would not expect to impose this house rule at convention or game night, just when playing with my family.
As an aside, we actually played one game where one player decided to stick to the rule, but they let the rest of us start with all cards/food - as a result they came in last by about 15 points. Wingspan really is an engine building game and getting that head start is a big deal.
I don't recommend breaking the rules. I do it in this case because Wingspan is a beautiful looking game that my family enjoys playing, but that starting rule was just too punishing for it to be enjoyable. Yes, it unbalances the game. No, we do not care. Because it means we still play it to this day.
My first experience with the series was a THREE HOUR 4p game of Wyrmspan. I loved the card combos but they're only fun for like 1-1. 5hrs max.
Is this one different?
Finspan plays noticeably quicker and is filled more straightforward turns.
I’m not sure I like the jump cuts, it makes it seem like the 3 are making mistakes that need to be skipped… but I do understand it makes it more efficient
No, it was because they had to cut out Mike's part because of tech problems.
@ ah that makes sense. Anyone know what Mike rated it?
@@bradymccann In another comment he said it was 8.5
Needs a Blobfish expansion
As my spouse and I are divers, this it seems like a great game to learn fish ID and their habitat for when we are diving.
I’m glad to see another good game in the Wingspan “family”. Interesting mechanics, intuitive, great theme. Funny that gamers care about games existing that they don’t have an interest in. The more the hobby expands the better imo, no one can deny the impact Wingspan has had and the timing of it with Covid. I don’t play it much anymore but it was one of the games that really got me in the hobby, and so holds a special place. Plus I’m with Tom, I like the marine theme even more!
How does the playtime compare to the other 2?
Finspan < Wingspan
That player board is massive. I've had trouble fitting 3 player Wingspan on my table, so Finspan seams to be a solo game.
Wingspan does also scale like that. A 5 player Wingspan game is vastly different than 2 players. Pink birds are almost useless at two, but immensely valuable with more players.
Its literally the same size
Line , Hook and Sinker?
Can't wait to see if my copy has that new fish smell.
The subtitle for this video should have been: “Just keep span-ing, just keep span-ing”
Love these reviews, well done!
The game sounds like a more complicated version of Reforest. It does share with Reforest, however, the mechanism of discarding cards as resource. Which one is better, Reforest or Finspan?
I left a message to James Steinmeier in a youtube video that he should make those span games simultaneous play to save time. They are multiplayer solitaire anyway. James did not agree with me.
That's sad :( Especially with how Wingspan was explicitly inspired by RftG
I just got Wyrmslan and we were joking about a bunny retheme called Earspan… doesn’t sound like a joke anymore.
you forgot to mention the best thing about finspan are the puns that have been surfacing 🐟
That was pretty shallow.
Love the theme sadly that’s about it .
You've cod to be joking
I just hope when I buy it, my cards don’t end up with the bends.
Who knows, this game could end up kicking bass! Sea-riously!
We REALLY need a Dinosaur "span" game, I hope this isnt going to actually be a trilogy and stop with Finspan.
Unfortunately this is the last game of the trilogy according to Jamey
@@VonkOfficial Well that could mean new trilogies, like Garphill's
The complainers would go crazy if another span game released. I don't think the boardgame community can handle it
Finspan ties in the theme and mechanics so much better than Wingspan and Wyrmspan. This really is a fantastic game.
They should make a sequel of Finspan about birds.
I doubt it would sell :P
Wingspan-got my atte tion
Wyrmspan- almost pulled the trigger
Finspan- im getting
• Love Wingspan, love birds, own all the expansions (not a big fan of nectar, just gimme more birds)!
• Didn’t buy Wyrmspan, uninterested.
• Won’t buy Finspan, not as interested in fish.
• Now, if they ever make one for insects, it would be an INSTABUY!! Love bugs!
I don't know about this one. I'm a diver so I do enjoy seeing fish especially big ones and colorful ones, but I'm a birder first. There is not much cuter than a long tailed tit. Show me any fish that can be considered cute.
Theme aside I just like the elegance of wingspan and I'm not feeling it with this one. Obviously I haven't played it (yet) but I don't think it will replace wingspan for me. I never really got into wyrmspan either and that theme did absolutely nothing for me.
Next is going to be bugspan with a dragonfly on the cover
Can't wait for 2045 when they launch Lifespan!
I love that Merlin (Maryland) shirt
I like the look of the game, nice and clean.
Also:
Who cares if they print another ‘span’ game. Let publishers print what they want, they will make a profit or they won’t. It’s so silly and painfully petty to make such an issue out of it.
15:24 Oh we know, Zee, we know... We will never forget your hatred for Dragons🐉
I'm curious, what was Mike's score?
8.5
Thank you!
Great review! So many "no puns" hahaha
I'm disappointed to hear the player scaling issues of Stonemeier Games continue. I enjoy a lot of their games at 2 or 3 players, but at 4 or 5 they play so differently in a way that negatively impacts the experience or take so much longer to play that I never play them with that many after a try or two. I understand the challenge there especially with games that are not very interactive and low conflict. Either the pacing remains the same and downtime between turns and game length stretches out, or the pacing dramatically changes to have a smaller difference in game length. I feel like they haven't hit a sweet spot in between those endpoints in a while.
couldve solved that by making the multiplayer solitaire game play simultaneously. it was inspired by rftg after all
It’s funny how mad Tom is at this game at the start of the video.
Great video!
excellent title. kudos
Thanks for the video
Wingspan base game had 170 unique birds, Finspan base looks like it has 152 unique fish cards, so base Wingspan wins on total unique cards, base Finspan wins on more global presence
Where's the top BG of all time of this year?
They have several of them posted as upcoming. They will be starting Thursday I believe.
The divers stay at the bottom? 😮⚰️
Single-use divers, very expensive investment, but at least they see some cool fish on their way out!
I really don't get why the boardgame community is so toxic these days and it really makes me sad. :(
The game has a great look and if I don't want another solitaire tableau builder, Ill just get another of the 2500 new games each year.
Tom talks for a full minute about how this game scales, no one points out the pun.
There needs to be a Whiskerspan... kitty's need a version.
Birds > Fish
It’s just hard to get excited for yet another multiplayer solitaire, tableau building, point salad euro; especially when it’s based on another MSTBPSE.
Mstbpse is a crazy acronym lol
@@bradymccannthe fact so many games fall under that specific of an acronym makes it even crazier
Hopefully you'll be able to find one of the many games that offer what you are looking.
What is MSTBPSE "short" for?
@@mcstabba multiplayer solitaire, tableau building, point salad euro
"weird scaling issues" 😉
Let's hope there's a Fish booklet in the box that Zee is irrationally irritated at.
Irrational comment.
The dragon booklet was dumb
Best comment ever 😂😂😂
I haven't play yet my new copy of Wyrmspan from Christmas... Please just stop for a moment 😵💫
I like Wingspan and the bird theme. I do struggle in that game to build an engine. I can't get the food to play the card to meet the goals. The Wyrmspan theme seems okay, but the game sounds more complicated, so I'm not planning on getting it. I like the simplicity of this one, and I like the fish theme. So, I will consider getting this one if I see it in a store.
I did not see that recommendation coming from how the video started!
Waiting until the Wingspan Kingfisher will catch one of my Finspan fish 😅😌 anyway, totally agree with all final thoughts, just didn't understand why Tom didn't give it an 8.5 at least after how he compared it to Wingspan and Wyrmspan 😁
Because my rating of both of those games at the moment is also an "8", so seemed fair.
Thanks for your answer Tom, and of course an 8 is wonderful and fair like you say, it was only your words "I like this one a tiniest bit better than both of those" that already evoked an 8.5 in my brain 😅
I have the first two games, all the Wingspan expansions, and will get this one as well. I expect I'll love it!
I was neutral on the dragon theme of Wyrmspan, but now that Jamey has stated they see this as a trilogy of games and have no plans to take it further, I rather wish they'd gone a different route, theme wise with Wyrmspan, something rooted in the natural world, like bugs/insects or mammals. If they do expansions for Wyrmspan they'll have to go with more made up creatures whereas sticking with the natural world, like Wing and Fin, would've given endless options and fit more with the other two games.
First expansion for Wyrmspan is scheduled for this year. More birds and fish will come too, eventually. 🐟🦅🐉
Friendly reminder that Dune Imperium Uprising, which could arguably be described as a patch at best on an existing game, is one of the top games for a bunch of reviewers for 2024 and probably for at least a couple of the people crying about a new X-Span game. Game designers shouldn’t have to build a better mouse trap every time they set out to create. If the game looks good, is fun, and the theme resonates with the public, then who cares if it shares DNA with a bunch of other games? Great review, looks like a ton of fun, and I’m with Tom: fish are where it’s at. Will cop
Yep. And for some reason people seem perfectly fine with about 7 versions of Zombicide and 3 versions of Gloomhaven and 3 near identical version of Nemesis. The list goes on. Why are Stonemaier treated differently. This looks like an interesting and thoughtful, well made sequel to a popular IP. What on earth is the issue with that?
Too many joyless and spoilt people in this hobby sadly.
It still grinds my gear that DIU still leaves the market clogging typical to Ascension-likes intact
Poor Graphic design is the issue....all the complaints they speak about, is a symptom of bad graphic design
Nice review, was the playthrough sponsored by the publisher?
What playthrough?
Besides getting the game for free doubt it .
It wasn't a sponsored play. We figured it was one people would want to see.
@thedicetower Thanks for the response and playthrough.
Try not to judge Stonemaier games too harshly. They haven't come up with a decent game in years. The creativity well dried up long ago so of course they'll reprint the same game a third time. Why wouldn't they when they know they have an existing pool of people ready to buy it? Don't they have, like, 3 different Scythe games? Personally, I'd like to see some roll and write versions coming up next. Viticulture would make an excellent r&w.
Wingspan originally was a great title as it has meaning, wyrmspan and finspan is just stupid, they should have new names but then it wont be as obvious to people its part of a series.
I really don't care that much about fish.
And I wish I had never bought "Wingspan". Not just that the game isn't that good, it's also completely outdated now and has inferior rules.
Stonemaier Games make me sad.
I guess I don't understand comments like this. If you don't like the game, that's fine. But to say that a game that millions of people enjoy is "outdated" seems odd.
A simpler more solitaire wingspan? No thank you.
Dang. I was hoping you guys wouldn’t like it so I could not need to get it….. 🤦🏼♂️
Funny how the ones complaining that there is a 2nd sequel to wingspan are the ones buying all the editions of pandemic, ticket to ride, catan, carcassonne etc. 😂😂😂 And also the span games are vastly different, idk wtf is the problem
Wingspan with even less player interaction (no resource pool, no public card market), worse graphic design, and no diminishing action economy? No thanks
Yeah it's not selling itself to me. Wingspan was already good enough.
@@CptRoboto Comments are a valuable source of feedback for content creators. They can provide insights into what viewers like or dislike, suggestions for future content, and overall reactions that can help shape the direction of your channel.
Or help people decide whether or not this is a game they want to purchase
@@TheBrokenMeeple Why James keep making multiplayer solitaire without simultaneous play is a conundrum to me.
I get that games are iterative in their design, but this feels too iterative to Wingspan for me to be terribly interested. It doesn't seem to offer really much besides it being fish - and for those people interested in fish and that attracts them, then I'm genuinely glad they have the option. I just don't see it bringing any new experiences to me that Wingspan doesn't have.
offers much more than Wyrmspan did
@@ilqrd.6608 I had even less interest in Wyrmspan, frankly.
It’s just the name for me. I don’t think this is a real term. Unnatural, made up terminology, that sounds odd is jarring to me for an otherwise interesting looking game.
Biggest real gripe is the solitaire nature.
And to that I say, whatever 😂
Has the board game industry reached critical mass in the same way hollywood and the computer game industry has yet?
No
Innovation has been dead in the board game hobby ever since Wingspan won “Most Innovative Board Game of the Year” on BGG.
It's definitely getting there. I think there was something like five thousand games released in 2024. That in itself is insane but almost every game is a rehash or remake or a reiteration of an existing game. I can't think of any games that were truly unique. Most of the games I bought last year were old classic games and the new ones were all iterations of a previous game (Clack Catacombs, Thunder Road: Vendetta, Dune Imperium Uprising, and King of Tokyo Duel).
@@namelessfire Man you sure do hate wingspan, you're all over here dragging it.
Not even close
I thought there couldn't be a more boring theme than birdwatching, then they announced Finspan. For me it is a matter of theme and I'm just not into nature themed games.
Honestly, it really feels like this is bloating the line. If you like the theme, go for it, but it feels like SM is going towards being the X-span or Scythe machine
What about the 11 or so Garfield games worker placement line?
Why? There are lots of game series that make even fewer changes between the various iterations than this.
@xshadowscreamx I agree with you. That's also bloated in my opinion.
Again, if you like it, go for it, but that's just my opinion. Im happy you have a different one.
@@TorIverWilhelmsenIm happy you have a different opinion than I do.
Would love to know why SM seem to be the only company that get crap for releasing IP sequels and Gloomhaven, Nemesis, Zombicide and about 10 other big IPs get away with it. Hypocrisy maybe? Not sure. It's very weird.
This seems like a pretty thoughtful and well made spin-off. So what's the issue?