Thanks for taking the time to play and share your thoughts! One note on hatchlings I'll offer: you can trigger their 2nd (and 3rd) ability from other sources, not just walking over them. So for example, if you have a hatchling that gives you a cave card when you cache milk on it, if you cache two milk on it through the ability at the end of the top row (cache 2 resources on any dragon), that hatchling will still draw you two cave cards.
Great conversation! In my last play the coin/extra action issue came up, and my solution was to consider the 9 coin limit to include coins that you'd already spent for extra actions that round (due to a rules misinterpretation/assumption, but I think it worked out!). I was playing with a newer gamer and her first play, and this prevented me from being able to take a ton of extra actions beyond hers due to my previous experience with the game, and also kept things moving along nicely. By the end of the game I had still filled all caves but two, so it also felt like it tightened the game a bit so you can get a decent engine going, but you would have to work really hard to be able to overrun your engine. You lose a bit of the satisfaction of really chaining things together for an amazing round, but it also mitigates the "luck of the draw" of someone just not getting all the coin gaining opportunities. Curious to hear if anyone else has tried it this way!
I've observed some of the following things about how players interact with the coin economy, which makes it a tough for me to specifically advocate for any variant beyond "do what works for you and your group", as there are a lot of considerations pulling in different directions. - Many players have the feeling that the extra coins make the game run long and add to the downtime between turns. - Many other players don't care, and getting extra coins is basically their favorite thing in the game. - Some players have expressed their belief that winning the game is just about who gets the most coins, but that's not actually reflected in the scores or results. But it can feel like someone is running away with the game in the midst of things, and that feeling is valid. - I think players will learn, as they play, to recognize a diminishing return on extra coins, and put higher value (or be less averse to) dragons that cost coins. Games also tend to get quicker after people have played a few times, as they can more quickly assess the totals of their actions (e.g. they take an action, knowing it'll get them a dragon guild advancement which yields a card, rather than realizing that in the middle of their turn). So that can naturally alleviate some of the length, downtime, and coin disparity, but it doesn't adjust that for first time players. And you can't necessarily rely on players to "play better" to improve the overall game flow, but some games have that type of arc in experience.
I have played around 600 games of Wingspan. The eggs at the of the game is onlly good if you build the row. If you are still doing it just to get 3 or 4 eggs you did not play efficiently. You also always want to try to get birds that give you something different than what the habitat give you. For example you want Woodland birds that give you eggs or cards. Same for the other two. Your goal should be to not have to do at least one action the whole game.
hm... there are so many cards... i wonder if it might be possible to have everyone have their own market of dragons/caves. each time you explore, at the end of your explore turn, the markets are refreshed but also rotated. it might further increase the multiplayer solitaire experience, however, it would allow for simultaneous play that could still impact the other player.
I tried that one last weekend and did not like it. It succeeded at being both too constraining and too luck-based 😅 And, like the other person’s comment, dragons are cute but, really, the theme is silly and contrived.
Wingspan is great, but I think Wyrmspan is a bad game, with all the changes making the design actively worse. The theme is also a massive downgrade, how people can dislike it not care about actual existing animals, but be completely smitten over non-existent made-up fantasy animals will never cease to baffle me.
Thanks for taking the time to play and share your thoughts! One note on hatchlings I'll offer: you can trigger their 2nd (and 3rd) ability from other sources, not just walking over them. So for example, if you have a hatchling that gives you a cave card when you cache milk on it, if you cache two milk on it through the ability at the end of the top row (cache 2 resources on any dragon), that hatchling will still draw you two cave cards.
I did actually employ this in the game we played 😅. Pretty neat combo
Great conversation! In my last play the coin/extra action issue came up, and my solution was to consider the 9 coin limit to include coins that you'd already spent for extra actions that round (due to a rules misinterpretation/assumption, but I think it worked out!). I was playing with a newer gamer and her first play, and this prevented me from being able to take a ton of extra actions beyond hers due to my previous experience with the game, and also kept things moving along nicely. By the end of the game I had still filled all caves but two, so it also felt like it tightened the game a bit so you can get a decent engine going, but you would have to work really hard to be able to overrun your engine. You lose a bit of the satisfaction of really chaining things together for an amazing round, but it also mitigates the "luck of the draw" of someone just not getting all the coin gaining opportunities. Curious to hear if anyone else has tried it this way!
I've observed some of the following things about how players interact with the coin economy, which makes it a tough for me to specifically advocate for any variant beyond "do what works for you and your group", as there are a lot of considerations pulling in different directions.
- Many players have the feeling that the extra coins make the game run long and add to the downtime between turns.
- Many other players don't care, and getting extra coins is basically their favorite thing in the game.
- Some players have expressed their belief that winning the game is just about who gets the most coins, but that's not actually reflected in the scores or results. But it can feel like someone is running away with the game in the midst of things, and that feeling is valid.
- I think players will learn, as they play, to recognize a diminishing return on extra coins, and put higher value (or be less averse to) dragons that cost coins. Games also tend to get quicker after people have played a few times, as they can more quickly assess the totals of their actions (e.g. they take an action, knowing it'll get them a dragon guild advancement which yields a card, rather than realizing that in the middle of their turn). So that can naturally alleviate some of the length, downtime, and coin disparity, but it doesn't adjust that for first time players. And you can't necessarily rely on players to "play better" to improve the overall game flow, but some games have that type of arc in experience.
I always wanna have wyrmspan’s gameplay with the artwork of wingspan. Please let me know that I’m not the only one 😢
You have my vote! Love the games you cover and the deeper dives.
Thanks!
I have played around 600 games of Wingspan. The eggs at the of the game is onlly good if you build the row. If you are still doing it just to get 3 or 4 eggs you did not play efficiently. You also always want to try to get birds that give you something different than what the habitat give you. For example you want Woodland birds that give you eggs or cards. Same for the other two. Your goal should be to not have to do at least one action the whole game.
what is everybody think would be some good additions or changes for the expansion
hm... there are so many cards... i wonder if it might be possible to have everyone have their own market of dragons/caves. each time you explore, at the end of your explore turn, the markets are refreshed but also rotated. it might further increase the multiplayer solitaire experience, however, it would allow for simultaneous play that could still impact the other player.
I thinkna design like this could really work, as long as we acknowledge it's very solitaire 😂
Have you guys tried Raising Robots? It’s kind of Wingspan + Race for the Galaxy.
I haven't but I'll keep an eye out for it!
I tried that one last weekend and did not like it. It succeeded at being both too constraining and too luck-based 😅 And, like the other person’s comment, dragons are cute but, really, the theme is silly and contrived.
You have my nomination!
Thanks Daniel :D
Wingspan is great, but I think Wyrmspan is a bad game, with all the changes making the design actively worse. The theme is also a massive downgrade, how people can dislike it not care about actual existing animals, but be completely smitten over non-existent made-up fantasy animals will never cease to baffle me.