1 Overview

Wingspan is an engine-building board game for 1-5 players designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and published by Stonemaier Games in 2019. Players take the role of bird enthusiasts attracting birds to a wildlife preserve across three habitats: forest, grassland, and wetland. Each bird card played adds a new capability to your growing engine. Over four rounds, you score points from birds, eggs, cached food, bonus cards, and round goal tokens.

Wingspan is celebrated for its accuracy (featuring real bird species from North America), stunning artwork by Natalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, and Beth Sobel, and its accessible yet strategic gameplay. It became the most popular debut game in BoardGameGeek history, selling out its first print run in hours.

2 History

Elizabeth Hargrave, a board game designer and passionate birder, designed Wingspan after noticing that most engine-building games used themes like medieval cities or space exploration. She wanted to make a game about birds -- real birds, with accurate habitats, diets, and behaviors. After years of development and a successful Kickstarter-adjacent release, Stonemaier Games published Wingspan in early 2019.

The game debuted on BoardGameGeek with the highest number of ratings ever recorded for a new release in the site's history. It won the Kennerspiel des Jahres 2019 (the German Game of the Year award for complex games). Wingspan introduced millions of new players to hobby gaming and inspired a wave of nature-themed games from other publishers.

3 Components

• 170 unique bird cards (North American species)
• 5 player mats (3 habitat rows: Forest, Grassland, Wetland)
• 103 food tokens (5 types: worm, wheat, berry, fish, rodent)
• 75 egg miniatures
• 26 bonus cards
• 16 round end goal tiles (4 used per game)
• 1 bird tray and card holder
• 5 custom wooden dice for the bird feeder
• 1 Automa deck (for solo play)
• First player marker and action cubes

4 Setup

1. Each player receives a player mat, 8 action cubes (used to mark actions each round), 5 food tokens from the birdfeeder dice (roll 5 dice, take shown food), and 5 bird cards.
2. Keep 5 bird cards and 5 food tokens (or trade some food for different amounts with other starting options).
3. Draw 5 bonus cards; each player keeps 1 (or 2 in some setups).
4. Place 4 round end goal tiles face-up in a row -- one per round. Set out the bird tray with 3 face-up birds; shuffle remaining birds into a draw deck.
5. Randomly determine the first player.

5 Bird Card Anatomy

Each of the 170 bird cards contains the following information:

Power Color Codes

• Pink (when activated): Triggers every time you activate that habitat. These chain and get more powerful as you add birds.
• White (once between turns): Triggers when another player takes a specific action. You react on their turn.
• Brown (end of round/game): Scores or triggers at the specific time noted on the card.

6 The Three Habitats

Your player mat has three rows -- one per habitat. Each habitat has a different primary action:

Forest -- Gain Food

When you activate the forest, roll the bird feeder dice and take food tokens. You take food equal to the number of birds in your forest (minimum 1). Birds in your forest activate right-to-left with pink powers triggering as you go.

Grassland -- Lay Eggs

When you activate the grassland, lay eggs on birds in your preserve. You lay eggs equal to the number of birds in your grassland (minimum 2). Eggs must go on birds with available egg capacity. Grassland bird pink powers activate right-to-left.

Wetland -- Draw Bird Cards

When you activate the wetland, draw bird cards from the face-up tray or the top of the deck. You draw cards equal to the number of birds in your wetland (minimum 1). Wetland bird pink powers activate right-to-left.

How Habitats Scale

The power of each habitat action grows with every bird you add to it. This is the core engine-building mechanic: your 5th forest bird lets you gain 5 food and triggers 5 chained pink powers in a single action. This is exponentially stronger than 1 food from a fresh forest.

7 The Four Actions

Each turn, you place one action cube on your player mat and take exactly one action:

1. Play a Bird Card: Pay food cost + discard one egg from a bird in the destination habitat (if any bird is already there). Place the bird in the appropriate habitat column. Some birds require eggs on specific habitat birds as payment.
2. Gain Food (Forest action): Roll bird feeder dice, take food shown, activate pink forest birds right-to-left.
3. Lay Eggs (Grassland action): Lay eggs on birds with available capacity, activate pink grassland birds right-to-left.
4. Draw Bird Cards (Wetland action): Draw from tray or deck, activate pink wetland birds right-to-left.

You start with 8 action cubes per round. Each cube represents one turn. When all cubes are placed, the round ends. Rounds get progressively shorter: Round 1 = 8 turns, Round 2 = 7, Round 3 = 6, Round 4 = 5.

8 Round Goals and End-of-Round Goals

Four round goal tiles are placed at the start, one per round. At the end of each round, players compare their standing on that goal and score tokens:

Ties share the lower rank. Example: two players tied for 1st both get 4 pts (the 2nd-place amount), 3rd-place gets 3 pts.

Sample round goals include: most eggs on grassland birds, most birds in a specific habitat, most birds with a specific nest type, most total birds, etc.

9 Bonus Cards

Each player holds 1-2 bonus cards from setup (drawn from 26 available). Bonus cards score points at end-game based on specific conditions in your preserve:

• Ecologist: Points per bird in your wetland
• Forager: Points per bird with a specific food type in their diet
• Cartographer: Points per bird with a wingspan above a certain length
• Wildlife Gardener: Points per bird with a platform nest
• Viticulturist: Points per bird that can be played in grassland with eggs

Bonus cards are worth 5-15 points each. Your bonus card is the single most important card you own at game start -- your entire strategy should be shaped around what it rewards.

10 Tuck Cards and Cached Food

Tuck Cards

Some bird powers instruct you to "tuck a card" under that bird. Each tucked card is worth 1 VP at game end. Some birds can accumulate 4-6 tucked cards, becoming major point sources. Tucked cards come from the discard pile or your hand.

Cached Food

Some birds cache (store) food tokens on themselves when triggered. Each cached food token is worth 1 VP at game end. Cache birds are excellent in habitats where food is abundant -- every food you gather and cache converts into points.

11 Final Scoring

Typical winning scores range from 70-100 points in a 4-player game. Solo mode target is matching or exceeding the Automa's score.

12 Solo Mode -- Automa

Wingspan includes the Automa -- an automated opponent for solo play. The Automa uses a dedicated deck of cards to simulate player behavior each round. It scores points based on the goal tiles and competes for round goal ranking. You win by finishing with a higher score than the Automa.

The Automa does not build an actual preserve -- it uses card draws to determine its "score" at the end of each round. This keeps solo games fast (30-45 minutes) while maintaining meaningful tension. Multiple difficulty levels available by adjusting the Automa's score bonuses.

13 Expansions

European Expansion

Adds 81 new bird cards featuring European species, new food tokens (nectar), and a new round-end goal mechanic. Fully compatible with the base game -- shuffle European birds into the base deck or play separately.

Oceania Expansion

Adds 95 new Australasian/Pacific bird cards, a redesigned player mat with a new nectar food type, and new goal tiles. Nectar is a wild resource that resets each round, adding interesting economy decisions. The Oceania player mats replace the base game mats when used.

Asia Expansion

Adds birds from Asian ecosystems plus a new 2-player sharing mechanic and a duet mode where two players share a single preserve. Major structural change to how the game plays at 2 players.

14 Strategy Guide

Follow Your Bonus Card

Your bonus card is a 10-15 point multiplier at game end. If it rewards wetland birds, commit to wetland early. Every bird you play that doesn't contribute to your bonus card is opportunity cost. Read your bonus card carefully before turn 1.

Build One Habitat Deep

Spreading evenly across all three habitats produces weak actions in all three. Concentrating 5-6 birds in one habitat creates powerful single-action turns. Decide your primary habitat by round 2 and stack it.

Chain Pink Powers

Pink powers activate right-to-left in a habitat when you take that action. A well-constructed forest with chained pink powers can produce 4 food and trigger 3-4 additional effects from a single action cube. Seek birds whose pink powers synergize: a bird that tucks a card when another draws, a bird that caches food when eggs are laid.

Egg Capacity Matters

Playing a bird requires discarding an egg from a bird already in that habitat. Birds with higher egg capacity (4-6 slots) support more future plays from that habitat. Prioritize high-egg-capacity birds when building your engine foundation.

Round Goals Are Free Points

You're going to play birds and lay eggs regardless. Glancing at the current round goal and slightly tilting your play toward it costs almost nothing and earns 3-5 extra points. Never ignore round goals entirely.

Don't Neglect Eggs

Each egg is worth 1 VP at game end. A grassland with 5-6 birds can generate 5-6 eggs per turn, plus chain effects. Late-game grassland actions can dump 10+ eggs across high-capacity birds in one action -- a significant source of end-game points.

15 Frequently Asked Questions

Who designed Wingspan?

Elizabeth Hargrave. Stonemaier Games, 2019. Kennerspiel des Jahres winner.

How many bird cards?

170 unique cards in the base game, all real North American species.

What do habitats do?

Forest = gain food. Grassland = lay eggs. Wetland = draw cards. All scale with birds in that habitat.

How do pink powers work?

They activate every time you use that habitat, right-to-left across the row.

What is the Automa?

An automated solo opponent using a dedicated card deck. Beat its score to win.

How does final scoring work?

Bird card points + round goal tokens + bonus cards + eggs + cached food + tucked cards.

What are bonus cards?

Secret end-game objectives scored based on your preserve composition (nest types, habitats, wingspan, etc.).

What is the Oceania expansion?

95 Australasian birds plus a new nectar food type and replacement player mats with a nectar slot.

How long does it take?

60-90 minutes for 3-4 experienced players. First games: 90-120 minutes. Solo: 30-45 minutes.

Does bird position in the habitat matter?

Yes -- birds activate right-to-left. Earlier birds sit further right and activate first.