When it comes to my availability for a game of Wingspan, my motto is anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Wingspan Asia functions as an expansion of the base Wingspan game that allows a 6th and 7th player (“Flock mode”) to participate. In addition, it can be played in a solo mode or as a two player game (“Duet mode”). Read our review below the game details to see if this game might be a good match for you.
| Player Count | 1-2 Duet Mode 6-7 Player Flock Mode | Age Range | 14 and up |
| Time to Play | ~40-70 minutes (official) | Setup Time | ~5 minutes |
| Mechanics | Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Open Drafting, Set Collection, Engine Building, Area Control | Vibe | Contemplative, stimulating, visually pleasing |
| Designer/ Developer | Elizabeth Hargrave; solo variant by David J. Studley | Publisher | Stonemaier Games |
| Illustrator(s) | Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, Natalia Rojas | Graphic Designer | Unknownn |
| Table Space Needed | ~32” x 32” | # of Cats Fit in Box Lid | 1 Small Cat |
| Component/ Production Quality | High | Rule Book Quality | High |
| Box Quality | Medium | Storage Design | Low |
| Theme Quality | High | Graphic Design Quality | High |
| Interactivity Level | Medium | Hostility Factor | Low |
| Complexity/Strategy | Medium | Replayability | High |
| Originality | 8.5 | BGM Rating/ Recommendation | 9/ Highly Recommended |
Game Objective
Outscore your opponent by placing birds in their native habitats, and proclaim yourself the best of the bird enthusiasts that have come to the table! If you play the 2-player “Duet” version of Wingspan Asia, your odds are 50-50 so that’s not bad ; >
Win Condition
Wingspan Asia has four rounds and a decreasing number of turns in each round. You score points by:
- meeting end of round goals
- meeting individual personal goal(s) at game’s end
- playing bird cards on various habitats on your individual player mat
- your largest set of contiguous Duet map tokens
- all of the eggs that your birds have laid
- all of the cached food that your birds have collected
- all of the cached birds that your predator birds have, gulp, eaten
Playing the Game
Let’s discuss the 2-player “Duet mode” of Wingspan Asia. For the most part, it’s really similar to the original Wingspan. Much like the base game of Wingspan, Wingspan Asia features 4 rounds, consisting of of 8, 7, 6, and 5 turns respectively, so by the last round, you will take many fewer turns than in the first round. The turns in the later rounds are often amplified by the build up of chain actions triggered by previously played bird cards in your habitats on your player mat.
When the game begins, each player starts with an objective card that is separate from their opponent’s objective card – this is a goal that you try to meet by game’s end for bonus points. For example, an objective may compel you to try to play birds on your player mat that lay their eggs in a certain type of nest. If you have a small number of birds with that type of nest, you are likely to get a small end of game bonus but if you have many birds with a certain type of nest, the bonus is likely to be larger (perhaps 6 or 8 points, whoo-hoo). Wingspan Asia includes several new objective cards.
At the start of Wingspan Asia, just like in the base game, you get to keep some combination of 5 bird cards and food tokens. Perhaps you choose to keep 2 bird cards and 3 food tokens or 1 bird card and 4 food tokens. This helps you get started and have more options on your initial turn.
On each turn, you can take one of four actions: play a bird card in a habitat where it can thrive (such as a duck in the wetlands habitat), acquire food from the available food-faced dice (options include berries, worms, grains, rodents, or fish), lay eggs, or draw more bird cards into your hand.
Each subsequent turn, the choices are the same and yet the choice you make creates a unique turn experience. Different birds have different nests, score different points, live in different habitats. The more birds you have in any given habitat, the more resources you get (food, eggs, or cards) on subsequent turns where you choose to acquire those items.
So far, sounds just like the base game of Wingspan, right? This is where the Duet mode brings something very new: an area control board called the “Duet map.” Yes, you read that correctly: area control comes to Wingspan. Now, in Duet mode of Wingspan Asia, when you play a bird you also get to play a token on the Duet map (which is common to both players) to help you toward end of round objectives. More on that below!
And so the game goes, until a round is finished and you bank one of your turn tokens in the scoring location based on whether you or your opponent was more successful at achieving the goal for the given round. Bird cards typically have some sort of associated action on them that might be triggered immediately, on subsequent turns when an action is taken in the same row as the bird, at the end of the round or perhaps even at the end of the game.
All of this adds up to some pretty compelling turns that gradually wind up with ongoing set collection and engine building through the acquisition of birds in the three different types of habitats and the various goodies with which they reward you.
Fun Factor
Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do for fun, but I will tell you that if you like a good board game with quiet, contemplative turns, or if you like birds, Wingspan Asia is likely an outstanding option on your next game night. Wingspan Asia is similar enough to the Wingspan base game that if you liked the original game, you will probably appreciate the new features of the “Asia” expansion. The Duet map is a welcome addition with a brand new mechanic that works yet another part of your brain.
What makes it all so dang fun? Well, the crescendo of the engine-building component, combined with the beautiful scientific drawings and artwork, the nerdy flavor text, a doable amount of playtime, and just the right amount of player interaction. Wingspan and its expansions are also just different enough from other games that it still feels fresh, even with all the nature-themed games that have followed in its footsteps.
How is Wingspan Asia Different from the Original Wingspan?
First, and as the name implies, Wingspan Asia features birds from Asia. The base game of Wingspan features birds from the Americas. In addition, the player mat artwork is slightly different to reflect ecosystems found in Asia. The original Wingspan box is larger, allows for up to 5 players, and comes with a dice rolling tower designed in the shape of a bird feeder. If you typically play games with one other person, Wingspan Asia might be all the Wingspan you really need and the box is much smaller which is nice in terms of storage, but you won’t get the bird feeder dice tower.
Wingspan Asia features a new scoring objective that the original game of Wingspan does not, and that is the Duet map. The Duet map is where you not only bank your points for end of round goals, but also where you play a token each time you play a bird on your player mat. The Duet map is common to both players and also triggers some real-time bonuses like an extra food or an extra card. In addition, at the end of the game, each player counts up and scores the value of contiguously played tokens on the Duet map. This fun twist is not a part of the original game and it is really only possible with two players; the Duet map really encouraged us to continue playing birds in our habitats even late into the last round.
In the original game of Wingspan, the last couple of turns sometimes devolve into laying eggs because there is no way to score as many points as laying eggs will bank you. I’ve seen some complaints about this on forums and in my household, and the Duet tokens and mat seem to rectify this situation by creating more viable options for the last couple turns of the game. During my first game in Duet mode, I was unable to connect two relatively long contiguous lines but if I had drawn just the right bird with a couple of turns to go, it would have been a real windfall of points for me at the end of the game.
Other additions include new end-of round scoring goals that pertain to the Duet map; new personal objective cards; new bird cards of course; and at least one new “brown” bird power we haven’t seen before: roll two dice three times, and if you roll the stated food at least once in each roll you can cache all three foods. You can also flip the personal player mats over to play with the Oceania expansion (that side has the requisite nectar icons on it).
Theme
The theme of Wingspan Asia is really central to the game’s genius. Each bird card is unique to Asia. The habitat, nest, and food type on the bird card matches the actual bird, so a bird that eats invertebrates and seeds can be fed with a worm or grain token. It’s all very satisfying. Playing a bird into its logical habitat does make you feel like an ornithological society member!
The black and white Duet map tokens fit together in a yin-yang shape, a nice Asia-inspired thematic touch that works well with the overarching theme of balancing birds in their various habitats, as well as balancing resources.
Game Art, Visual Design, and Production Value
The art on the bird cards, brilliantly executed by Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo and Natalia Rojas, is outstanding. Likewise the flavor text, although too small for my un-bespectacled eyes, is really nice should you want to know more about the birds of Asia. The food dice are nicely printed and made of wood. The box art is breathtaking. Core components like the eggs and the duet tokens (wood) are stable and properly proportioned.
The instruction manual and appendix are printed on heavy stock paper. The rule book was easy to parse, especially if you already know how to play the base game of Wingspan.
The bird and goal cards appear to be of the same stock as the base game, which do not seem to wear much (even with heavy use). The logic and iconography of the player mats is also top notch.
I have small complaints with the box: there are no inserts to hold everything in place and the bags are not see-through so everything is a hot mess when you open the lid, which runs so contrary to everything else about the game. This is a bit of a short-coming for the base Wingspan game and the other expansions as well. This game is so popular that there are a number of storage options you can purchase to level up your storage, which I covered in a previous blog post.
Conclusion
I’m not sure if there is a limit to my personal praise for Wingspan, and Wingspan Asia as a two-player version of the base game with a few new twists only expanded my love of the original game. Each turn offers so many choices and I rarely feel boxed in. Some engine building games take a couple of turns to crank up, but Wingspan Asia is a great game from the get-go. The game offers a number of twists and turns from round to round and card to card. I’ve played dozens of games of Wingspan including all of the games played with the expansions and it hasn’t gotten “old” yet.
Wingpsan is a game that makes me want to find some birds of a feather and flock together to any version of the game. It feels inspired and I can’t imagine coming to the board game table and being disappointed by time spent in the world of Wingspan Asia. That being said, I can’t say that I like it better than The Oceania or European expansions. But I don’t like it any less either. At their core, they’re all Wingspan, and I think all the expansions are better for it. Stonemaier Games should be very proud of this product.
