Wingspan is a competitive, medium-weight, card-driven, engine-building board game from Stonemaier Games.You are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your aviary. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats (actions). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth: Gain food tokens via custom dice in a birdfeeder dice tower Lay eggs using egg miniatures in a variety of colors Draw from hundreds of unique bird cards and play themThe winner is the player with the most points after 4 rounds.If you enjoy Terraforming Mars and Gizmos, we think this game will take flight at your table.—description from the publisher
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5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook
The cover of the rulebook from the 1981 Basic Set. Cover art by Erol Otus.
“After searching in the ancient desk, you find a blank piece of paper. After giving it a good look, you can’t see any visible marks on it. While lost in trying to figure out its meaning, you become aware of someone or something breathing behind you. What do you do?”
I started playing Dungeons and Dragons when I was younger than ten years old, in a small space the floor between the bed and wall with my brother, five years my senior, when we were supposed to be sleeping. I clearly remember the funny looking dice, coloring in their numbers with the included crayon, tracing the numbers like one would go over a line, thinking to myself, this is dumb. I pretty sure I was an adult when I learned how it was supposed to be done.
Underneath the night’s veil, my brother Scott would tell me stories of combat and fierce creatures, and we would roll funny dice, their results helping dictate how well my character performed or if the enemy heard my hopefully silent foot steps as my character tried to sneak past them.
Unfortunately, I did take most of two decades off from the hobby. From my late teens to my late 30s, I didn’t play much. I tried my best to be a good adult, the best father and husband I could be. The hobby fell away as my friends also tried their hands at adulthood. Fast forward many years, and I find myself sitting in front of my son and a few of his friends with the 5th Edition Player’s Handbook, and I am immediately reminded of the joy of unbridled, youthful imagination.
Max draws his character’s avatar.
There is any number of things that a father can do with their children, and it would be a success. However, D&D is special. It allows for a myriad of things to converge in one time and place. Imagination, teamwork, social experiences, math, history, problem solving, morality and storytelling all come together in a simple, but amazing time and experience.
Playing the game with my son and his friends, reminds me how amazing they are. And to me, that makes D&D amazing.
Setting up and teaching the game.
I have played the game three times now. It is a weird, but great game. The first time I played it, I wanted to play it again immediately. I was left knowing that while I didn’t score well, knowing the game would return a deeper strategic experience. The second time it got to the table, I was eager to play knowing how the game works. However, that game left me slightly perplexed; it seemed to deny me the cards that I knew I wanted which ended up frustrating me. However, I tend to dislike card drafting in games, so I don’t fault the game for that. The third game was down right fun. The game design is elegant and quick despite having so many options for play. I knew my wife would love it. She learned it so much quicker than I did; and no surprise there, she just “gets” games and patterns. I don’t expect to beat her much in the future.
The game engines are starting to kick in.
Additional Thoughts on the Components
If you read the forums on BGG, which you should, you will see that the components vs the price tag is an issue for some. I will go on record and say that for a $70 game, in general, the components should be a work of art. However, they are not. The overall design is inconsistent, at best, and downright ugly in some cases. Ooooooh, metallic cubes you say? Look at the corners:
Photo uploaded to boardgamegeek.com by Stephen Buonocore.
The corners have the metallic “paint” chipped off. The first time I played this game I thought this was due to standard game play. However, when I purchased my copy, it was the first thing I checked. There they were. Chipped. I have later learned it is from the cubes being on a the sprue and when they are knocked off, behold, no paint. Remember, this is a $70 game. 🤔
And yet, sometimes the game looks great.
Terraforming Mars City and Greenery Tiles. Photo by Henk Rolleman.
Some of the photos on the cards are illustrations and some are photos, seemingly stock photos. I wish I kept the link so I could properly source it, but someone on boardgamegeek.com said the game reminded them of their high school science textbook. Sums up the design and might lead to some of its quirky charm.
Final Thoughts
Here is the deal, the game is great. Price and components aside, the game is just down right fun. It has all the complexities of Through the Ages, but somehow manages to be “easier” and more fun. Perhaps streamlined? Not sure. In the end, the weird art design choices leave this game with a lot of charm. If that was intentional, the designers are brilliant.
My friend Mark brought over Horus Heresy. Innovative design and loads of fun. Setup takes a bit of time, but a strong game and smart design.
| Designer | John Goodenough, Jeff Tidball | |
| Artist | Tim Arney-O'Neil, Daarken | |
| Publisher | Fantasy Flight Games, Edge Entertainment, Heidelberger Spieleverlag, Stratelibri | |
| Year Published | 2010 | |
| # of Players | 2 - 2 | |
| User Suggested # of Players | Best with 2+ players Recommended with 2 players (33 voters) | |
| Playing Time | 135 | |
| Mfg Suggested Ages | 13 and up | |
| User Suggested Ages | 14 and up (16 voters) | |
| Language Dependence | Extensive use of text - massive conversion needed to be playable (17 voters) | |
| Category | Miniatures, Science Fiction | |
| Mechanic | Area Movement, Campaign / Battle Card Driven, Hand Management, Time Track, Variable Player Powers | |
| Family | Fantasy Flight Big Box, Warhammer 40,000 Board Games, Warhammer 40,000 Wargames | |
| Primary Name | Horus Heresy (2010) | |
| Alternate Names | La Herejía de Horus, Horus Heresy: Der Grosse Bruderkrieg, L'Hérésie d'Horus |
We are extremely proud D&D has been recognized by the Strong Museum, and we owe what the game is today to you, our fans. As stewards of D&D, we will continue to make great entertainment to inspire your creativity.Nathan Stewart, Senior Director of D&D at Wizards of the Coast, was on hand in Rochester, NY to witness the induction ceremony and speak on behalf of Dungeons & Dragons. D&D means so much to so many people, but it is especially important to young people as they learn and grow.
Stacks of special weapons.
There is something to be said about the ritual of clipping counters for war games. To me, it is almost worth the price of the game. It allows you to get familiar with the game components as well. Serves an in game purpose as well; makes it easier to push counters around the map without moving other chits.
I think this is an exceptional photo taken by Jonathan Jacques-Belletête. Just had to share it. Check out his instagram feed. Loads of great historical board wargames.
Yesterday I had an opportunity to GMT Games’ Paths of Glory. I purchased it a while back, and aside from tooling around with a solo variant and getting a little used to the rules, I hadn’t really had the time to dig into it. My first game was fun; however, it was over quick. Really need to watch supply lines in this game.
| Designer | Ted Raicer | |
| Artist | Charles Kibler, Terry Leeds, Rodger B. MacGowan, Mark Simonitch | |
| Publisher | GMT Games, Devir, Udo Grebe Gamedesign, Wargames Club Publishing, Wydawnictwo Gołębiewski | |
| Year Published | 1999 | |
| # of Players | 2 - 2 | |
| User Suggested # of Players | Best with 2+ players Recommended with 2 players (77 voters) | |
| Playing Time | 480 | |
| Mfg Suggested Ages | 14 and up | |
| User Suggested Ages | 14 and up (26 voters) | |
| Language Dependence | Extensive use of text - massive conversion needed to be playable (31 voters) | |
| Category | Wargame, World War I | |
| Mechanic | Campaign / Battle Card Driven, Dice Rolling, Point to Point Movement | |
| Expansion | Paths of Glory Player's Guide | |
| Primary Name | Paths of Glory | |
| Alternate Names | Ścieżki chwały, Senderos de Gloria, 光荣之路 (光榮之路) |
I have yet to really post anything online (at least on social media) about how much I have been enjoying playing Pokémon Go with the family. It has been quite the social phenomonon, but aside from that, it allows you to see parts of your town that you might not get to enjoy that often. Have a look.
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- The camera couldn’t catch all of the blue hues.
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- Gorgeous greens.
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- Walking around the lake with the breeze was quite lovely.
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- Jaden loves getting her picture taken.
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- The purples were amazing.
I haven’t a clue about anything regarding Pokémon. I don’t really care to know, but I do know that my son loves that I do something with him that he loves. And our family gets to get out and walk about and talk. And for that, it is a great game in my book.
