Wingspan Board Game Expired

Good question. The objective of the game is to build/populate a bird habitat that generates the maximum of points using scarce resources. Those resources include bird cards, food, and eggs (but the key to the game is understanding that the scarcest resource of all is the number of turns that you have).

In the core game, the final round can sometimes be a little monotonous, because quite often the best way to earn points in the last 4-5 turns is just to do the same thing (specifically, just keep laying eggs on the birds you already have in your habitat). There are many reasons for this but it has to do with the relative value of different actions, and the relative complexity/difficulty of using some other resources, like food. The problems, then, are that the last round can be a little automatic and boring, and it can also be hard for a player who's behind to catch up (not every time, but often).

The European expansion pack adds a lot of new bird cards and a few other tricks, but the newer Oceania pack is a bigger change to the game, the biggest of which is that the core habitat boards that each player builds on have been replaced, and they are MUCH MORE WELL-BALANCED points-wise between the value of the different actions you can take. This makes it a little harder for one player to run away with the game, and a little easier for any player to utilize the resources they've collected as the game winds down.

Adding to that flexibility is a new food type (Nectar) that gives players a lot more flexibility to use up the resources they collect in different ways, and new types of bird cards that have powers that are triggered only at the end of the game. Again, this all contributes to having a greater variety of end-of-game strategies, some of which may be a surprise to the other players.

If you're thinking this makes the game easier, then yes, perhaps it does a little, but it also makes it more complex, and I for one still find this the most head-scratching game we play. This is not a game that can be conquered.

TIP: If you haven't purchased a manual crank card shuffler, you'll find it extremely valuable for this game, especially with an expansion pack that gives you hundreds of bird cards.

TIP #2: A lot of us remove the Ravens and Killdeer from the deck when playing with the Oceania expansion pack. Those birds are too powerful and if played early can provide an unfair advantage, or just make it too easy/boring to rack up points.

Obligatory "great game" post. $5 cheaper than what I paid. Asian expansion coming soon.

Highly recommend the switch or steam versions. Helps learn the mechanics easier. They go on sale around $10

This is a hot deal on an EXCELLENT engine-building strategy game.
For those unfamiliar, I do highly recommend the Oceania Expansion Pack, which adds to the fun and fixes the game's weaknesses. That's not on sale but will no doubt show up for $19.99 between now and the holidays.