Wingspan vs Wyrmspan

Introduction

With the recent release of Wyrmspan, which is being marketed as having been "inspired" by Wingspan, I thought the two games would be perfect for one of my Versus articles. I'm going to cover their similarities and differences so you can make an informed decision if you are considering buying one or the other or are considering buying Wyrmspan if you already own Wingspan.

When Wingspan hit the market in 2019 it took it by storm. It was a surprise hit because it was designer Elizabeth Hargrave’s first published game. There had been a trend brewing of mid-weight games already. The age of heavy Euros and long games was waning and the market was ripe for a 60-90 minute, strategy game. It must have been a risk for Stonemaier Games to publish a bird-watching-themed game that was also the designer's first, but it worked out and the rest is history. I’m not sure how many board gamers were also bird-watchers before 2019, but I’ll be there are some overlap now!

Then, in 2024, Stonemaier Games announced it was publishing a re-implementation of Wingspan that was dragon themed. Frankly, I was surprised. Games like Vinhos/Vinhos Deluxe and Terra Mystica/Gaia Project/Age of Innovation that get re-implementations are done by the original designer or are done after the original game's popularity wanes. Neither are the case here. Still, Wyrmspan has attracted Wingspan's fan base which has accepted it willingly. However, it has yet to be seen if Wyrmspan will be as popular as its predecessor.

The Details

Differences & Similarities

What is different between these two games is the million dollar question. Theme aside, the short answer is they are about 85% the same.

Here is a quick list of mechanics that are basically the same:

1. The cards (birds or dragons) are basically the same with all of the same properties:
   • They have a cost to play. Where in Wingspan it's always a food cost, in Wyrmspan there are other resource costs, too (more on that later). But the mechanic is the same.
   • All of the birds or dragons have a size and type. They also have specific rows they must be played to.
   • They have some sort of ability that triggers either when you play it, when you activate it, or at end game scoring.
   • Cards still have a VP value which add to your score at the end of the game.
2. Your personal tableau still has three rows that you play cards to. Instead of habitats, in Wyrmspan they are caves.
3. You are still drafting dragon cards into your hand from a central tableau.
4. The three row actions are still collect food/gold resources, lay eggs, and gain cards. Certain cards still have row-activation actions as well.
5. There is still mid-round scoring based on 1st, 2nd and 3rd. End game scoring is the same.
6. There are many other direct similarities. If you already know Wingspan, a teach of Wyrmspan will only take about 10 minutes max to highlight the differences.

There is one key difference and several minor differences:

1. The biggest difference is the Dragon Guild Track. This is a separate board that has a circuit of immediate bonuses (food, coins, cards, etc...). At the beginning of the game, your marker is at the top and during the game you will receive bumps around it. Each spot you cross over or stop on provides immediate bonuses such as cards, resources, or end game points.
2. Another difference is the addition of a coin resource type. Coins are mainly used as to cost to take an action. Basically, you must pay a coin to take a turn. Some dragons have coin costs, too. Each round you keep taking turns as long as you an afford the coin (and sometimes eggs) to take the action. This means you have a variable number of actions per round.
3. There is a new type of card, too: Cave Cards. They are drafted in the same fashion as the dragon cards; thus you have two hands of cards, technically, dragons and caves. One of the bigger changes is that before you can play a dragon card to a cave spot, you must first "excavate" it. This simply means you must play a cave card to the space first (using an action coin), then you can play a dragon card on it (using a second action coin). Thus, it is two actions to get a dragon on to your board. You'd think this would slow down the game, but playing doesn't because playing the cave card gives you an immediate benefit which are usually quite powerful.
4. There are two spots on your tableau to store eggs, so you don't need a dragon played in order to get eggs. This helps the early game a lot.
5. Unlike Wingspan, at the beginning of each round of Wyrmspan you get some income: 6 coins and 1 egg. Thus, you will get coins to take actions with for that round as well as at least one egg to use to excavate your cave.
6. How you obtain food and gold in Wyrmspan has been simplified by removing the randomness of the food-dice. Instead, what you get is just printed on your player board. This minor change is a big improvement, in my opinion.
7. A very minor change is when you active a row (i.e. cave), you active from left to right (opposite of Wingspan). I'm not sure why this change was made other than that it fits the cave theme a bit more.

Summary

Again, these two games are about 85% the same and teaching Wyrmspan to someone who already knows Wingspan is only a 10 minute endeavor. The differences between the two games has these results: speeds up the engine building process, increases flexibility which keeps the game from stalling, and slightly increased depth.

Occasionally in Wingspan, especially early in the game, a player can get in a situation where they need only a single food and ends up having to take an entire turn just to get it after which they can continue their game. Taking a whole turn for one food is the worst. And if the dice aren't showing what you need, the wait could be longer. The Guild Track resolves this issue. As you travel around it, you are receiving various benefits (cards, food, coins, etc..) during your turn which leads to more flexibility in your game as well as a general acceleration to game play. This is a wonderful improvement over Wingspan where you sometimes feel stiffed.

The ability to store two eggs on your player board is also an improvement. Thus, you don't need to go through all of the turns to get an dragon on the board and lay eggs just to get a single egg. This, in addition to the 1 egg income at the beginning of a round, allows you to build your game and engine much faster.

It is common knowledge that during the final round of Wingspan, players simply lay eggs because there's little else to do that will result in direct VPs. In Wyrmspan, this isn't always the case. While you can certainly lay eggs on your final turn, because action-chaining is easier due to the Guild Track and cave cards, more often that not, you'll execute a more complicated final turn that results in more VPs than simply laying eggs.

My Thoughts

Personally, I never got on the Wingspan fan-wagon simply because I enjoy heavier games. That said, I've played it a dozen or so times and think it's a solid game. The artwork and informational text is wonderful and greatly adds to the theme. The fact it's Hargrave's first game is astounding. I was never really bothered by the last-round-laying-of-eggs that people complain about, but I can see how it makes for a lack luster end to a fun game of engine building. If anything, I feel turns 2-through-4 are a little clunky because of the take-a-single-food turn. While many engine building games feel tight early on, Wingspan's early-game feels stifled because of this.

To me, the greatest improvement is the addition of the Guild Track. It drastically increases the speed and flexibility of your game because it gives you resources, cards, or other benefits mid-turn. It will even give you an extra action (via a coin). This results in more complicated turns via action chaining. It also gives you a powerful end-game if you're prepared for it (as opposed to just laying eggs).

In the end, both games are solid, but objectively, Wyrmspan is a slight improvement over Wingspan. That being said, Wyrmspan is definitely not a fix for a broken game. The differences between the games aren't major with exception, possibly, of the Guild Track. I'd say that I prefer playing Wyrmspan over Wingspan because it feels less stifled and its strategy is slightly deeper because of the Guild Track.

Which Should You Buy?

In my opinion, if you don't already own Wingspan and only want to purchase one of the two, then you should buy Wyrmspan. It's the newer version and has a better game play experience. That said, if you want a classic game or are a bird fanatic, then Wingspan is still a solid choice for a game collection.

If you already own Wingspan, then it's up to you if you want the "second edition." If Wingspan is in your top 5 games, then it's worth buying it. If you could give or take Wingspan, then Wyrmspan probably won't be worth the cost for you.

Please support Board Game Helpers by using one of the affiliate links above if you're thinking about purchasing one of these great games. Thank you!

Comments