I took in Stonemaier Games’ Wyrmspan, the latest iteration of Wingspan, earlier this year. I admit that I watched the hype surrounding Wingspan from a bit afar as thematically the game never appealed to me. The dragons in Wyrmspan, however, seemed a bit more, uh, enticing and likely held a greater chance for acceptance by the RockyMountainNavy Boys. It was not until this Labor Day weekend, however, that Wyrmspan was finally able to take flight and land on the gaming table.
If you think of me as a dyed-in-the-wool grognard you likely expect I did not enjoy Wyrmspan. Quite the contrary; the game is easy to learn, easy to play, doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, and most importantly creates an atmosphere that brings family together.
I played a two-player game of Wyrmspan against RockyMountainNavy T. Although we acknowledge that they are on the Autism Spectrum, when it comes to engine-builder or adjacent boardgames (like Terraforming Mars from Stronghold Games in 2016 or Scythe from Stonemaier Game also in 2016) they seem to always be able to string together a combination of cards and actions that just generates points.
Which is exactly what happened to me here.
Suffice it to say that RMN T had their dracologist in Wyrmspan acting as anything but an amateur. Frankly, I was as astounded (proud?) at how quickly they picked up the rules of the game and did not just play but actually manipulate them to maximize effects. By the end of the third round there really was not question as to who would win; I had hoped to try to keep it close but they finished comfortably ahead of me.
Next week we will likely return to the next mission of The Mandalorian: Adventures (Unexpected Games, 2024) though there is a chance Heat: Pedal to the Metal (Days of Wonder, 2022) might make a sneak appearance. RMN T also was eyeballing Expeditions (Stonemaier Games, 2024). Wyrmspan will almost certainly land on the gaming table again, though most likely around Thanksgiving when RMN Jr. is home from college. Suffice it to say both RMN T and myself are looking forward to the renewal of the winter gaming season; to date the games have been winners both in terms of the games on the table and for us players.
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Rocky Mountain Navy Gamer 
Hmm, wingspan is a clever (and pretty) game, but like you the subject matter never gripped me.