Wingspan STRATEGY GUIDE / How to win at Wingspan / Wingspan boardgame tips, tricks, and tactics

[@betajosh]

great guide, well polished video and narration, thank you!

[@LegendaryTactics]

Thanks so much. We appreciate you watching.

[@dancingqueen1091]

My husband and I changed the rules when we play to where the eggs are only worth half a point which incentivizes doing other things besides just getting eggs on the last few turns

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's a neat idea - what are your scores like?

[@AnujGupta027]

Boo

[@naramoro]

Wow exactly what we did

[@ClarkPotter]

​@@LegendaryTacticsLook at your scoresheets over all games, and subtract half the average.

[@CapDanAddams]

I got a minimal cost grasland tuck card in my very first game start. The objective in that round was to get grassland birds. I had no clue what i was doing, but luck was definitely on my side, because i drew the common raven shortly after and then killdeer so the chain was get 3 eggs, draw 2 cards for 1 egg cost, then pick 2 food for one egg cost and then it was tuck one card to receive an egg back. It was a great first game. I dominated lol. I wouldnt be surprised if it never happens again, but i sure enjoyed this game.

[@kylealoe4857]

I first played this game a long time ago, and I’ve had it in my nintendo switch wishlist for a long time now.. The sale was so good, I finally got to buy it, but turns out I’m so bad at this game!! Thanks for clearly laying out the different strategies at each phase, this is exactly what I was looking for!

[@LegendaryTactics]

Brilliant! I'm glad it was helpful. Also glad you picked it up. It's a definite keeper in my collection

[@kylevoss9955]

I just got it on steam. either the AI is VERY good or I am VERY bad lol

[@camillerutan69]

Great job on this video! The voice over and pictures move a little fast; I had to stop and rewind a few times, but it was worth it. Also, for others who are new to all this, I googled the definition of OP: "When used in the context of online gaming, OP stands for "overpowered." To say that a character, weapon, or skill is OP is to say that they're so strong that it gives the player an unfair advantage over others.May 27, 2021" Thanks, Jamey :)

[@LegendaryTactics]

Thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it. If you have any other questions about the lingo, I'm happy to answer.

[@scottmackintosh5934]

I’m good at the early game. I’m good at working out the best way to end the game. I am absolutely terrible at the mid game. I always get a decent score but never get a good score.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Ah, the stage where you take advantage of your engine and leverage your core birds. Find your build and then exploit it.

[@OTKateOTKate]

We're excited to try these strategies out

[@LegendaryTactics]

We're excited to hear how things go! Hope these strategies help!

[@nathanielmerchant3286]

This is just what I'm looking for! Thanks!

[@LegendaryTactics]

Brilliant. Glad you can use it.

[@bettinevdg73]

Been playing this for quite a while and I mostly agree.. I just really wouldnt invest the ridiculous high cost in the migratory birds.. basically any other brown power is better and almost always cheaper!

[@LegendaryTactics]

Great minds think alike, obviously!

[@maxttozer5037]

Does anyone know what website he’s playing it on? I’ve only seen the physical game but this digital version looks beautiful

[@LegendaryTactics]

It's actually the digital version on Steam

[@pureeschaap]

You can also play it on BoardgameArena!

[@Bagelbytezz]

When we play the board game and I get a Raven early, we almost always run out of tokens. If you set yourself up early you pretty much dont need to worry about food for most of the game

[@LegendaryTactics]

Off row power!

[@pureeschaap]

Thank you for sharing this information. By the way, on BoardgameArena those in fact too powerful bird cards can be removed (it's an option), which makes the game more balanced (Chihuahuan Raven, Common Raven, Franklin's Gull, and Killdeer / those 4 are definitely overpowered, so "OP cards").

[@LegendaryTactics]

If you have any favourite cards that I didn't mention, let us know in the comments!

[@yorginho]

Very useful video, absolutely enlightened me. I take 7 Wonders so seriously, looking for optimizing my builds and this game has the same potential for this...it's time to take this game to that level 🦅🦃

[@LegendaryTactics]

Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I'm glad it was useful to you. I need to get 7 Wonders back into the rotation. Since I picked up 7 Wonders Duel, I haven't really gotten back to the original.

[@yorginho]

@@LegendaryTactics I really love it, give it a try, perfect balance between individual and an interactive game, diversity of builds are very similar to Wingspan, no match is like the previous one and expansions (Leaders and Cities) give way to many synergies and different playing styles. Hope you could give it a second chance :)

[@drummermomcjs]

We enjoy that it is somewhat cooperative and avoids violence and unwholesome themes that are prevalent in so many other games. I like that it incorporates stragegy, and education as our family finds the bird cards quite interesting. Overall a great game for family play.

[@LegendaryTactics]

It's really a beautifully balanced game.

[@SOV_Gambit]

Great tips, I've played about 5 times and slowly getting the strategy down. These will help my game, thx

[@LegendaryTactics]

No problem. Glad you found some useful ones in there.

[@CatFish107]

WHoa, this is waaaay too complex for me at this point in learning the game. I've only played 2 rounds after the tutorial, and still don't seem to have a clue how things synergise, even on a basic level. The tips here come too fast and too deep for a total rookie like me. Bookmarking to come back to. Thanks (Edit to add: It would probably have helped me learn the game if I had a physical copy, and could flip through the cards to get a bit of an overall idea. I just picked up the steam version)

[@LegendaryTactics]

This game takes a lot of play to master. I'm certainly not there yet either. I love how relaxing the sound track is for this game. I'm finding it a great way to unwind at the end of the day.

[@LegendaryTactics]

We did a walkthrough of the tutorial, maybe our commentary would help? kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWHRfniuidmKm5o

[@CatFish107]

@@LegendaryTactics Thanks for that! I'm coming back after a day of playing multiple playthroughs, and having begun to see how cards can work together. I can now understand better what you're talking about in the tips! Wingspan is going in my chillout games collection, along with A short hike, feather, journey, flower, abzu, cloud gardens, and townscaper

[@LegendaryTactics]

@@CatFish107 I've been playing it a lot recently too and I realize there's a next level of strategy tips I'll need to put together.

[@majakawalio2631]

Totally I recommend the physical game, it's so beautiful and we'll done! 😍 Worth trying with family and friends.

[@ooooneeee]

I wish you would show the cards you're talking about in the footage. Often you don't and for a beginner that makes the guide harder to understand since I don't know more of the cards.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Good advice for the next guide. Thanks.

[@ooooneeee]

@@LegendaryTactics sure. I did understand the game a lot more from things like you talking about the engine and finding ways to do multiple things with one action. Also that the bonus card's aren't that important. I've played the game twice and both times I didn't fully understand how it works due to its complexity and got a low score. Thank you for explaining it. 🙂

[@majakawalio2631]

Good video! You should have mentioned a hunting strategy, with cards under cards. I had Batalion from the early game lately and I've got 12 + his basic 2 points from him 💪

[@LegendaryTactics]

Awesome. Funny enough, I rarely use the hunters. Not sure why I avoid it.

[@majakawalio2631]

@@LegendaryTactics I noticed some highest point records from this tactic in games with my family! : )

[@ekaruna42]

Yeah I learned to like hunting birds (that let you tuck cards) after noticing how much the AI benefitted from them. E.g. the eagle gets you 8 points anyway (minus egg cost) and with wingspan

[@breaker2470]

What do you mean when you say "build a middle row with fortified birds"?

[@LegendaryTactics]

Without listening to it again, I likely attempted to say "4 to 5" birds.

[@TheQuinnziteMushroom]

I got 130 points with a raven in the grasslands at the start on blue board

[@LegendaryTactics]

Nicely done

[@mtc539]

One suggestion I have is that oftentimes the video you were showing wasn't relevant to what your were talking about. This got a bit confusing at times, otherwise good video.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Thank you for the suggestion - we made this video when our channel was still quite new, and we hadn't honed our craft to the same level. I hope it was still useful for you regardless!

[@B0faS0fa_]

i got wing span straight away and my family struggle to see my strategies.

[@LegendaryTactics]

It helps a lot if you've played engine builders before like Race For the Galaxy.

[@bart9522]

You made a strategy guide after only one game?

[@Vijay-tg7hf]

Definitely learnt a few useful tips here I had not been implementing.... yet :D

[@LegendaryTactics]

I'm really trying hard to pay more attention to building an engine that benefits from each end of round bonus.

[@Vijay-tg7hf]

@@LegendaryTactics sometimes its a little out of ones hand. Like there was one where I dominated all the end of goals until the last one to get as many birds in wetlands. And everyone alrdy had maxed it cause thats what they spent the last rounds doing XD

[@trumplostlol3007]

I am starting to understand the strategy after losing the first 3 attempts playing the easy mode. Now I am starting to win against the easy mode. Will try the medium difficulty soon. Get the small bird filling up the few two slot of one or two habitats first will help things going faster. I still don't know exactly how the finally scores are calculated. LOL

[@LegendaryTactics]

Part of the fun of the game is doing exactly what you are doing. Learn a little at a time. Grow each game. Try new synergies.

[@jadu-entertainment]

I find the word engine to be very odd on a bird game.... Other than that, eggcellent video ;)

[@LegendaryTactics]

Thanks!

[@davidhuffman8706]

Where do you play this digitally?

[@LegendaryTactics]

There is an app on Steam that is quite excellent!

[@pureeschaap]

BoardgameArena is also an option.

[@ClarkPotter]

You shouldn't knock abilities for being "unreliable." An intellectually honest treatment incorporates the nuace of average benefit * likelihood. Variance can be incorporated but you ought to be explicit about how and why. Think of Treasure Chest in Dominion. You can't just knock it for being high variance. Say you lucked into a world championship final vs Stef and it comes up in the final game. Say he's the stronger player, unassailably, therefore you probably ought to go for it, to mitigate a skill differentlial. It maximizes your chance of winning even tho it's high variance and statistically of poor value (hypothetically). If it's weak an unreliable, that's bad. If it's very strong but slightly unreliable, it frequently ought to be gone for. Regardless of where in between we need to be more explicit other than just saying it's "unreliable."

[@glennperricone4322]

What is this online version you’re using?

[@LegendaryTactics]

This is the new app that was ported from the board game. It was just released a few weeks ago on steam. The music is really gorgeous.

[@nathanielmerchant3286]

@@LegendaryTactics I hear the Steam version had a tint bug where it didn't immediately re-roll an empty dice tray. Maybe that's been fixed, but the implementation is gorgeous!

[@vekeuimonen11]

There were some contradictions in the fundamentals of the strategy. At the start it was said that the game is mostly about action efficiency and less about engine building. Still at the end it was said that you should focus on exploiting the engine you built. I really dislike this game as a multiplayer game, since you can very easily count who will win after round 3 and I find the winner to be pretty clear even after just 2 rounds. I looked into this video trying to find out what all the hype around this game is about, but sadly these "strategies" are just exploiting power level differences between different birds and actions. As you said, the best strategy is to have an over powered bird in your starting hand :D

[@LegendaryTactics]

It's certainly a game of spotting and using small advantages that grow over time. Though, I still have a hard time predicting scores earlly in the game. There are quite a few different pathways to victory and while it may appear that someone is well ahead, I've had many games where the end of game bonuses make a huge difference. The fun comes in finding the most efficient path.

[@pureeschaap]

So not correct... It's even impossible to predict as the game is not played 100% open as in some other resource/engine building games. Just one example: the bonus cards.

[@audreybrooks]

I enjoyed the tips but I feel you used some specific terminology that was not explained further. I had to rewatch it a few times and even watched it at a slower speed so I didn’t miss what you were saying.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Thank you for the feedback. I'll try to explain terminology better going forward.

[@J-Wheeler-G]

The killdeer is stronger than any of the Ravens in my opinion.

[@LegendaryTactics]

The Ravens do seem over rated by many fans of the game for sure.

[@baronvonschnellenstein2811]

The thing is, these crow/raven cards and the Killdeer are only OP when available / played in the early part of the game. Now, there's only 4 crows and a raven? One killdeer? The probability of gaining one in opening hand is quite low given the Wingspan base game deck is ~160 cards - For mine, that doesn't necessarily make the crows/ravens/killdeer OP, since the chance of getting it early is limited I agree with the comment in the video - you can't just rock up and expect to play one strategy, i.e. draw raven in opening hand or first draw - you need to make the best of what you're dealt then adapt / improvise as the game goes on ... For me, that enhances variation in the play of each game and thus the "replayability". I think that required adaptation fits in nicely with the concept that our game mats are effectively "ecosystems"

[@LegendaryTactics]

@@baronvonschnellenstein2811 sounds like you've played your fair share of games. Nicely explained.

[@CatFish107]

@@baronvonschnellenstein2811 Agreed. The challenge I'm facing is being able to recognize what kind of engine I might be able to build from the initial 5 birds on offer. Still very new to the game, but loving it so far. The advice at the end of the video is especially prescient. I shouldn't be focusing on the score and winning, I should be enjoying the great art, music, and making a great habitat for my birds.

[@heidielizabetharias]

Moved way too fast and you used terms to describe birds but didn't explain what the term meant. Hard to follow.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Sorry for that. I may need to revisit the guide for this game. Thanks for bringing that to my attention

[@zxccxz164]

if you are just getting started do NOT play automa.....just play regular AI......way to confusing and you will get frustrated

[@LegendaryTactics]

Great advice. I still don't really know what the automa is up to, so it's like playing solo.

[@ekaruna42]

The automa was created for the physical version of the game as a way to play solo. It makes more sense if you know how to play with the automa there. It doesn't really make sense in a digital copy but I appreciate that they ported everything!

[@Crazee108]

Use too much lingo for a newbie game...

[@LegendaryTactics]

If there's anything I can clarify for you, just ask! I'll keep that in mind for my next guide.

[@zxccxz164]

No clarity on Automa vs AI

[@TheGardenBird]

You talk so fast 🥵

[@LegendaryTactics]

Ha thanks, that's some good feedback, at times it feels like there's so much to share as we break down the game play. Any other strategy guides you'd like to see?

[@barry28907]

This video is somewhat unhelpful if you don't have the bird names memorized

[@LegendaryTactics]

Memory work has never been my forte. We'll keep that in mind if we do another on Wingspan.

[@pureeschaap]

Just pause and look it up.