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Winging its way hot off the press recently was the news that Wingspan Asia is opening for pre-orders from Stonemaier Games on 2 November 2022. And I thought that was going to be the highlight of their reveal. But no! Jamey Stegmaier and Elizabeth Hargrave & co had more up their winged sleeves than that!
Wingspan Asia is coming, and it sounds like Wingspan just got a major upgrade! And given that it’s a 2019 Kennerspiel Spiel deh Jahres winner, has sold more than 1m copies (and counting), and is always hovering around in the BGG hotness (scoring 8.1 if you don’t mind!), that’s a pretty big achievement!
So what’s new? Well the teasers have been out for a while. Beautiful Asian birdies have been landing in social media feeds everywhere. And each one has been more eye catching than the last. With the likes of the Rose Ringed Parakeet that brings a vibrant shot of green to your tableau as well as new mimicking powers, the hunger to know more has been building over the past month.
And now, Stonemaier have given us some juicy details which I am going to dangle in front of you like wriggly worms ripe for the pecking!
Perhaps the most exciting of all is the fact that Wingspan Asia isn’t just an expansion. No, no, my feather-brained friends. This bountiful box of cardboard creativity can be a standalone game for 1-2 players, extend the existing Wingspan experience to 7 players, or just add more gorgeous birds to your existing set up. Wowza!
And I am especially excited for the Duet Mode. This head-to-head two player tussle over map based goals sounds like it is going to sing to my soul! Our usual player count in Wingspan is 2 and it’s excellent. So hearing about a special mode that promises to up the ante even more when playing with my own favourite foe is a sweet song indeed!
If you can still focus after all that, here’s the rundown of what has been revealed to date:
- 1-7 players
- 90 new bird cards designed by Red and Blue Designs
- 11 new bonus cards
- New eggies, dice, food, and playmats for Duet Mode (which is also compatible when adding in Oceania)
- Single comprehensive rule book that includes all expansions and interactions
- Duet Mode – this is a two player head-to-head mode where players compete over map based goals
- Flock Mode – for 6-7 players, this means there will be two active players per turn to keep downtime and game length in check (although everybody interacts via goals and bird powers)
- Biddy and Walter!
- New Automa solo which can be used in Duet mode or with Asia expansion cards.
- Colour vision deficiency friendly
- FSC certified eco-friendly components
- Free lifetime replacement parts service
Aaaaaaand, as someone who is fast running out of table space with all the Wingspan European and Oceania expansion boxes lining up along with the base game, knowing that Wingspan Asia can also be purchased with a Nesting Box that promises to house all existing and future Wingspan content is shake-your-tailfeather time!
Boom! My bird-brain just exploded! Now you eagle-eyed readers may have also spotted a little eggie in the list somewhere……….I may have just set the cat amongst the pigeons……but see if you can find it!