Wingspan European Expansion Board Game Review

Buy Here - Wingspan European Expansion

WBG Score: 8.5

Player Count:1-6

You’ll like this if you like: Everdell, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Furnace.

Published by: Stonemaier Games

Designed by: Elizabeth Hargrave 

This is a free review copy. See our review policy here.

I have reviewed the full game of Wingspan here. There are also a number of other Wingspan expansions and variant reviews that you can check out here. But this is the first expansion that came out for this hugely popular game, and set the tone for the rest. It introduced end of round bonus alongside 81 new Bird cards, five new bonus cards, five new goal tiles, a new tray to hold all these new cards! And 15 new purple eggs! Sold yet? If not, read on!

How to ad the Wingspan European Expansion to the base game

Simply take the cards out and shuffle the bird cards into your main bird deck from the base game, and do the same with the bonus cards and goal tiles. Then simply mix in all the other extra tokens into the base game components. You can now set up as usual. If you end up using the new end-of-round goal tiles, the rules suggest you use the green side of the goal mat, as they work better with that side.

How to play the Wingspan European Expansion when added to the base game

The game plays as usual. The only change is that you now have an extra step after the end of each round, as indicated by the new reference tile, which reminds you to check any bird cards that you may have played that have end-of-round bonus powers. Check any cards with the new green Round End power, and execute each one in turn. The rest of the game plays as usual, but of course, you now have a lot of new bird cards and, as such, bird powers to aim for.

Is It Fun? Wingspan European Expansion Board Game Review

This is a must-have expansion if you enjoy the original base game. It will not make anyone who does not enjoy the base game feel differently about the experience, but it does make the original a little more interesting and a slightly better experience. And I really like the base game as it was. The new cards are a welcome addition. Who would not want more of these gorgeous, interesting cards? The more, the merrier. But the new end-of-round powers are a fascinating mix into the game. They make things more interesting, add a new element to the game, and increase the strategy and focus for every card selection you make.

There are some really interesting powers that this introduces, such as this Common Starling, that lets you exchange food tokens for card tucking powers, which, when combined with other such card tucking goals and end-of-round scoring, can be very beneficial!

The new end of round is a nice addition too. It makes each game feel a little different, and having new variations of this only adds to the game's replayability. These goals work very well with these new cards as well, and develop new ways to play the game.

I love the Bird cards that let you place cards sideways. They allow you to grow your Bird cards into the final columns quicker, and if you are taking a strategic route that will most probably not allow you to fill up your board, this is a good way to still achieve that and gain the final column bonuses. Picture below shows two of these cards, the Long tailed Tit is vertical for illustrative purposes only. But it would of course be played sideways in the game as shown with this European Roller.

The introduction of other powers on the bird cards, such as these new When Played powers for the Eurasian Hobby and the Eurasian Sparrowhawk, allows you to choose how you feed them when they are played. As you can see from the asterisk next to their food icons, you can either play the shown food tokens or place the card over the top of another bird card already in your play area in the case of the Hobby. For the Sparrowhawk, you can play extra cards tucked behind this card for each rat token you play. This is a great thematic and strategic introduction to the game, and again works well with the multiple ways it seems this expansion plays with the tucked bird scoring options.

This is a fantastic expansion, and one that I will use 100% of the time I play the base game moving forward. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys Wingspan, and I would also suggest it is the first expansion you get for this game. It was the first out for a reason!