February 27: Wingspan

I've been on kind of a bird kick recently, especially after that birding webinar, so it was apt that I learned a delightful new board game last night called Wingspan all about birds. Actually, the whole evening was delightful. Just the simple fact that we had two friends come over for dinner and games was extraordinary; life felt like it was back to a new "normal." I delighted in cooking a meal for more than 2 people, trying a friend's homebrew (made with my old equipment), teaching and playing the board game Photosynthesis, and learning and playing the new game Wingspan. I hope that I can continue to open up my life and my home to my friends, slowly but surely, as the pandemic begins to wane. I still hope that we are being safe and responsible, but it is nice to feel like we have a social life again. It's still not the same as when we would have dozens of people over for games and dinner parties, but I do really enjoy the double dating evenings because I actually get to talk to and bond with the other people present. When we used to have a large group over, there was no way to have quality time with every single person present, so it's nice to get this time now. Maybe I can even pack our calendar with more double dates to start to see more of our friends on a more regular basis. 

So Wingspan is a great game that features 170 different species of birds (including my favorite, the Indigo Bunting). Each of the bird cards features lots of fun facts about the birds, and the whole game is incredibly scientifically accurate (and artistically stunning). It is quite complex (which I love) and there are a lot of different ways to earn points. For the most part, your turns and actions do not influence the game of the other players (so there is no real way to screw other players). I like that you have your own independent board to do your own thing with. The game has similar elements to games like Ticket to Ride, Scythe, and many of our other favorite games. My husband won (beginner's luck), and I tied for second, and third place was only one point behind us, so it was a super close game. The four of us are very like minded so I very much enjoyed the gaming experience. I hadn't realized how much I had missed board games until we started listing off all the board games we could play together (many of which I would teach, as they would be new to our friends). This delightful evening gave me hope for what the coming months may be like. 

With delight,

♥Jamie