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Tabletop games

Wingspan

MatagotElizabeth Hargrave2019

players
1–5
minutes
70
years
10+

Deutscher Spiele Preis 2019Golden Geek 2019Kennerspiel des Jahres 2019

In the box

170 Bird cards · 26 Bonus cards · Objective tiles · 103 Food tokens · 75 eggs · 5 dice and the birdfeeder dice tower · 5 Player boards

Official rules (publisher's site)

Box details
Designer
Elizabeth Hargrave
Artwork
Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, Natalia Rojas, Greg May (II), Beth Sobel
Publisher
Matagot
Mechanics
Action QueueDice RollingHand ManagementOnce-Per-Game AbilitiesOpen Drafting
Expansions
  • Wingspan: European Expansion · 2019
  • Wingspan: Oceania Expansion · 2020
  • Wingspan: Americas Expansion · 2026

score sheets for this game →

Where to buy it

Near you and online

In a shop

Within 50 km.

The basics

Each player attracts birds to three habitats and chains their powers over four rounds. On your turn, place an action cube for a single action: play a bird, gain food, lay eggs or draw cards, the last three triggering the brown powers of the birds in that row, from right to left. After the fourth round, birds, bonus cards, end-of-round goals, eggs, cached food and tucked cards make the total, and the highest wins.

Checked against the official rules · September 2026

The rules, step by step

Setup

8 action cubes, 5 items of your choice, 1 bonus card kept
  • Each player receives a player mat, eight action cubes, five bird cards and five food tokens, one of each kind.
  • For each bird kept, discard one food token: you therefore keep five items in total, split however you like.
  • They also receive two bonus cards and keep only one.
  • Choose the side of the goal board: competitive (green side, the default) or one point per item (blue side). Four goal tiles are drawn at random, one per round.
  • Three bird cards are laid out face up and the dice are rolled into the birdfeeder.

How to play

Rounds of 8 to 5 turns, 1 cube, 1 action, Row's powers trigger
  • A round has eight turns in the first round, then seven, six and five: at the end of each round, one action cube is used to mark the goal and never comes back.
  • On your turn, place a cube for a single action: play a bird, gain food, lay eggs, or draw cards.
  • Food, eggs and cards then trigger the brown powers of the birds in the matching row, from right to left. Playing a bird activates no row.
  • Each habitat holds five birds at most.

Scoring

Bird points, 1 point per egg, Round goals
  • Points printed on each bird played.
  • Points from bonus cards.
  • Points from end-of-round goals, read off the goal board.
  • 1 point per egg on a bird, per food token cached on a bird and per card tucked under a bird.
  • Goals, green side: players are ranked (1st, 2nd, 3rd place); in case of a tie, the tied players add up the places concerned and share them, rounded down. You must have met the goal at least once to score.
  • Goals, blue side: 1 point per item achieved, 5 at most.

End of the game

After the 4th round, Highest total, Tie: leftover food
  • The game ends after the fourth round. The highest total wins.
  • In a tie, the player with the most unused food tokens wins; if still tied, the victory is shared.

Going further

Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family · Play with the game assistant

Play with the game assistant

Frequently asked questions

How does a turn work?

Choose a single action out of four: play a bird, gain food (dice), lay eggs, or draw bird cards. The more birds you have in a habitat, the stronger that habitat's action.

How do you play a bird?

Pay its food cost (any two tokens can replace one missing token) and, depending on the column, an egg cost taken from your birds: nothing for the first column, one egg for the second or third, two for the fourth or fifth. Then put the bird in the habitat it needs, in the leftmost empty space.

What are "when activated" and "once between turns" powers?

Brown powers trigger each time you activate their row; pink ones ("once between turns") trigger on opponents' turns. White ones apply only once, when the bird is played.

How many rounds does a game last?

Four. You have 8 actions in the first round, then 7, 6 and 5: at the end of each round, one action cube stays on the goal board to mark its result.

How are points counted?

Bird points, eggs laid (1 each), cached food and cards tucked under some birds (1 each), end-of-round goals and bonus cards. The highest total wins; in a tie, the most unused food decides.

What are end-of-round goals?

One criterion per round (most birds in a given habitat, most eggs somewhere…). Two sides to choose from: on the green side, you score according to your rank, provided you have met the goal at least once; on the blue side, 1 point per item achieved, up to 5.

In the same family

see all →