Elizabeth Hargrave’s Kennerspiel des Jahres-winning board game, Wingspan, has been a huge crossover success, inspiring multiple sequels and a digital edition with its gentle competition of gathering birds and eggs. Apiary designer Connie Vogelmann’s Wyrmspan uses many of the same mechanics, but swaps real birds for a wide variety of quirky dragons and adds several elements meant to appeal to players who prefer heavier strategy games.
While the art is beautiful and the pieces well designed, Wyrmspan is missing a lot of the charm of the original. There is so little interaction in the game it almost feels like turns could be taken simultaneously with a bit of different design. That would have been an improvement because as players build up their engine, it can take a while for turns to play out and there’s very little need to pay attention to what they’re doing since everyone will form their own strategy. Trying to interrupt an opponent is more likely to hurt you than them.
