PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL NEED THE BASE GAME OF WINGSPAN TO USE THESE CARDS IN YUOR GAMING (OR YOU COULD JUST FRAME THEM AND KEEP THEM TO LOOK AT!)
Beautiful Birds!
If you haven’t played WINGSPAN yet, I’d highly recommend the base game, and you can read our review here. And if you like the OG, then the expansions ASIA, EUROPEAN, and OCEANIA are also superb! WINGSPAN was an instant hit for us, and has become one of our go-to games when we want competition but in a chilled out and relaxed way.
Each of the base game and the expansions are already filled to the brim with beautiful birds. And that makes sense, as in the game you are building a tableau of three habitats – forest, grasslands and wetlands. And each habitat has space for birds whose powers will trigger when you take the relevant habitat action. The engines you create in this game are bright and beautiful in both how they run and how they look.
Whilst Beth Sobel’s original artwork is stunning, the outpouring of love for WINGSPAN is undeniable. Facebook and Instagram are full of photos of folks who have created cakes, clothes, and other everyday items based on those beautiful birds!
And inspired by the sheer creativity of WINGSPAN fans, Jamey Stegmaier invited people to submit their own interpretations of the iconic bird species in the game. As a result, 255 super fans have had their birds turned into official WINGSPAN cards!
Paintings, pens, crochet, and sculpture……every medium possible seems to have been encapsulated in this hybrid pack. And fans of all ages and from all places have had the opportunity to become part of WINGSPAN folklore because their names and talent have been included on the card text.
It is hard to have favourites as I am blown away by the variety and ability of all those selected. But the knitted White Stork, the Ring-Billed Gull, and the super sweet Ruby-Crowned Kinglet do make me feel extra warm inside.
Capsule Collection
What is extra cool is that the pack acts like a capsule collection – it contains cards from the base game and each of the three current expansions. And whilst they do not vary the game in terms of gameplay (the powers and features are identical to the originals), the visual range and individuality is now vast!
Even better, Stonemaier Games has donated $25,000 ($1 for each of the 25,000 copies in production) to the following environmental charities Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the American Bird Conservancy, The Humane League, Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, or the John Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing. Every artist also retains ownership of their art. Plus, the eco-friendly box has eliminated plastic wrap and the cards come in a simple paper bard (which we love!). Stonemaier website states that it fits inside the nesting box (nb: I don’t have that so cannot show it snuggled down into that big storage solution).
Community!
I love how connected Stonemaier Games is to the board game community. Jamey is probably the most active publisher I have ever had the privilege to interact with (you can read our interview), and he is always super open to feedback from those who come to love his games even more than he does! And this opportunity is another shining example of how Jamey values the relationship his publishing company, designers, and he himself develops with the folks who derive so much joy from Stonemaier games. This pack is a pure celebration of a shared passion, and every card in this pack is a testament to how the games on our tables make their way into our hearts.
Please note that a copy of the Fan Art Pack featured here was kindly provided by the publisher for review. I am not paid for my comments, however, and all opinions are my own. I am also not affiliated to or sponsored by any retail store.
