This post is about the now classic Stonemaier Game, Wingspan. Others have long ago provided excellent reviews and "how-to-play" resources, so I will not be "Wingsplaining" those to you. This blog is primarily concered with the mental health benefits of board gaming. But before I explain that, I need to provide some background.
When I entered the world, my parents were recently re-married. All of my half-siblings were still negotiating their new reality as a blended family. But they were all teenagers or entering their twenties. For most of them, I suppose I was a novel distraction at times. One sister had me riding on horseback long before I could walk. Another used to take me absolutely everywhere with her like a trophy. But soon, everyone was building their lives and moving on, as it should be. That is, as they say, "life."
The good thing, the aspect of my life that kept me from feeling lonely and isolated was that my parents managed an outdoor education facility near the central California coast. Dad was the director of outdoor education for a central valley school district and simultaneously ran the facility year round for schools and YMCA summer programs. Mom was the head cook and kitchen manager. I was still pre-school aged, but my life was rounded out by learning to swim and being in nature.
Once it was time for me to start school, we had to move to the city of Lodi, CA. My father became a science teacher again, and my mother, predictably, became a school cook. But although this meant that my time in the California Redwood rainforests was now limited to the summer, Lodi was about half the size it is now. And my family rented a home on my godparents' ranch. Now my childhood playground was hundreds of acres of cherry and almond orchards, and vineyards (which explains my stong interest in another Stonemaier design, Viticulture, which I hope to get my hands on soon). Some of my best memories include sneaking up on the men harvesting grapes by crawling through irrigation ditches, or climbing a cherry tree to read and just...be, the blossoms falling on the pages like fragrant snow. And there were birds! So many birds!
Lodi's location in a large watershed made it a crossroads for so many species. I knew them all as a child and would call out their names whenever I saw them. I can recall waking up to the sound of Canadian Geese returning, and the gangly Snowy Egrets lifting off from flooded fields. Until my voice dropped in adolescence, I could mimic many bird calls. I specialized in Corvids. For a time, I seem to have believe I could actually talk to Crows. Even now, I toss them little goodies while walkig my dog. As a schoolteacher, I have noticed that Brewer's Blackbirds love school campuses. I never realized how many people are afraid of birds. And Brewer's can be pretty aggressive. But not with me for some reason.
I recall as a child that I played alone and with friends, wandered miles everyday, and experienced the bliss that only an elementary school aged child can; absolute freedom from responsibility. As I said, my parents continued to work in summer camps almost every year, and I still spent a lot of time in the woods. Usually alone, and always absolutely engrossed by the life around me. To this day, a half century later, I am in love with nature. And when I have to reset my hear, mind, and soul, I go to the trees.
The thing about trees is that they are so full of life. Not just the tree itself, but all the things the tree supports. If you have never been up high in a tree, I cannot recommend it enough. Yes - it is a bit scary ascending a Redwood, but the canopy is something that must be experienced.
But this post is about Wingspan. The reason I began by talking about nature is that one constant in all the woodsy biomes I've experienced has been the birds. It saddens me that for many, birds are reduced to pleasant background noise that is never consciously attended to. Birds are among the most diverse and amazing vertebrates on the planet. There may be 20,000 different species and subspecies! (Wingspan isn't going anywhere with that much room for expansion) It was Aves that perhaps more than any other taxonomic class that famously inspired Darwin's development of "natural selection." Beaks, plumage, and diet. Birds are critical in every web of life we can find no matter the biome.
And perhaps that is why I loved Wingspan before I ever played it. Just looking through the cards is a treat. The artwork is marvelous and exceptionally detailed. The game is partly an interactive field guide thanks to the efforts of Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, Natalia Rojas, Elizabeth Hargrave, Greg May, and Beth Sobel. But it is more than that. Embedded in the mechanics of gameplay are several realities of the interaction between the ecosystem and each bird represented on the cards. Ecology is the foundation of the strategy. This understanding of each species' niche must have been a focus when Hargrave was designing this "niche" game. And it is obvious that everyone involved in this project loves birds as much or more than I do. This is a game I savor every time I play. And I am not agonizing over strategy, I am admiring the birds.
As I prepared this piece, I had Wingspan on the table for over a week with nature sounds and gentle instrumental music playing. Certain cards brought to mind the birdsong of places that I have not seen in decades and may never see again. Sentimental? Perhaps. I recall seeing the card of a curlew that has recently been declared extinct. Games like Wingspan remind us of our responsibilities and our own dependence upon the natural worlds. Science learns a lot about the state of the environment from observing and studying birds. The "canary in the coal mine" gets a lot of mileage.
Let me pause here:
I have heard people complain that WIngspan is too complicated to enjoy. In my opinion, it earns the mid-weight classification that reviewers have given it. But the more you play these types of games, the easier it becomes to learn and master new ones. This is not a tough game to learn or teach. I recently unboxed and played a game that I will not be writing about. It was created by a scientist, and had some outstanding mechanics to represent astrophysics combined with a solid, "heavy" Sci-Fi theme. But it was a huge tablehog, had at least five times more pieces than it needed, was extremely fiddly, and had about 25 actions per turn. It was NOT relaxing or entertaining. Wingspan is the polar opposite of this.
The experience of playing Wingspan can be extremely relaxing and centering. I tend to play using the brilliant Automa that Hargrave invented. Aside from offering a serious challenge, the Automa creates so much variation that replayability is very high for me. I do not get bored with this game despite playing it more than 20 times. When I discussed setting up a game night for some colleagues, Wingspan was by far the most requested game.
Despite the intricacy of the game's mechanics, it is relatively easy to learn and teach. I still make little errors here and there, but nothing monstrous. For a game with a serious reputation it still manages to feel "cozy" somehow.
And that is important.
One of the consequences of my life choices (the military, playing high school and college sports even though I am a lousy athlete) led to some serious injuries that later led to infection and loss of my left leg below the knee. Thanks to sepsis, I nearly died. And no matter what Nietzsche says, that which doesn't kill you is not guaranteed to make you stronger. In my case, I was left with chronic pain and frequent insomnia. My bedtime routine requires 90-120 minutes of careful avoidance of the things which irritate the wrong parts of my nervous system.
Last night I was able to get home early. I teach college courses after work at a nearby prison, and evidently someone was misbehaving. The lockdown cancelled my lecture. This let me hit the table for almost two hours with Wingspan.
This put me in the best headspace and the most relaxed physical posture I had experienced in days. Now, middle-aged men, and the women who sleep with them will understand this. I did not wake up once. Not one single time. I had no phantom pain, no mind racing, no worry - and no biological imperative.
The game was the perfect antidote to the horrifying news cycle, lousy weather and traffic, challenging students (and adults at work), and even my old, busted body somehow.
A lot of us wonder if we are contributing. I wonder about it all the time. Meaning and purpose has always been more important to me than title and salary. And I don't know the designers and artists for Wingspan, or the people at Stonemaier Games apart from their work. So, I cannot know if they share this specific anxiety. But if they do, I can assure them; their work matters. It really does make a difference. And judging from the number of expansions, accessories, and sales volume of Wingspan and their other games, I am not the only one who feels this way.
A good game melds a good interpretation of its genre as well as things like strong and reliable mechanics, mental challenge, escapism, and art. In those areas, Wingspan checks every box at the highest level. It's a game that lets you immerse in the marvelous beauty and complexity of birds and their place in nature. And this, I have found, can be both calming and healing.
So this doctor can enthusiastically recommend Wingspan for its challenge and therapeutic nature. And when I checked today, it was still on sale at Stonemaier Games. Go take a look if you haven't gotten your hands on a copy yet.
And hopefully, I will soon be able to offer my thoughts and experiences with Finspan and Viticulture. Many of the same clearly brilliant people are involved in those two games as well.
Until next time:
- Get away from the screens as often as you can.
- Set boundaries for your consumption of news and other media.
- Get outside; walk in the woods, listen and look at the birds.
- Be present.
- Rest.
- And PLAY!
Dr. Matt
The game table in my study, ready to take flight...
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