Why Wingspan, the board game for birders, got so popular

Listening to the songs of rare birds, admiring their colorful feathers and soaking in the peaceful sounds of nature can be an indoor activity, too.

This bird migration season, set down the binoculars for a moment and open up the Wingspan board game.

The game — playable on your iPhone, tablet or the good old-fashioned way, spread out on the dining room table — was made for birders. Featuring hundreds of majestic bird illustrations by Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez, fun bird facts and an addictive game design, Wingspan can make a birder out of anybody. Some 2 million copies have been sold in 30 languages throughout the world

“The enthusiasm from the birding community was perhaps the biggest surprise after releasing Wingspan,” says Stonemaier Games co-founder Jamey Stegmaier. “I had certainly hoped that birders would give the game a chance, but I wasn’t sure how many actually would… I was also delighted to learn how many people who play the game also become more interested in birds.”

Oakland resident Michelle Stevens, a member of the East Bay Board Gang, which meets every other week in Dublin to play games, had little interest in birds until a family member introduced her to Wingspan when it first came out in 2019. Six years later, she finds herself identifying birds out in the wild.

“It’s a very cool outcome,” she says.

Why is this game giving ordinary folks a sudden bird obsession?

Stegmaier identified a few reasons: the artwork, the simplicity of the game and the incredible variation.

Players collect bird cards and spend resources to add them to their game board. Some birds provide points, while others generate momentum for other birds, giving the game layers of strategy. Because it takes about an hour for two people to play (up to five can play at once), it’s the perfect game for a leisurely Sunday morning.

It’s also been a hit at Bay Area board game hang outs.

“It’s one of the most popular games we have here,” says Rory Drewfus, event coordinator at Victory Point Café, a board game hangout in Berkeley.

And someone usually brings a copy to East Bay Board Gang get-togethers, says club founder David M. Williamson. “It’s a great game with tons of replayability,” he says.

It looks beautiful, too. The game boards depict bird habitats. The six-sided dice, with a different bird food on each side, tumble through a bird feeder instead of being rolled. Rather than scoring points with tokens, players use bird eggs. And, Stegmaier says, the artists spend 10 hours or more on each bird card — the base game has 170, with expansions offering hundreds more.

Some people buy Wingspan just for the art.

“Not everyone who owns Wingspan actually plays it,” Stegmaier says. “Sometimes the cards are used for bird walks.”

If that tempts you, know that one Reddit user posted a picture of all the Wingspan birds that can be found in the Bay Area.

The original game creator, Elizabeth Hargrave, does extensive research, often traveling to other continents to find new birds for the game. Fans can also submit suggestions for new cards on a form that includes more than 1,700 entries.

The phone app has been incredibly popular, too. Each bird card has the creature’s actual sounds, recorded in the wild. Play the bird and you’ll hear it chirp. There’s even a steady stream of enjoyable chirping in the soft background music.