Learning resources for Wingspan?

[KatBatMadeThat]

I'm probably going to get roasted for this, but after playing the tutorial and trying to play my first game with a friend, I found myself remarkably frustrated with Wingspan.

Everyone says it's an "easy to learn, hard to master" type of thing, but for me it felt like there was so much information for the player to retain straight out of the gate that I kept forgetting the basic mechanics (never mind the secondary objectives).

I did the tutorial. I had the person I was playing with explain it to me (and he's a pretty darn good teacher). It just *is not* clicking for some reason.

If I'd bought this for myself I'd shrug and decide it's not my kind of game, but it was a gift from a friend. He wanted to share something with me that he deeply enjoys and finds rewarding. Before I veto it as a shared activity, I want to really try to engage with it earnestly.

I don't normally have a problem learning digital vs analog, but is this one of those instances where playing the physical board game gives you an advantage? I found myself wishing I had a top-down view and a rulebook in-hand the entire time. Is there something lost in translation between the analog and digital versions? Wingspan feels like it should be on-par with Catan for learning, and I picked up Catan in about 15 minutes. Sure, I sucked at it, but I understood it.

It feels utterly absurd to have this charming little game fly right over my head, so I'd love some suggestions on how to make it stick to this Teflon brain of mine. Third party tutorials? Bots I can play against? A magic hammer that I can thwack myself over the head with?

Bring me your knowledge, bird game people.

[DrElusis]

I personally played a number of times on the physical board before getting the Steam game. Because I often played with different friends, we went through the "introductory" version of the game, where your initial hands of cards and moves are prescribed for the first few rounds, several times. I think this really helped me understand the game better.

[Disastra]

You can set the game up to play against auto or AI. Maybe a few games that way would help.

[AronFJenks]

Originally posted by KatBatMadeThat:

I found myself wishing I had a top-down view and a rulebook in-hand the entire time.

There IS a top-down view. I play my entire game in this view.

Somewhere along the left side of the screen, near the bottom, is an icon you can click to go into top-down view.

[KatBatMadeThat]

@AronFJenks I am SO excited to hear this. I think having the top-down will make a big difference. Switching between environments was kind of like walking into a room and forgetting why I was there, so I'm pumped to know this is available.

@Disastra I am going to do exactly this. Hopefully playing a few rounds without the pressure of having someone else waiting for me to figure things out will make it easier.

@DrElusis A friend of mine who lives locally just picked up the physical game in a BOGO sale online, so I think I might ask her if I can hang and play a few games after I've gone a few rounds with the game's AI.

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies. I definitely needed a smidge of hand-holding to get over myself when it comes to this game. I think on the night of the initial gameplay, I got way too frustrated and embarrassed to seek a sensible solution. Funny how it's always the inconsequential low-stakes things that manage to pull a leg-sweep.

Hopefully with the tips you've given me, I can practice a bit and surprise my buddy with newfound bird skills. ;)

Thank you all again. I appreciate your kindness.

[AronFJenks]

Good luck :)

If you have strategy or game play questions, the forum at Board Game Geek is an excellent resource.

[matthew.uhrich]

Watch It Played on YouTube - This is always where I start with people learning the game - gives a good overview and foundation for success: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgDgcLI2B0U

[KatBatMadeThat]

Originally posted by matthew.uhrich:

Watch It Played on YouTube - This is always where I start with people learning the game - gives a good overview and foundation for success: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgDgcLI2B0U

Thank you so much! I'll check it out. I appreciate the suggestion.