Peanuts In My Pocket

We played Wyrmspan, the new strategic board game from Stonemaier Games, for our family board game night. The game accommodates up to five players and is supposed to last about 1.5 hours—but, just like Wingspan, there’s no such thing as a 1.5-hour game. Almost 3.5 hours later, we finally finished, completely brain-dead and in desperate need of snacks and a break before even considering another game.

Wyrmspan, a game about mythical dragons, is part of a trilogy that includes the aforementioned Wingspan (about birds—my personal favorite) and Finspan (about aquatic life). Each game shares a similar engine-building mechanic but explores a different theme.

As in Wingspan, a lot of care went into developing the dragon-themed cards and gameplay. The depth and detail were surprisingly rich and well thought out. I had almost as much fun reading the cards as I did actually playing the game.

That said, the game mechanics were more complex than I expected. Wingspan takes a few playthroughs to understand and develop a solid strategy, but Wyrmspan is even tougher. The two-part mechanic involving cave cards and dragon cards added an extra layer of difficulty. On our first playthrough, most of us were so focused on figuring out our own layouts that there wasn’t much interaction. The mental energy required was impressive.

I managed to play well enough to finish second. However, I struggled to build a meaningful economic engine until late in the second round, and even then, it was weak. By the last round, I was accumulating about five points per turn and finally had enough food to play additional dragons, but my options were limited since I hadn’t developed an effective way to gain cave cards.

One of the joys of these strategic engine-building games is watching how others develop their strategies. In Wingspan, I’m the undisputed champion—so much so that my family doesn’t really enjoy playing it with me anymore. You’ve got to be lucky to beat me, and so far, nobody has. But in Wyrmspan, the playing field is level. With no online version to practice on, my only experience will be at family game night, so I foresee some interesting matches ahead.

Our first playthrough had one notable issue: the complexity of the mechanics caused us to miss out on accumulating points at times. We all made this mistake multiple times during gameplay. Slowing down and helping each other along was key to overcoming this small obstacle.

Overall, I’d give Wyrmspan high marks. It’s a game I’m sure we’ll play again and again. I think the rest of the group feels the same—especially if I don’t win every game.

The original plan was to play Finspan as well, but after our intense session of Wyrmspan, we opted instead for a super fun horse racing simulation. It reminded me why I don’t gamble—I played terribly. But the gameplay was exciting and a lot of fun. Our in-house gambling game specialist, Ari, won by a mile.

Ready Set Bet is a dynamic board game designed by John D. Clair and published by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). In this game, players immerse themselves in the excitement of horse racing, placing bets in real-time as the race unfolds.