Following on the heels of the Wingspan craze, Stonemaier Games releases Wyrmspan. Explore caves and entice dragons to earn victory points and reign supreme!
In this edition, you play an explorer mining and exploring caves while picking up loot, privilege and food along the way in order to create a beautiful sanctuary for a collection of dragons, enticing them and reaping the rewards.
Many aspects of this game will feel familiar to fans of Wingspan. The basic round structure remains in tact. Instead of turn cubes, you will be collecting and spending silver coins. These can be earned beyond the reset value extending your turn options.
Round goals are pretty much identical. Dragon types, costs and rewards will feel nearly identical, however eggs are not involved in paying for dragons. These are reserved for cave dwellings, which must be placed first before dragons can be encountered.
Newly added are the explorers which can explore all the way to the far edge of the explored caves, collecting benefits from dwelling to dwelling as well as dragon benefits along the way. Earn cards, resources and guild advancements!
Speaking of guild advancements, Dragon Guilds are introduced and accelerate rewards. Here you will also have the chance to claim major benefits. This is where your (previous) action cubes come into play. Choose immediate privileges or claim additional victory points.
Just like Wingspan, the game concludes once the round tracker and all actions are complete. The player with the most victory points wins!
The game design brings the hit game, Wingspan, to a heightened experience with more complex engine building and more control over resources. The art work is familiar yet fresh, bringing bright and fun watercolors to life in the form of dragons and landscapes.
Our perspective: This is a heavier game so experienced players can expect to play a first game for about 120 minutes while learning. Future games play anywhere from 60-90 minutes, depending on the number of players (up to 5). There is a solo variant as well with its own components and rulebook. As seasoned players of Wingspan, this is a refreshing take on the original. If you are newer to gaming or just don't want to tackle the rulebook, don't worry! We recommend downloading the Dized tutorial to walk you through, or stop by to try before you buy!
Wyrmspan is definitely a new favorite!
