Send help, because a new board game has taken over my life.
It started innocently enough. I always squirrel away a stash of board games in my suitcase when I go on vacation, and these tend to be smaller favorites I can stuff into every available pouch or pocket. This year, though, we went away with my in-laws – and they insisted I bring the fish-focused Finspan. This follow-up to Wingspan is a lot chunkier than I'd normally try and fit into my luggage, but who am I to argue? So in it went. And you know what? A single match was enough to make me obsessed.
Although it may seem like a simple Wingspan palette swap that switches out birds for fish, Finspan is a lot richer than that. Yes, the core principles are the same (which is understandable, seeing as Wingspan was already one of the best board games). Everyone has their own board to work with, and you're still placing animal cards onto the different environments across your nature reserve. You'll compete for the most points each round as well. However, it's a much more accessible game for a couple of reasons – and I'd wager it's a better fit for most people as a result.
To start with, the way you pay for each fish card is straightforward yet skillful. Rather than rolling for the resources you need as per Wingspan and trusting to luck, fish are played by either discarding cards from your hand, using up an egg or baby fish token on the board (which are, in turn, generated by cards and board spaces), or by 'consuming' another card – e.g. covering it up. That means you have far more control over what you play and when.
There's more room for tactical tomfoolery as well. Finspan introduces a new mechanic where baby fish can move across the board and combine into high-scoring schools, so you'll need to carefully plan out where to put them so you can merge groups in the fewest amount of moves.
That's because you only have six turns per round, and there are only four rounds in total. Placing a fish card or 'diving' (e.g. moving tokens down a column on your board to activate abilities and using bonuses like drawing new cards or hatching eggs) take up a turn, so you've always got to think a few steps ahead. Especially due to there being a special objective each round you're working toward, like getting bonus points for every egg you have on the board. Throw in specific fish needing to be placed at certain depths and randomized objectives for a markedly different experience every time.
I'll admit that it's not perfect. As with so many games, you are limited slightly by the hand you draw. But on the whole, I'd say Finspan might just be a (whisper it) improvement over Wingspan. Considering how we gave the latter a glowing report in our four-and-a-half-star Wingspan review, that's high praise.
More board games from the series
- Wingspan (US):
$65$55 at Amazon - Wingspan (UK):
£59.99£42.35 at Zatu - Finspan premium tokens: View at Stonemaier Games
Looking for your next game? Check out the best family board games, or the best 2-player board games.
