Finspan

This has all the classy artwork and charm of Winspan, but with a different way of building your engine, to make it a satisfactory addition. We've enjoyed all our games so far and look forward to extensions with more fish to come!

Bottom line up front: This game is a fun similar to but different from Wingspan. Easier to play and start that wingspan and probably faster playing as well. Also I felt that this game is better balanced so it fun for both serious strategy players and more casual ones.

The longer stuff:
The game is another fun game from the Stonemaier game wing span collection. I have wingspan and wyrmspan and now finspan. Its play similar to the other “span” games in with card actions mechanics and such. It isn’t as free form as wyrmspan as there is a fixed turns per round like wingspan. The main differences is the fish spawning and schooling where you need to keep the cycle of egg laying spawning and moving fish so you can fit as much fish on your board as possible. Fish cards are also used a resource for placing other fish cards down which is new to this game system and makes for more decision making of which cards do you keep. You also play with an open hand so everyone can see which cards you have which I thought added to strategy somewhat but also made it possible to talk more about cards or benefits as you play. I also felt that this game was more balanced in power and growth as when I played it with my wife I wasn’t able to get too far ahead making it more fun for both of us. Overall very fun game.

If you are a regular Wingspan player you will easily pick up the rules, but there is enough subtle differences to make it feel different and look for different strategies. As always great art and a good range of familiar species. It feels like it has left room to grow so I could see an expansion or two in the future. Conclusion if you like Wingspan you will like this but don't expect a completely novel game.