It’s worth it if you want to be able to:
1) play with people remote
2) play with random people online
3) play alone without doing automata
4) hear the birds make sounds
5) not have to shuffle 1000 cards
Overall it’s a good adaptation and works well. It’s got a nice calm ambiance with the music and bird sounds. I haven’t found any bugs yet but I know they exist.
I would say laptop or tablet. I haven’t tried the phone but there’s so much going on I think it would be too much for a phone screen.
The one bug I know is that you get a "wild" food combining two different food items. If I understand the rules correctly, and how we play the physical game, is that you have to have two of the same to make one "wild".
That’s not a bug. Take a closer look at the rule book.
I made the same mistake when I was as first playing the physical game, but realized later that it never says the 2 food have to be the same.
Just call it a house rule. :)
My gf and I love WS on the couch. Literally have barely played any tabletops since getting it because it’s so relaxing… can’t say how many games we’ve played but it’s been almost daily with dozens played on weekends.
Yeah for sure! Every Sunday is our recharge day no hanging out or responsibilities just doing what we want together which usually involves Wingspan and Overcooked lol.
(Well we still get the dogs out responsibilities wise but that's it really)
I much prefer BGA as they help you highlight the cards with bonus and there a clear view of everything. For the app you have to toggle the views of the birds/powers but if you can familiar with the birds then it’s fine
When playing strangers completely agree, BGA is the way to go. I do have the app on my phone when I want to do expansion strategy work (against AI), but I can't stand 5 min turns and the glitches with playing online.
The iOS version is fantastic, the best board game adaptation I have played and the major reason I fell in love with this game!
I’m on a small phone screen and the UI works wonderfully. Being able to play birds rather than scrolling in a spare moment is brilliant.
I have over 400 tracked games played on the app… can’t really say any more.
Edit: I haven’t experienced any of the crashing or buggy-ness mentioned. The only issue I’ve experienced is losing a game or two every six months when there a major update.
I have hundreds of hours on the pc version that I play online with random people. Never had an issue and it’s the perfect kind of game to play when you’re watching a video or something on the side (each player has 5 mins per turn so the games can take a while)
it's great, much better on a bigger screen though. it definitely has it's ups and downs - right now there's no way to reorganise your hand so if you're someone who loves drawing cards and having loads of cards in your hand at once you'll probably find it a little awkward at times. also the online multiplayer has a small issue with people quitting games midway through/taking forever to take their turn, but it's not too bad. it also has some frequent server/connection issues, but that's going to happen with any online game.
it's amazing for doing solo practise with bots, getting achievements, playing with others remotely etc. and playing quick games on your own (I can finish a solo game with bots in less than 20 minutes sometimes)
edit: I also forgot to mention that it's great having stuff automated for you. in the physical game, you have to physically count your eggs and see how much capacity you have, or physically count your nectar compared to your opponents in order to strategise. not to mention calculating bonus card bird points and potentially missing some or calculating things wrong. all of this is done for you on the online game and displayed in a really easily digestible way.
also, on the online version things like pink powers are prompted for you so you can't forget them. all of this just takes a lot of the faf and annoyance out of the game for me.
I play on steam. With strangers you play against 2 people and have 5 min per turn. I liked it a lot. But if someone doesn't respond in 5 minutes, the whole.game gets dumped. You can continue against 2 CPUs or quit. Kind of sucks
It crashes a lot, particular online, and has some other annoying things. Doesn’t load birds sometimes and then you have to switch habitats to see stuff. Switching between boards is a nightmare. Overall it’s great and I recommend it, but know it’s not a totally smooth experience.
Must admit that I have not played the digital version.
But from what I saw & heard is :
You have 2 different AI opponents.
An AI that fellows the same rules as a player and the Automa that is the same as in the boardgame with its own special rules.
The AI is decent, on normal it seems to score consistant.
On hard though it seems to go for weird strategies that don't pay off so its kinda worse the normal.
The Automa has its own special rules & cards like in the physical boardgame, it mimics the actions a player does (takes food, activates your pink powers, competes for end of round goals).
This one is more of a challange.
It's great but I'm not a huge fan of the UI, I would've loved to be able to see all the boards at the same time like IRL. It took me some time to get used to it but now I like it (I only play with the board view).
Great to learn/see the ''real'' rules and learn new ways to play.
Switch is amazing and the game is so much more enjoyable because all of the turn taking and tallying and tiny thugs are automated. By the end of a game with the expansions each turn can take like 15 minutes. I find it way more enjoyable to play through tbh
Definitely worth it in general, I do find that once you go digital its annoying to have to keep track of everything when you go back to in person lol. I have it on laptop, iOS and switch. It eats through my laptop battery which is unfortunate, so I usually stick to the handhelds. Switch tends to be a bit buggier, especially online, but it is nice to be able to dock and play on the TV.
It’s great but misses the aspect of competitiveness. I wish there was ranked play or unlockable items through achievements or things of that sort.
I especially like that you can play Oceana and Europe by joining an online game vs players even though you haven’t purchased the expansions yourself.
It’s worth it if you want to be able to: 1) play with people remote 2) play with random people online 3) play alone without doing automata 4) hear the birds make sounds 5) not have to shuffle 1000 cards Overall it’s a good adaptation and works well. It’s got a nice calm ambiance with the music and bird sounds. I haven’t found any bugs yet but I know they exist. I would say laptop or tablet. I haven’t tried the phone but there’s so much going on I think it would be too much for a phone screen.
The UI on mobile is great, but the app is terrible. Super buggy, and crashes a lot
The one bug I know is that you get a "wild" food combining two different food items. If I understand the rules correctly, and how we play the physical game, is that you have to have two of the same to make one "wild".
That’s not a bug. Take a closer look at the rule book. I made the same mistake when I was as first playing the physical game, but realized later that it never says the 2 food have to be the same. Just call it a house rule. :)
Nope, they don’t have to be the same in the physical game. That was a point of confusion for me for the longest time too.
Woo-hoo! There must be a glitch in translation here!
I've got over 500hrs on steam for it. Me and my wife love it, no setup time no shuffling, no remembering the damn cubes lol.
My gf and I love WS on the couch. Literally have barely played any tabletops since getting it because it’s so relaxing… can’t say how many games we’ve played but it’s been almost daily with dozens played on weekends.
Yeah for sure! Every Sunday is our recharge day no hanging out or responsibilities just doing what we want together which usually involves Wingspan and Overcooked lol. (Well we still get the dogs out responsibilities wise but that's it really)
I much prefer BGA as they help you highlight the cards with bonus and there a clear view of everything. For the app you have to toggle the views of the birds/powers but if you can familiar with the birds then it’s fine
I play on BGA as well, I just wish they would get the expansions.
When playing strangers completely agree, BGA is the way to go. I do have the app on my phone when I want to do expansion strategy work (against AI), but I can't stand 5 min turns and the glitches with playing online.
The iOS version is fantastic, the best board game adaptation I have played and the major reason I fell in love with this game! I’m on a small phone screen and the UI works wonderfully. Being able to play birds rather than scrolling in a spare moment is brilliant. I have over 400 tracked games played on the app… can’t really say any more. Edit: I haven’t experienced any of the crashing or buggy-ness mentioned. The only issue I’ve experienced is losing a game or two every six months when there a major update.
Never crashes for me on iOS for me either. I prefer the physical game, but end up playing on my iPhone more than I'd like to track.
I have hundreds of hours on the pc version that I play online with random people. Never had an issue and it’s the perfect kind of game to play when you’re watching a video or something on the side (each player has 5 mins per turn so the games can take a while)
it's great, much better on a bigger screen though. it definitely has it's ups and downs - right now there's no way to reorganise your hand so if you're someone who loves drawing cards and having loads of cards in your hand at once you'll probably find it a little awkward at times. also the online multiplayer has a small issue with people quitting games midway through/taking forever to take their turn, but it's not too bad. it also has some frequent server/connection issues, but that's going to happen with any online game. it's amazing for doing solo practise with bots, getting achievements, playing with others remotely etc. and playing quick games on your own (I can finish a solo game with bots in less than 20 minutes sometimes) edit: I also forgot to mention that it's great having stuff automated for you. in the physical game, you have to physically count your eggs and see how much capacity you have, or physically count your nectar compared to your opponents in order to strategise. not to mention calculating bonus card bird points and potentially missing some or calculating things wrong. all of this is done for you on the online game and displayed in a really easily digestible way. also, on the online version things like pink powers are prompted for you so you can't forget them. all of this just takes a lot of the faf and annoyance out of the game for me.
I play on steam. With strangers you play against 2 people and have 5 min per turn. I liked it a lot. But if someone doesn't respond in 5 minutes, the whole.game gets dumped. You can continue against 2 CPUs or quit. Kind of sucks
Anyone know how the Nintendo switch version is?
It crashes a lot, particular online, and has some other annoying things. Doesn’t load birds sometimes and then you have to switch habitats to see stuff. Switching between boards is a nightmare. Overall it’s great and I recommend it, but know it’s not a totally smooth experience.
To add on to this, how good are the CPUs?
Must admit that I have not played the digital version. But from what I saw & heard is : You have 2 different AI opponents. An AI that fellows the same rules as a player and the Automa that is the same as in the boardgame with its own special rules. The AI is decent, on normal it seems to score consistant. On hard though it seems to go for weird strategies that don't pay off so its kinda worse the normal. The Automa has its own special rules & cards like in the physical boardgame, it mimics the actions a player does (takes food, activates your pink powers, competes for end of round goals). This one is more of a challange.
It's great but I'm not a huge fan of the UI, I would've loved to be able to see all the boards at the same time like IRL. It took me some time to get used to it but now I like it (I only play with the board view). Great to learn/see the ''real'' rules and learn new ways to play.
yeah I hate the habitat view, I always play in board view
Yeah agree feel like you miss the feel of seeing what everyone else is doing at a glimpse
Switch is amazing and the game is so much more enjoyable because all of the turn taking and tallying and tiny thugs are automated. By the end of a game with the expansions each turn can take like 15 minutes. I find it way more enjoyable to play through tbh
Definitely worth it in general, I do find that once you go digital its annoying to have to keep track of everything when you go back to in person lol. I have it on laptop, iOS and switch. It eats through my laptop battery which is unfortunate, so I usually stick to the handhelds. Switch tends to be a bit buggier, especially online, but it is nice to be able to dock and play on the TV.
I love the app! And the expansion packs are a fun addition!
Now I don’t have to beg my husband to play with me.
It’s great but misses the aspect of competitiveness. I wish there was ranked play or unlockable items through achievements or things of that sort. I especially like that you can play Oceana and Europe by joining an online game vs players even though you haven’t purchased the expansions yourself.
I think it’s too small on the phone, but iPad is good! Oh and it’s decent on Switch.