Wyrmspan Board Game Review – Dragons Done Right

As an avid board gamer who has played loads of titles across many genres, I’m always intrigued (and a little cautious) when a designer takes an award-winning formula and reimagines it in a new thematic space. Wyrmspan, Stonemaier Games’ latest release, is the spiritual sibling of Wingspan, a game that captivated the hobby world with its elegant mechanics and gorgeous production.

The question many players had was: could lightning strike twice? After several plays of Wyrmspan, my answer is an emphatic yes. This isn’t just Wingspan with dragons. It is a thoughtfully designed, thematically immersive, and mechanically rich experience that stands on its own while also paying homage to its predecessor.

Starting the Game and Your First Turns

Pulling Wyrmspan out of the box for the first time can feel a little overwhelming, but setup is straightforward once you get the hang of it. The Dragon Guild board goes in the center of the table, acting as a hub for round goals and shared bonuses. The dragon deck is shuffled and a few face-up dragons are revealed to tempt players. Round goal tiles are placed on the guild board, giving each game its unique objectives. Resource tokens such as meat, gold, and stone are set within reach.

Each player gets a sanctuary board, a starting hand of dragon cards, a couple of cave cards ready to excavate, and a few initial resources. Action markers are placed nearby to track the turns you will get each round. At this point, it feels like you are standing at the entrance of a cavern, tools in hand, ready to see which dragons might call it home.

The first moments of the game are all about laying the foundation. On your turn, you have several meaningful options.

• Excavate a Cave
  Before most dragons can settle, you need a home for them. Excavating a cave adds new spaces to your sanctuary and determines how dragons can be placed. Placement matters because some dragons have abilities that trigger based on adjacency or cave type.
• Attract a Dragon
  Playing a dragon into your sanctuary is the heart of the game. Pay its resource cost and place it in a suitable cave. Dragons give points, provide ongoing abilities, and can create combos with other dragons. Timing is key to maximize their impact.
• Gain Resources
  Sometimes it is smarter to collect resources rather than play a dragon. Meat, gold, and stone prepare you for future turns, especially if you are aiming to bring in high-cost or combo-heavy dragons.
• Visit the Dragon Guild
  The Dragon Guild board offers powerful bonuses and abilities, but spots are limited. Choosing when to engage with the guild adds tension and strategy. Sometimes early action pays off, other times waiting until your sanctuary is more developed is the better move.
• Trigger Dragon Abilities
  Some dragons have powers that activate on your turn. Using these abilities strategically can set up chains, generate resources, or score points. Timing these activations can create satisfying combos and make each turn feel impactful.

Early turns often feel methodical as you excavate caves and gather resources, but by the end of the first round, your sanctuary begins to take shape. A few dragons will be perched in their caves, abilities start to trigger, and you get the first glimpse of the engine-building potential that makes Wyrmspan so rewarding. From the moment you start, every choice feels meaningful, and the game quickly draws you into its magical, dragon-filled world.

Theme and Presentation

First, let’s talk about theme. In Wyrmspan, players are dragonologists working to entice a variety of dragons to inhabit their sanctuaries. The idea is whimsical yet strangely grounded: each dragon has traits, habitats, and lore that feel simultaneously fantastical and plausible. Instead of merely reskinning birds into dragons, the design team invested in creating a coherent world. The dragons aren’t generic, each one has unique art and flavor text, giving you the sense that you’re uncovering the field notes of a long-lost bestiary.

The artwork is absolutely stunning. Dragons soar, coil, and sprawl across the oversized cards with vibrant, painterly detail. Every card feels like a collectible piece of fantasy art. The production quality, including linen-finished cards, sturdy player mats, thematic tokens, and clever storage, is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Stonemaier. This is a game that draws people to the table before you even explain the rules.

Gameplay and Mechanics

At its core, Wyrmspan is an engine-building game. Much like Wingspan, you’re adding cards (dragons) to your personal tableau, and each addition not only provides points but also enhances the actions you can take. However, the designers made some critical tweaks that give Wyrmspan its own identity.

The habitat system, for example, is more interactive and dynamic. Instead of birds fitting neatly into forest, grassland, or wetland, dragons have preferences for different types of caves. As you excavate and build your sanctuary, you must carefully plan where each dragon will thrive. The spatial element adds an extra layer of strategic tension. You are not just collecting powerful cards, you are curating the layout of your sanctuary for maximum efficiency.

One of the standout innovations in Wyrmspan is the Dragon Guild, a shared board that evolves as the game progresses. The guild offers special abilities, rewards, and opportunities for players to gain extra benefits by aligning with it. Visiting the guild at the right moment can be the difference between a decent round and a great one, and it creates more direct interaction between players. Do you race to claim a guild bonus before your opponent, or do you delay in hopes of setting up a bigger payoff later? That tension keeps the decision space fresh and engaging.

The end-of-round system also feels more deliberate here than in Wingspan. Instead of rounds simply acting as natural checkpoints, they become strategic pivot points. Each round has specific goals tied to dragons, habitats, or resources, and players compete to fulfill these objectives. The fact that these goals change from round to round forces you to adapt, sometimes focusing on big, dramatic plays, and other times on efficient incremental gains. It keeps you from falling into a predictable routine and pushes variety in how you approach your sanctuary.

Scoring in Wyrmspan is both familiar and satisfying. Points come from multiple sources: the dragons themselves (with rarer species worth more), completed guild or round objectives, your sanctuary layout, and sometimes from clever use of ongoing dragon abilities. This mix ensures that there isn’t a single dominant path to victory. You can pursue a high-cost strategy of enticing legendary dragons, or you can lean into synergistic smaller dragons that trigger chains of abilities. Importantly, the scoring feels balanced. When the game ends, you can usually trace your final score back to a series of meaningful decisions rather than a runaway leader situation.

Another highlight is the way dragons interact with one another. Many dragons have abilities that trigger based on adjacency or specific cave conditions, creating satisfying combos. There is also more push-and-pull in the timing of when you add dragons versus when you trigger abilities. This makes the game feel slightly more tactical than Wingspan, which leaned more into long-term planning.

Accessibility and Replayability

One of the greatest strengths of Wyrmspan is how it manages to be both approachable and deep. The rules are streamlined, especially for players familiar with Wingspan. Yet even new players can grasp the basics within a single play. The iconography is intuitive, and the player aids are well designed.

Replayability is excellent. The sheer variety of dragon cards ensures that no two games feel alike. Some games will push you toward aggressive point-scoring with powerful, high-cost dragons. Others will reward efficiency and careful engine-building with smaller, quirky species. There are multiple viable strategies, and discovering new synergies feels consistently rewarding.

The game also scales beautifully. I’ve enjoyed it with two players, where it feels more like a duel of wits, and with four players, where the competition for dragons and cave spaces creates lively interaction. Solo mode is thoughtfully implemented as well, continuing Stonemaier’s tradition of excellent AI opponents.

Something my wife did was buy replacements for the resources. although the base ones are amazing we ended up getting solid metal resources which are something different, we are starting to slow down our buying of games instead buying upgrades & this one was a no brainer.

Player Experience

What makes Wyrmspan truly shine is the feeling it creates during play. You start with a humble cave and a couple of dragons, but by the end, you’ve built a thriving, magical ecosystem. Watching your sanctuary come alive with fiery, icy, and mystical creatures is deeply satisfying, both mechanically and emotionally.

The game also encourages creativity and storytelling. Around my table, we often found ourselves narrating why a particular dragon favored a certain cave or how two dragons’ abilities complemented each other. This emergent narrative quality elevates Wyrmspan beyond a purely mechanical experience into something memorable and personal.

Something we have found though is the game says its about 40-60 minuets but with conversation and thinking we have found our games getting into the hours long, but we love every moment of game time.

Expansion; The Dragon Academy

Some while writing this review and getting assets for the article, I came across a new expansion I have never seen. I immediately sent it to my wife to show her and her response was “I feel like we haven’t got through the OG dragons yet”. Which in fairness i too feel that way, But we will still be 100% getting this expansion.

So I may have a review out for that sometime probably after Christmas 2025….

Final Thoughts

Wyrmspan is a masterclass in thematic integration, component quality, and elegant design. It manages to honor the foundation of Wingspan while establishing its own distinct identity through clever mechanics and immersive worldbuilding. Every playthrough feels like an adventure, and I’ve already found myself eager to explore its depths again and again.

Whether you’re a fan of Wingspan, a lover of fantasy settings, or simply someone who enjoys strategic yet accessible board games, Wyrmspan deserves a spot in your collection. It is both a visual showpiece and a deeply rewarding game to play.

In short: Wyrmspan isn’t just a worthy follow-up, it is a soaring success all its own. A true 5-star experience.