Discover the Rules for Wingspan: European Expansion

Hey there! I’m here to introduce you to the exciting world of Wingspan: European Expansion. This incredible board game is gaining popularity, and it’s not hard to see why. With stunning artwork, immersive gameplay, and a plethora of bird species to discover, Wingspan: European Expansion is a must-have addition to any game collection.

So, what’s the deal with this expansion? Well, in Wingspan: European Expansion, you get to explore the diverse bird population of Europe. This means encountering beautiful birds like the adaptable European starling, the majestic white stork, and the rare and elusive hoopoe. With new challenges and exciting features, this expansion takes your Wingspan experience to a whole new level.

One of the key components of this expansion is the new bird cards. These cards introduce 95 unique bird species, each with their own special abilities and powers. From the powerful Merlin falcon to the agile Eurasian dipper, each bird offers a unique strategy and gameplay experience. With such a wide variety to choose from, you’ll never tire of discovering new avian wonders.

In addition to the new bird cards, Wingspan: European Expansion also features new goal tiles, bonus cards, and end-of-round goals. These additions add a new layer of depth and complexity to the game, ensuring that every playthrough is fresh and exciting. Whether you’re a seasoned Wingspan player or new to the game, this expansion will keep you on your toes.

One aspect of Wingspan: European Expansion that sets it apart is the attention to detail. The game designers have done their research, ensuring that each bird species is represented accurately and authentically. This level of detail adds a touch of realism to the game, making you feel like a true bird enthusiast as you explore the diverse habitats of Europe.

Are you ready to take flight with Wingspan: European Expansion? Whether you’re a bird lover or a strategy game enthusiast, this expansion offers something for everyone. So gather your friends, set up your game board, and prepare for an unforgettable gaming experience. Happy birdwatching!

• 81 bird cards
• 1 scorepad
• 5 bonus cards
• 38 food tokens
• 15 egg miniatures
• 4 Automa cards
• 1 reference tile
• 1 custom tray with lid
• Rulebook

Let’s Get Started

Hey there! So, you want to dive into the fascinating world of Wingspan, huh? Well, I’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know to get started with this amazing expansion pack!

A Few Changes

Before we begin, there’s just one small tweak we need to make to the setup. You see, we want to make sure you have the best experience possible, so we recommend using the green side of the goal mat with this expansion. The blue side is great, but some of the new goals work better with the green side. Easy enough, right?

Now, Let’s Set the Stage

Alright, let’s get all these new cards and tokens mixed in with the original ones. Grab those expansion bird cards and shuffle them up with all the other bird cards you already have. Do the same thing with the bonus cards — they’re designed to still work with the same percentages even with the expansion. And don’t forget to mix in those additional eggs, food, and end-of-round goals with their respective tokens.

And that’s it! Once you’ve completed these setup changes, you’re ready to embark on an incredible journey through the world of Wingspan. So grab your binoculars, put on your bird-watching hat, and get ready for an adventure like no other!

Hey there! Just a quick reminder: make sure to keep your action cubes in the same row until the end-of-round scoring. Those cubes actually play a role in some of the cool powers in this expansion.

Behold the Bird Powers

Get ready for a brand new set of powers that kick in at the end of every round. Talk about adding some excitement!

Round End (Teal):

Once all the turns in a round are finished, we resolve these special abilities before scoring points for that round.

• We resolve them in the order in which players took their turns, starting with the player who went first.
• If you have multiple birds with round end powers, you can choose the order in which you resolve their abilities.
• Round end powers don’t activate only once; they can be used multiple times.

Some birds have an * as their cost. This means they have an alternate cost described in the card’s text (see Hunting and Fishing Powers).

Hey there! I want to tell you about some exciting new bonus cards that have been added to the original game. These cards feature terms from new birds, making the game even more interesting and diverse. Let me introduce them to you:

Cartographer

Anatomist

Photographer

End-of-round Goals

Name	Description
Food in supply	The number of food tokens in your personal supply
Birds cards in hand	The number of bird cards in your hand
Birds worth over 4 points	The number of your played birds with a printed value over 4 points
Birds with no eggs	The number of your played birds that have no eggs on them when this goal is scored
Birds in 1 row	The number of your played birds in the habitat that has the most birds in it
Filled columns	The number of columns in which all three bird spaces are filled
Brown powers	The number of your played birds that have brown “when activated’ powers on them
White & No Powers	The number of your played birds that have either no power, or a “when played” power
Birds with tucked cards	The number of your played birds that have at least 1 card tucked behind them
Food cost of played birds	Count the food cost on your birds, remembering to count only 1 food for birds that have a choice in their food cost

The Incredible Powers of Birds

All About Food

Meet the Parrot Crossbill

• When I Activate My Power: I can take away any 1 from the birdfeeder. Then, I get 1 from the supply.
• No matter which food die I remove from the birdfeeder, I always get a as my reward.

Introducing the European Honey Buzzard

• Resetting the Birdfeeder: When you reset the birdfeeder at the end of a round, all the food in it is replenished. So, if you choose to reset, you’ll get all the food back.
• If the specific type of food you want isn’t in the birdfeeder after resetting, you won’t gain anything.

Hawfinch, Bullfinch, European Bee-eater

When you activate this ability, the birdfeeder will be reset. If you choose to reset it, you will gain 1 from the birdfeeder. However, if the specified food type is not in the birdfeeder after the reset, you will not gain anything.

Black-headed Gull

When you activate this ability, you are able to steal 1 from another player’s supply and add it to your own supply. As a result, the other player will gain 1 from the birdfeeder. It’s important to note that the food that the other player gains does not have to be the same type that you steal.

Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Jay, Red-backed Shrike, Little Owl

• When I activate this bird: I steal 1 from another player’s supply and keep it on this bird. The other player gains 1 from the birdfeeder.
• The type of food that the other player gains doesn’t have to match the type I steal.

European Robin

• When I activate this bird: I gain 1 food of a type that I’ve already gained this turn from the supply.
• This can be a food that I gained from the birdfeeder through the base “gain food” action, or a food that I gained by activating another bird in this row.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Eurasian Golden Oriole

• Once Between Turns: Whenever another player takes the “gain food” action, you’ll get an extra food from the birdfeeder at the end of their turn.
• If all the dice in the birdfeeder show the same face, you have the option to refresh it and then collect the [specific food type]. However, if the birdfeeder doesn’t have any of the [specific food type], you won’t get anything.

White-backed Woodpecker

• When Activated: You can acquire 1 from the birdfeeder.
• If there is only one face showing in the birdfeeder, you have the choice to reset it and then claim the .

Black Woodpecker

• When you use it: You get all the food that’s in the birdfeeder.
• You only get the food once you’ve collected all the food that’s displayed. If the birdfeeder becomes empty and resets because of this, you don’t get extra food after it resets.

The Fascinating Great Tit

• When you activate it: Press the reset button on the birdfeeder. If you do, you will receive 1 food from the birdfeeder after resetting.

Griffon Vulture, Carrion Crow

• At the end of the round: Choose any player, including yourself. Collect 1 food from the supply and store it on this bird for each bird that player has.

Coal Tit, Eurasian Nuthatch

• When you activate it: Collect 1 food from the supply and store it on this card. At any time, you can use the food stored on this card.

When playing the game Wingspan with the European Expansion, it’s important to note that these birds don’t count as part of your supply for end-of-round goals. However, you can still use them to play more birds.

Eurasian Magpie

• Round End: You have the power to choose 1 other player. For each cube on their , you can cache 1 from the supply onto any of your birds.
• You can utilize these powers to store food on birds that don’t have caching abilities.

Eurasian Nutcracker

When I activate a certain power in Wingspan, I get to choose one to five birds from my Cache 1 in my supply. This power allows me to store food on birds that don’t have the ability to store food on their own. It’s a great way to make use of all the birds in my collection.

Another power I have is the ability to choose a food type and all players gain one of that food from the supply. This can come in handy when I need a specific type of food and want to make sure everyone else gets some too.

Now let’s talk about egg-laying powers. One bird with this power is the Dunnock. At the end of each round, I get to choose another player. For each action cube on their birdfeeder, I can lay one egg on my Dunnock. It’s a clever way to get more eggs and increase my options for future turns.

Another bird with an egg-laying power is Thekla’s Lark. This bird allows me to lay one egg on it whenever I activate a certain power. It’s a simple and efficient way to grow my bird population and gain an advantage in the game.

When you activate this ability: Get rid of one from your resources. If you do, place two on this bird.

The Common Goldeneye

• At the end of the round: Place one on this bird for each other bird of yours that is worth one point or more.
• nests can be counted as for this bird.

The Common Cuckoo

Once it’s my turn, I do this cool thing where I lay an egg on another bird if they have a nest that looks like this: or this: . It’s a sneaky way to get more eggs on the board. Plus, my eggs count as both the and the for that bird, so it’s like a double bonus!

Now, let me tell you about the Lesser Whitethroat and the Black Redstart. At the end of the round, I get to pick a habitat that doesn’t have any eggs on it. Then, I lay one egg on every bird in that habitat. It’s a great way to spread some love and give those birds a little boost!

Oh, and I can’t forget the Red-legged Partridge. This one’s pretty neat. When it’s time for me to take my turn, I get to choose a habitat that doesn’t have any eggs. And guess what? I lay one egg on each bird in that habitat. It’s like an egg party!



• Once you activate me: Place one of me on each bird in this column, including me.

The Amazing Falcon

If you activate me: Roll all the dice that are not in the birdfeeder. If any of them show a , place one on this card.



Card-drawing Powers

Black-throated Diver, White-throated Dipper, White Stork

• When I activate my powers: I discard any remaining face-up cards and replace them with new ones. If I do this, I get to draw 1 of the new face-up cards.

Squacco Heron, Common Little Bittern

• When I activate my powers: I get to draw 1 face-up card that can live in a specific habitat.
• If there isn’t a card available that matches the habitat, I don’t get to gain anything.

Savi’s Warbler

• When I activate my powers: I get to draw 2 cards. All the other players only get to draw 1 card from the deck.
• I can choose to draw either face-up cards or cards from the deck like normal. But the other players can only draw their card from the deck.

Great Crested Grebe, Wilson’s Storm-petrel



• When I Activate it: I draw 1 card for each empty card slot in this row. At the end of my turn, I keep 1 card and discard the rest.
• These cards should be kept separate from the other cards I draw and my bird cards in hand. I cannot spend them during this turn. But to keep the game moving, I can sort through them at the end of my turn and let the next player start their turn.

Flocking Powers

Common Chaffinch, Common Chiffchaff



• When Activated: I can choose 1-5 birds in this habitat and tuck 1 card from my hand behind each of them.
• This power allows me to tuck cards behind birds that don’t normally have this ability.

Mute Swan

• When Activated: I can choose 1-3 birds in my and tuck 1 card from my hand behind each of them. If I do, I draw 1 card.
• This power allows me to tuck cards behind birds that don’t normally have this ability. However, I only draw 1 card regardless of how many cards I tuck.

Ruff

After the round ends: I will put away 3 cards from my hand. I will then draw 1 card for each card I put away.

Hooded Crow, Greater Flamingo

• After the round ends: I will choose 1 other player. For each action cube on their [specific habitat], I will put away 1 card from my hand behind this bird, and then draw the same number of cards.
• I can put away as many cards as there are action cubes.

Audouin’s Gull



When you use it: Grab 2 cards from the deck. Put 1 card behind this bird and keep the other one.

Common Swift, House Sparrow, Common Starling, Eurasian Collared-dove



Round End: When the round ends, I can discard up to 5 food cards of any type from my supply. For each card I discard, I will tuck 1 card from the deck behind this bird.

European Goldfinch

Once Between Turns: During another player’s turn, if they tuck a card for any reason, I will tuck 1 card from the deck behind this bird.

Snow Bunting

Once Between Turns: During another player’s turn, if they tuck a card for any reason, I will tuck 1 card from my hand behind this bird. Then, at the end of their turn, I will draw 1 card.

Hunting and Fishing Powers

Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Northern Goshawk, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle

When you play this card, you have the option of paying 1 food from your hand for each egg symbol in its cost. If you choose to do so, the paid food cards are tucked behind this card.

If these birds use their ability to tuck cards instead of paying the bird’s food cost, it is considered both tucking a card and a successful predator action. This will trigger birds with pink powers accordingly.

As for the Common Buzzard, Red Kite, Eurasian Hobby, and Montagu’s Harrier, when you play them, you have the choice to play them on top of another bird on your player mat instead of paying their cost. Any eggs on the bird will be discarded, and it will become a tucked card.

If you use this power, you won’t have to pay for the food or eggs of these birds. It’s like tucking a card and winning as a predator all at once. So, birds with pink powers will be triggered.

Let’s take a look at the Northern Gannet. When you activate it, roll all the dice that are not in the birdfeeder. If any of the dice show a fish symbol, you get that many fish tokens from the supply and keep them on this bird.



Other Bird Powers

Long-tailed Tit, European Roller, Common Blackbird, Grey Heron

When you place these birds on the board, lay them sideways to cover two habitat spaces. This way, you only need to pay the lower egg cost.

Although these birds are treated as a single bird for round-end goals that count birds, they effectively count as two birds since both spaces are filled. This means they can contribute twice towards completing a column for round-end goals that require it.

Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Greylag Goose, Cetti’s Warbler

• Round End: If any of these birds qualify for an end-of-round goal, they count as two birds instead of one.
• This doubling effect only applies to end-of-round goals and does not affect bonus cards or end-of-game points. Additionally, any eggs on these cards do not count as double if the goal is to count the number of eggs.

Common Moorhen, Goldcrest, Short-toed Treecreeper

If any of these birds qualify for an end-of-round goal, they count as double towards that goal.

Just like the previous group of birds, this doubling effect only applies to end-of-round goals and has no impact on bonus cards or end-of-game points. Additionally, the number of eggs on these cards is not doubled when the goal involves counting the number of eggs.

When I Activate:

I have to discard 1 card from my [habitat] and play another bird by paying its normal cost in food and eggs.

If the additional bird has a special power that triggers “when played,” that power is activated immediately.

For the Yellowhammer, Moltoni’s Warbler, and White Wagtail:

• At the End of the Round: If I have used all 4 of my actions for that round, I can play another bird. I have to pay its normal cost in food and eggs.
• If the additional bird has a special power that triggers “when played,” that power is activated immediately. If the extra bird has a power that activates “at the end of the round,” that power is also triggered when the bird is played.

Red Knot and Black-tailed Godwit: Fascinating Migratory Birds

Hey there, nature enthusiast! Today, I want to introduce you to two truly remarkable birds: the Red Knot and the Black-tailed Godwit. These feathered travelers embark on extraordinary journeys across the globe, making them a sight to behold. So, let’s dive in and learn more about these captivating creatures!

Now, when it comes to migration, these birds are genuine experts. They possess an innate ability to navigate vast distances, relying on nature’s compass to guide their way. It’s truly awe-inspiring how they manage to find their destinations, no matter how far away or perelling the journey may be.

First, let’s talk about the Red Knot. This little bird is known for its red plumage and sharp beak. During migration, it covers a staggering distance of thousands of miles, often traveling from the Arctic regions all the way down to the southern tip of South America. It’s an incredible feat for such a small creature!

Next up, we have the Black-tailed Godwit. As the name suggests, this bird has a long, black tail, making it quite distinctive. Its migratory pattern is just as impressive as the Red Knot’s. These Godwits fly from Europe to West Africa, across the vast Sahara Desert. Imagine traversing such a challenging terrain!

Now, you may be wondering why these birds go through all this trouble. Well, my friend, it’s all about survival. These migratory journeys are crucial for their survival and success as a species. During their long trips, they find ample sources of food and shelter, ensuring their well-being and enabling them to reproduce.

But here’s the sad truth: these extraordinary birds are facing numerous challenges in their journey. Pollution, habitat loss, and climate change are threatening their very existence. This calls for our immediate attention and action to protect their habitats and foster an environment where they can thrive.

In conclusion, the Red Knot and Black-tailed Godwit are truly remarkable birds that showcase the wonders of nature. Their extraordinary migratory journeys demonstrate their resilience and resourcefulness. However, it’s our responsibility to ensure their continued presence on this planet. So, let’s appreciate and protect these avian travelers and marvel at their incredible journeys together!



When you play this card: Draw one new bonus card. After that, draw three cards and choose one to keep.

Meet the Corsican Nuthatch



When I play this card, I get to draw one new bonus card and then I gain one card from the birdfeeder.

Before I do the second part of these actions, I have the option to look at the bonus card that I drew.

Now, let’s talk about the Snowy Owl and the Little Bustard.

When I play these birds, I get to draw one new bonus card and then I have a choice. I can either gain one card with the symbol or I can lay one card on this bird or any other bird.

Similarly to the previous card, I can look at the bonus card that I drew before doing the second part of these actions.

Let’s move on to the European Turtle Dove.

When I play this bird, I get to draw one new bonus card and then I have the option to either gain one card with the symbol or lay one card with the symbol on this bird or any other bird.

Just like the previous cards, I can look at the bonus card I drew before doing the second part of these actions.

When I play this game, there are a few things that happen that really help me out. First, I get to draw a new bonus card. It’s always exciting to see what kind of special power or advantage it will give me. Then, I get to take a seed from the birdfeeder. It’s like I’m picking up food for my feathered friends. But here’s the neat part – I can also choose to lay an egg on one of my birds. It’s like I’m helping them to grow and thrive. If I don’t want to do any of those things, I can just draw another card instead. Sometimes I like to take a peek at the bonus card I drew before I make my next move. It helps me plan my strategy and make the best choices.



Rules for Expanding Automa

Created by David Studley.

All the rules for Automa in the Wingspan rulebook still apply, unless I specifically mention otherwise.

These are two bonus cards that only Automa can use, which are included in this expansion. Instead of randomly picking a bonus card from the deck for Automa during setup, you can choose one of these cards for Automa to use.

Just a heads up: when using these bonus cards for Automa, the Automubon Society card has a bigger impact on scoring.

It’s a good idea to wait until you’re ready for a bigger challenge before using the Automubon Society card with these bonus cards.

There are two new end-of-round goal scoring cards that come with this expansion. These cards set the base values for Automa when scoring the new goal tiles in the expansion.

Getting Stealing Powers – Some of the bird powers give you the ability to “steal” from another player. When you use this type of power, you can only take cubes from the Automa if it has any cubes on the current round’s goal tile (don’t remove any of the cubes).

If the Automa doesn’t have any cubes on the goal tile, you don’t gain anything from using the power. Whatever you gain comes from the supply, and the Automa doesn’t gain anything.

Using Teal Powers – When a round ends power asks you to choose “1 other player” or “any 1 player (including yourself)”, the Automa has the same number of items as the number of Automa cubes on the current round goal tile.