Wyrmspan – Wingspan's Dragon-Collecting Spiritual Successor
Excavate hidden caverns, entice dragons of every shape and size, and build the most impressive sanctuary in the sky — Stonemaier Games' record-breaking follow-up to Wingspan.
📋 Game Details
Wyrmspan is a standalone engine-building board game designed by Connie Vogelmann, developed by Elizabeth Hargrave (the original designer of Wingspan), and published by Stonemaier Games in 2024. You play an amateur dracologist who has unearthed a hidden network of caverns, and your task is to excavate that labyrinth and entice dragons of every shape, size, and cultural origin to roost in the sanctuary you're building.
Wyrmspan was conceived when Stonemaier Games founder Jamey Stegmaier approached Vogelmann — designer of the acclaimed Apiary — to build a "spiritual successor" to Wingspan. The result keeps the collect-cards-and-build-an-engine core that made Wingspan a hit, while adding a genuinely new layer: before you can entice a dragon into a cave space, you first have to excavate that space by playing a cave card, each with its own "when played" bonus effect.
Elizabeth Hargrave, brought on specifically to preserve Wingspan's engaging feel while introducing fresh mechanics, worked closely with Vogelmann to refine the resource production and cave-mat interactions for thematic coherence. The result launched to widespread acclaim and became the best-selling single day of any Stonemaier release in the company's history — a rare feat for a game not directly branded as a numbered Wingspan expansion.
What's in the Box
What Makes It Stand Out
Excavate Before You Entice
Unlike Wingspan's open tableau, every cave space must be dug out with a cave card before a dragon can move in — adding a genuine extra planning layer.
Hatchlings
Baby dragons introduce a fresh card type absent from Wingspan, with their own distinct role in building out your sanctuary.
Circular Dragon Guilds
Shared guild tracks reward players who commit to certain dragon types, adding a layer of light competition over the board.
Watercolor Dragon Art
Clémentine Campardou's illustrations span dragons inspired by cultures and folklore from around the world, paired with a dedicated lore fact book.
How Does It Play?
Across four rounds, players take turns performing one of three core actions: enticing a dragon from the shared central display onto an already-excavated cave space, excavating a new cave card to expand their cavern network, or exploring with an adventurer meeple to trigger a chain of abilities — tucking cards, caching resources, laying eggs, and advancing along the shared Dragon Guild tracks. Each dragon card you entice must land on a cave space that's already been dug out, meaning your excavation choices directly shape which dragons you're even able to attract later in the game.
At game end, points come from the dragon cards on your board, your position on the Dragon Guild, end-game abilities certain dragons unlock, completed public objectives, accumulated eggs, cached resources, tucked cards, and leftover coins in the right combinations. That layered scoring, combined with the added excavation step, makes Wyrmspan a noticeably heavier, longer experience than its inspiration — Stonemaier's own materials describe it as a "heavy weight" game compared to Wingspan's lighter, more approachable footprint.
The Automa solo mode carries over the same spirit as Wingspan's beloved bot opponent, simulating a full second player by flipping cards to reveal its actions, so the game holds up just as well solo as it does at a full table of five. Reviewers consistently describe Wyrmspan as everything Wingspan fans could want in a successor — familiar enough to feel like coming home, different enough to feel like a genuinely new game rather than a reskin.
Rating Breakdown
Pros & Cons
✅ What We Love
- The excavation-before-enticing mechanic adds genuine new strategic texture
- 183 gorgeously illustrated dragons drawn from cultures and folklore worldwide
- Developed directly by Wingspan's own designer to preserve its engaging feel
- Fully standalone — no need to own Wingspan to play
- Strong Automa solo mode for players without a regular group
- Included 32-page dragon fact book adds genuine lore and flavor
❌ What Could Be Better
- Noticeably heavier and longer than Wingspan — a real jump in complexity
- First few games can feel overwhelming while learning the excavation layer
- 90-minute average playtime is a bigger commitment than the original
- Higher recommended age (14+) than Wingspan's more family-friendly range
Who Is This Game For?
🎯 Perfect For:
- Wingspan fans ready for a heavier, more strategically layered experience
- Fans of dragons, fantasy themes, and engine-building strategy games
- Solo players who want a satisfying, content-rich Automa experience
- Groups who enjoy Stonemaier Games' consistently excellent production values
❌ Not Ideal For:
- Younger players or families wanting Wingspan's lighter, more accessible weight
- Groups seeking a quick, 45-minute filler game
- Complete newcomers to engine-building games — start with Wingspan first
🐉 Final Verdict
Wyrmspan proves that lightning can strike twice — it takes everything that made Wingspan a modern classic and rebuilds it around a fantasy dragon theme with genuine new mechanical depth, not just a reskin. The excavation layer adds real strategic weight, the artwork and dragon lore are gorgeous, and the record-breaking sales speak for themselves. It asks more of players than Wingspan did, both in complexity and playtime, but for anyone ready to dig deeper into the genre, Wyrmspan is one of the strongest engine-builders released in recent years.
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