Introduction

At its core Wingspan is an engine-building resource-management game. Your most limited resource is actions, as you are limited to only 26 (8+7+6+5) of these each game. So, generally speaking, you want to get the most out of every action. Play that brown-power bird before you take an action in its row so that you get more from the action. Play that pink-power bird as soon as possible so that it may be triggered more times. There are, of course, exceptions to this, e.g., if you need to move up in the rankings for an end-of-round goal.

Early Game

When the game starts, take the time to analyze each of the end-of-round goals, as they will heavily shape what to go for. Lots of egg goals? Investing more in the grasslands may be a good idea. Lots of bird goals? Investing more in the forest may be better. These are both oversimplifications, as, generally speaking, you will build birds in every habitat and take every action over the course of most games. There are many other important considerations:

• Three or four nest-specific goals means the wild-nest birds are stronger.
• Consider which nest goals exist and learn more on keeping and playing birds with that nest type.
• Location-based goals (eggs or birds in specific habitats) means the flighty birds (birds that move from one habitat to another) are stronger.
• With all of the above in mind, specific pink-power birds become stronger too, as opponents are forced to take these actions or forgo end-of-round goals.
• In 4-players games, weight the later goals more heavily since they are worth more points; there's nothing wrong with skipping the first goal or two if it means positioning yourself to win the last ones. In 2 or 3 players game, goals are equal, as the 2nd and the 3rd prizes grow at the same speed as the 1st.

You should think of the bonus cards as private end-of-game goals. Consider whether one of your bonus cards aligns with later end-of-round goals as that increases its value.

Cross reference the end-of-round goals and the above information with your hand and the birds in the tray. Ideally you want to plan out your first few turns. Some general principles:

• Brown- and pink-power birds are ideal in the early game, when there is more time to trigger their powers. More specifically, you want powers that generate additional cards, food, and eggs. With that in mind...
•• Cards: This is the most important resource. Having a good card engine lets you find the birds you actually want to play often while scoring tuck points.
•• Food: You don't know what food you need until you find good cards and you have cards to discard for food. Over the course of a game, you should be drawing (and discarding) a lot more cards than food. If you have a choice, caching food is almost always worse than taking it until the last turn or two, depending on which birds and how much food you have.
•• Eggs: Eggs are inherently less valuable than the other resources until the end of the game when eggs score points, whereas cards and food do not. I say "inherently" because you get one more egg than the other resources. So, early in the game, you almost always want to spend an egg to draw (if you can), whereas later, you need to think about it a bit more.
• The best starting birds give you food or cards. If you get both, your early game should run very smoothly. You should obviously consider the cost of each bird when making this decision. That three-cost food producer might be good early, but consider how that will impact your ability to play other birds.
• If you're going first, you are guaranteed your pick of the shown birds, which may be better to start with than any in your hand. There's nothing wrong with drawing a powerful bird on your first turn.
• Generally, you should be keeping one to three birds from your starting hand. Keeping five should never be done and keeping four only makes sense if your hand is insane and/or you have a one-cost forest bird and plan to discard it in order to collect two food on your second turn.
• Be wary of any actions that benefit opponents equally to you. These are probably bad.

Mid-Game

By the mid-game, you should have a small resource engine, hopefully consisting of birds that play toward at least one goal. Here are some principles focused more on the mid-game:

• Routinely check your opponents boards and consider which remaining goals you have a realistic chance at winning. Compare how hard you have to invest into each goal, how likely you are to win it, and what else you could be doing that might yield a greater long-term return, such as winning a later goal.
•• You should check your opponent's resource counts and engine power, as this factors in to how likely they are to win goals. If you're not that far behind them you may see that their resources cannot (or are very unlikely to) outpace you.
• Also check for pink birds. In some cases you should actually skip an action (e.g., predator) to prevent an opponent from gaining a more valuable resource. (Early food is generally worth more than one point.) But this is just one consideration. Sometimes you can't avoid doing things that help an opponent, but maybe you can wait to do it on the same turn as another player.
• It is good to play bonus card birds in the mid-game. This will give you time to play toward the goal. But if you play the card too early, the fact that it doesn't have an action can hurt you.
• If you have a good card-draw engine, prioritize and collect additional play birds. Planning around big bird chains in the last round can often turn the tide of a game.

End Game

As the 3rd round comes to an end and the final round approaches you should be able to plan out the rest of your turns. Make a final decision on which goals you can reasonably commit to and play accordingly. It's okay to not always get the highest tier goal. Maybe playing out your non-goal birds in hand yields more points. Keep in mind that every round you spend gathering food to play your birds is a lost opportunity for other ways to gain points so maybe you should be stocking your remaining birds with eggs instead. You should be able to calculate which plan will give you the most points. Good luck!