Birds of A Feather: Western North America Review

22.12.2023 - 14:53 / boardgamequest.com / Of A

We review Birds of a Feather, a set collection and hand management board game published by Snowbright Studios. If you are a fan of bird themed board games, then Birds of a Feather makes a nice light game to try out.

It strikes the most unsuspecting board gamers. One day you’re the kind of player who loves organizing and categorizing your collection, admiring attractive color and pattern combinations, and exploring games with interesting nature themes, and the next moment, BAM! You’re a birder. It happens to the best of us. There is a surprising amount of crossover between the hobbies, and there’s a whole bird game fandom to support new and recovering Wingspan addicts. If you’re looking for a light weight, portable solution to your bird game fixation, set down your binoculars and pick up Birds of a Feather: Western North America by Snowbright studios, a 1-7 player set collection card game.

In standard play, the deck is dealt out evenly between the players. The cards show birds from five different types of habitats, of varying levels of rarity. The table is divided into an inner field of Lingering Birds, the cards played during the previous round, and an outer field of Arriving Birds, cards currently being played.

Each round everyone simultaneously selects a card to play face down in the Arriving Bird field. When revealed, all cards played belonging to the same habitat as your bird from either of the fields get added to your scoresheet. Lingering Birds are discarded, Arriving Birds move into the Lingering Field, and play continues until all the cards from the player’s hands are played. Rarer birds and complete sets of birds earn the most points, and the player with the highest point total at the end wins.

Originally released as Birds of a Feather in 2015, the 2022 Western North America reimplementation comes with a revised rulebook and redesigned cards. The gameplay is essentially the same between editions. In addition to standard play, there is a solo mode, a more strategic card drafting mode, and optional powers for raptor cards to make the game more competitive. Having so many variants packed into such a small box makes this a really flexible game. It plays just about as well with a small group of players as it does with a large group, and being able to choose how aggressive play will be is a nice bonus.

The gameplay moves quickly, and the rules are quick to pick up as you go. The iconography on the cards makes keeping track of your scoresheet fairly easy. Birds of a Feather really does manage to feel a bit like going out birdwatching in how you identify the bird rarity, take in a view of the environment, and get excited to tick new birds off your list.

In balance, the game relies heavily on the