Finspan Review: A Friendlier Fish-Themed Alternative to Wingspan

Finspan, the fish-themed third entry in the “Span” board game line, is proving to be a charming, approachable alternative to Wingspan—with a calmer learning curve and plenty of replay value, though it stumbles in a few practical areas.

What’s in the box?

The game includes five separate game boards, 152 cards (including Automa cards plus starter and standard fish cards), 30 wooden diver tokens, and a large set of egg/young cardboard pieces (90 tokens). You also get 40 cardboard school tokens, nine achievement tiles, five player aids, a score pad, a week-tracker token, a first-player token, and a token caddy designed with three dividers and a lid.

Visually, the fish cards are a standout. The illustrations are described as excellent, and the printed facts on each card range from delightful to downright brutal—yet they all help sell the game’s tone. The design choice of treating fish as characters (with personality baked into the card text) makes it easier for players to latch onto favorites, not just pick cards for efficiency.

At the same time, the reviewer points out a noticeable difference from Wingspan in terms of physical “cuteness.” While the art and gameplay are strong, the experience leans less on extra adorable components. In particular, the birdhouse and the small egg pieces—elements that were important to the earlier game’s charm—aren’t as emphasized here.

There’s also an optional purchase: a Finspan upgrade pack that adds egg, young, and school tokens for $50. The review suggests leaving these tokens out of the base box likely reduces the initial price (with Finspan retailing for $79, compared with Wingspan and Wyrmspan at $100 each). However, the tradeoff is that missing those components at launch “takes away from the magic,” at least in the way the game feels when you first open it.

Finally, storage is called out as a packaging issue. The token box isn’t tall enough to keep all of the standard fish cards neatly sorted in one place, and there are three different card variations to manage. While there are workarounds, the reviewer describes the setup as clunky and suggests there’s room in the box for more storage. They also mention planning to 3D print additional storage, but argue it should have been addressed during the packaging and design phase.

The Finspan premise

Finspan centers on diving to discover fish. Players have access to three distinct diving zones, each tied to what they can gain: eggs, hatching eggs, or additional cards. Within those diving zones are three light-based zones—sunlight, twilight, and midnight—which affect where fish can be placed.

Fish must be slotted into the correct zone, and the cost to play them is printed directly on the fish card. This is contrasted with Wingspan, where costs depend on how many birds have already been placed.

The win condition is points at the end of the game. Points come from having eggs, young fish, and—especially—schools of fish, which form when a player has a set of three young. Players also score via end-of-round objectives and from the fish they discover.

How it compares to other “Spans,” and whether it’s good

The reviewer is deeply familiar with Wingspan—not only through dozens of physical sessions, but also as a “comfort game” during Melbourne’s COVID lockdown period. They also note that Steam shows more than 570 hours played in the digital version, and they’ve played roughly half a dozen games of Wyrmspan. The point of this context is to frame Finspan as a better on-ramp to the series than Wingspan.

In terms of structure, Finspan is likened to a deck-building game layered with resource management and round-based turns—where each round has set phases (“terms”) and a smaller mini-goal. The reviewer describes it as more forgiving than Wingspan. In Wingspan, a bad hand can leave you stuck feeling like you’re spinning your wheels, unable to gather enough resources to get back on track. In Finspan, as long as you have at least one fish in the diving column, you can still secure a respectable amount of resources.

They also highlight the starter setup. Each player receives a deck of 10 starter dishes, drawing two extra cards and also adding three regular fish. The result is that everyone begins with at least two reliable fish options that are affordable early on. Because players aren’t choosing from a set of revealed cards, the motivation becomes “draw because you want cards,” rather than “draw to deny an opponent a specific card.” The reviewer notes that this could reduce frustration for some groups, while for others it might remove a certain kind of competitive tension.

Strategy variety exists, but it’s presented as more contained than the earlier entries. In a recent session, the reviewer reports that multiple players pursued very different approaches—one strategy supposedly failed completely, while others diverged between aiming for high-value fish and another focusing on laying down many fish early and then stacking schools on top. The reviewer argues there isn’t the same breadth of approaches as Wingspan or Wyrmspan, yet there should still be enough options for most groups to find something that fits.

On their own ideal plan, they say the best approach is to play as many fish as possible and then flood the board with schools. They also believe that with enough repeated plays—after 15 or 30 sessions—players may start seeking more specific fish rather than relying on the broadest school-building approach. Depth is encouraged either way: you can keep things shallow by playing fish and placing eggs, or you can go deeper into building fish synergies once you’re more comfortable.

For accessibility, the reviewer compares Finspan to Azul versus Azul Summer Pavilion: same core idea, but more resource pathways and fewer opportunities for “sniping.” The emphasis is described as more about managing your own board rather than reacting to what opponents are doing. They sum it up as follows: the earlier game’s makers took feedback from two kinds of players, with Wyrmspan aimed at the more intense crowd, and Finspan positioned as the more relaxed option.

There’s one “big” complaint: the game boards are too long at 56cm. The reviewer says their dining table is a fairly normal size—one they inherited from a great-grandmother, suggesting it may not be perfectly modern—but they still couldn’t fit two boards end to end without a portion hanging off. The consequence is practical: anytime someone needed to get up, the board could be bumped. They specifically advise apartment dwellers to think about their available space before committing.

Does everyone need Finspan?

The verdict is largely positive: Finspan is described as excellent, with the condition that you have a big enough table to play comfortably. The reviewer also suggests it’s especially worth considering if you plan to buy the upgrade pack, since the optional token set is framed as a way to restore some of the experience that’s missing from the base box.

For newcomers to the “Span” games, Finspan is presented as the best starting point. While the reviewer still prefers Wingspan personally—citing their own “emotional baggage” with that connection—they recommend teaching friends with Finspan before moving them to Wingspan. It’s not framed as an either/or choice; the reviewer’s suggested order is to play both, then try Wyrmspan afterwards.

From a gameplay standpoint, they argue Finspan is more accessible and slightly more forgiving, making it a must-play for fans of the series and a good fit for people who generally prefer casual board games.

Alice Clarke is a freelance journalist, producer, and presenter. Outside of writing about games and technology, they’re said to play Fortnite, explore Mexico in Forza Horizon 5, and ride a bike outdoors. Clarke also co-writes a weekly video game and tabletop Substack newsletter called Press Any Button.

• finspan
• Stonemaier Games
• Wingspan
• Wyrmspan

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