A board game inspired by birdwatching around the Route 1 corridor has become a bestseller, upending the gaming industry in the process. Publisher Stonemaier Games, has now sold 1.3 million copies of Wingspan, and digital versions are available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and the Apple App Store.
Former health care policy consultant Elizabeth Hargrave developed the game after drawing up charts of birds she’d spotted at Lake Artemesia and the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, among other places.
Hargrave also tested the game locally, going to a monthly event at Board and Brew in College Park called “Break My Game” where people play unpublished games with their designers.
Wingspan, in which players compete to develop the best habitat for a wide variety of birds, was an instant hit, and only became more popular during the coronavirus pandemic, as families spent long periods of together with birding gaining popularity.
Wingspan also broke the mold for board games, as a game that both appealed to women and subtly encourages a more cooperative than competitive approach, and as a recent profile in Slate notes, Hargrave is mentoring a new generation of game designers from underrepresented groups in the industry.
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