The Board Game I Bought Before Checking If My Friends Play Board Games

I watched a YouTube video about Wingspan. The birds are beautiful. The game design is award-winning. The mechanics are deep and satisfying. I was sold. Forty-five dollars for an experience that would bring my friend group together for evenings of strategic bird-related entertainment.

I bought it. I punched out all the cardboard tokens. I organized the bird cards by habitat. I read the 20-page rulebook. I watched two tutorial videos. I was ready.

Then I invited friends over for game night.

'What are we playing?' 'Wingspan! It's an engine-building game about birds. You collect birds in different habitats and—' 'Do you have Uno?'

They wanted to play Uno. Nobody wanted to spend 45 minutes learning about bird habitats and egg tokens and food dice. My friends are normal people who play games to socialize, not to optimize a bird engine. I am the only person in my social circle who thinks engine-building mechanics are fun.

Wingspan has been played twice. Once with my wife (she humored me) and once solo (the game has a solo mode — this should have been a red flag). It sits on my shelf looking gorgeous and completely neglected. It's the most beautiful shelf decoration I own.

Codenames costs $15. You explain the rules in three minutes. Any group size works. People get competitive immediately. Nobody needs to learn what an engine-building mechanic is. My friends actually request Codenames now.

Know your audience. I researched the game but not my friends. Classic analyst mistake — great thesis, wrong market.