Nature-based Games

My wife enjoys playing games - scrabble, scattergories, cribbage, etc - but we had only a handful of games that I liked to play with her. I was beginning to get tired of them, so I took to the internet. Were there new quality games coming out all the time and we just didn't know about them? The answer was yes. For the next few years we delved into the world of European-style board games, where we learned new terms like “worker placement” and “engine building”. But there are a few games that we really like that revolve around the natural world, and we learn a little along the way, whether we planned to or not.

The most science-based game we have is called Ecologies. It was originally designed by a biology professor to teach students about biomes, food webs, and ecosystems, but it has become a popular card game. The deck of cards contains 77 unique organisms throughout seven different biomes. Players build food webs using cards in their hand. Each web starts with a biome card and a producer, an organism that only needs sunlight. These become the foundation for the rest of the food web. Each card has a point value, and the first player to 12 points wins, but watch out - there are cards that your opponent can play to negatively affect your biomes. There are two subsequent decks that have their own unique biomes as well. Pictured is the swamp biome from the second deck, Ecologies: Bizarre Biomes.

We’re also backyard bird watchers, so when I read about Wingspan, I knew it was a game we had to try out. Designed by Elizabeth Hargrave, who has a love of birds and spreadsheets, each player takes turns gaining food to attract birds to their habitat. For example, a roll of the food dice, which is done through a birdhouse, may give me fish to feed a brown pelican to play in the wetland habitat. The birds can also lay eggs in varying types of nests which add points. Each of the more than 170 bird cards accurately reflects its diet, nesting habits, and habitat. After four rounds of play, the player who has the most points wins.

Elizabeth Hargrave’s second game, Mariposas, also has a nature theme. This time you are shepherding four generations of monarch butterflies from Mexico through eastern North America, as they stop to feed on flowers such as yarrow, tickseed, and coneflower, and stop to breed on milkweed plants. After three seasons (rounds) of play, the player with the most points wins.

Each game offers its own unique strategies and challenges when playing so each time we play, it’s a different experience and we learn something new. These games are a great way to spend some time with nature when we can’t actually be in nature. If you're interested in any of these games, Ecologies is probably the most straightforward with Mariposas being my second choice. Wingspan is a great game, but it can be challenging to play at first. If you want to learn how to play these games in a social setting, check out Game Night Charleston in Park Circle or Here Be Books and Games in Summerville or you can watch play-throughs of the games on YouTube.