Into the Woods: A First Look at Wispwood with Chaos Cards

Wispwood is a game that will set your tabletop aglow this year. Hachette Boardgames UK has officially announced their exclusive partnership with Czech Games Edition (CGE) to bring the highly anticipated Wispwood to the UK.

Wispwood debuted at Spiel Essen last year and was met with a lot of excitement, so much so, that we couldn’t wait to have a go here at Chaos Cards central. The team were lucky enough to receive a copy to review and we have to say it did not disappoint. So if you are looking for a new family favourite, read on to find out more about the ethereal new game and what the team thought!

Well, Wispwood is an abstract, tile laying game that blends whimsical forest themes with strategic gameplay. The game is designed by Reed Ambrose and the concept is bought to life with some really beautiful illustrations by Štěpán Drašťák. If you are a fan of puzzle style games, Wispwood is definitely the game for you, as it is a polyomino (think Tetris style) tile laying game for between 1 and 4 players recommended for age 10 and above.

Within the magical world of Wispwood, you play as a curious little cat who has been lured into the forest by flickering, multi-coloured lights. Those adorable looking lights happen to be Wisps, and they are VERY mischievous. These Wisps have very specific plans on where they want to shine, but so do you as the player! The aim of the game is to arrange these cheeky Wisps and magical trees within your personal forest and create the brightest woodland possible for your cat.

Wispwood is a great choice for a family games evening as it takes around 45 minutes to play and is pretty easy to set up. There is a link to a ‘how to’ guide as well for those of us who prefer to learn a game by watching rather then reading. It is really great to have that option available!
 

• Build Your Forest: On your turn, you choose a wisp tile from the magical lake and decide on a specific (Tetris style) shape to place into your grid.

• Meet the Demands: Each wisp has "desires" or "demands" (also known as scoring conditions,) that dictate where it can be placed. Even the trees have preferences on where they go! In order to maximise your points, you must consider and balance these demands when you place your Wisps on the grid. 

• A Shifting Landscape: The game takes place over three scoring rounds. Between rounds, the forest fades and expands into slightly bigger grids, but your previously placed wisps stay put, creating a permanent foundation that shapes any future moves.

• Endless Replayability: Every game is different and the variety of the goal cards means that the "whims" of the wisps change every time you play. This helps to make your forest unique each time you play, which is a great for those of us that like to replay a game from time to time.

Visually, Wispwood is a very beautiful looking game, the artwork by Štěpán Drašťák is breathtaking. The cats really are full of personality, and the wisps even seem to "glow" against the forest backdrop. Even the box is stunning, and you can’t go wrong with such high quality components. The pieces are really tactile and everything combines to make a really enjoyable and atmospheric gaming experience.

Inside the box you will find the following:

• 160 Wisp/Tree tiles and 6 Cat tiles,
• 25 Scoring cards to keep score at the end of each round,
• 8 Firefly tokens and 4 adorable looking grid aids.
• A beautiful moonlit Central Pond tile and surrounds, which really help set the tone for the game.

Wispwood is that rare puzzle-style game that is just as rewarding to play solo as it is to play with a full group. With its cosy cat theme and tactical tile-placement, it’s an absolute must-have for fans of Patchwork or Cascadia. (It would make a great addition to any cat lovers collection!) We’ve loved every game we have played so far and think it’s a brilliant choice for family sessions (ages 10+) or for your next big Games Night with friends. We especially love the forest grid concept and watching it expand and evolve with every round. If you enjoy a game that is as beautiful to look at as it is to play then we think Wispwood would be the perfect game for you! It was great to see Wispwood in action at the recent London Toy Fair as well.

Have you played Wispwood yet? What did you think? Let us know over on our socials, we always love to hear your thoughts on new and upcoming games!