Customer Reviews (100)

Michelle Warren • 2025-03-24T16:50:27.326Z

I get so focused on it I can forget about other things going on for a while. Kind of a little break from the world.

Christy Pierce • 2025-03-23T21:26:21.625Z

love this game! Very beautiful

Iain Gorrie • 2025-03-22T22:20:56.150Z

Great game

Wingspan: The Board Game - App Review Analysis

1. Summary of Key Insights

Wingspan: The Board Game enjoys generally positive sentiment, with many users praising the game's relaxing nature, beautiful design, and faithful adaptation of the physical board game. However, significant technical issues plague the app, particularly regarding online play, notifications, and performance. These issues detract significantly from the user experience and need to be addressed. The score distribution heavily favors 5-star ratings (62%), but the considerable number of 1 and 2-star reviews (12% and 7% respectively) indicates serious problems that need attention. The expensive expansions are also a point of contention.

Key Strengths:

  • Faithful adaptation of the board game
  • Relaxing and engaging gameplay
  • Beautiful graphics and sound design
  • Good tutorial for learning the game

Key Weaknesses:

  • Bugs and glitches, especially in online multiplayer
  • Notification problems
  • Performance issues (slow loading, crashes, overheating)
  • Small text size on phones
  • Expensive expansions

Overall Sentiment: Positive, but significantly hampered by technical issues.

Quantitative Metrics:

  • Overall Rating: Not explicitly calculable, but heavily skewed towards positive.
  • Score Distribution: 1-star (12%), 2-star (7%), 3-star (6%), 4-star (13%), 5-star (62%)

2. Data & Methodology Overview

  • Data Sample Size: 100 reviews
  • Time Frame: Primarily December 2024, with some older reviews included.
  • Analysis Methods:
    • Sentiment analysis based on review text.
    • Keyword extraction to identify recurring themes and issues.
    • Frequency analysis of mentioned features and bugs.

3. Key User Pain Points

  • Online Play Issues: Frequent disconnections, "Error 128", inability to connect to servers, disappearing games, and problems resuming games after switching apps are consistently reported. This is a critical issue affecting the core multiplayer experience.
  • Notification Problems: Many users report that they do not receive notifications when it's their turn in asynchronous games, making it difficult to play and leading to frustration.
  • Performance Issues: Slow loading times, crashes, and overheating devices are frequently mentioned, suggesting optimization problems within the app.
  • Small Text/UI: The text and interface elements are too small for comfortable play on phone screens, especially for users with visual impairments.
  • Bugs/Glitches: Reports of bonus cards disappearing, unequal turn numbers, and other gameplay-related bugs are present.
  • Expensive Expansions: The cost of expansions is a recurring complaint.

4. Frequently Requested Features

  • Zoom/Enlarge Cards: Users want the ability to zoom in on cards to read the text more easily, especially on smaller screens.
  • Scrollable Hand: A scrollable hand interface is needed to manage a large number of cards.
  • Better Friend Management: Improved friend management for online play, such as the ability to save friend lists or easily invite recent opponents.
  • Option to Disable Animations: An option to disable animations to speed up gameplay.
  • Adjustable UI Scale: A setting to adjust the size of the user interface elements.
  • Standalone Expansion Play: The ability to play expansions without the base game.

5. Strengths and Positive Aspects

  • Faithful Adaptation: Users appreciate that the app accurately recreates the gameplay and mechanics of the physical board game.
  • Relaxing Gameplay: The game is described as relaxing and enjoyable, providing a pleasant break from the world.
  • Beautiful Design: The graphics, art, music, and bird sounds are praised for their quality and attention to detail.
  • Good Tutorial: The tutorial is helpful for learning the game, especially for those new to Wingspan.
  • Cross-Platform Play: The cross-play functionality between different devices is valued.
  • Offline Play: The availability of single-player and local multiplayer modes is appreciated.

6. Prioritized Action Recommendations

High Priority:

  • Fix Online Play Issues: Address the "Error 128" and other connectivity problems that prevent users from playing online. Investigate and resolve the disappearing game issue. (Severity: Critical, Frequency: High)
  • Resolve Notification Problems: Ensure that notifications are reliably delivered to users when it is their turn. (Severity: Critical, Frequency: High)
  • Improve Performance: Optimize the app to reduce loading times, prevent crashes, and minimize overheating. (Severity: High, Frequency: Medium)

Medium Priority:

  • Implement Zoom/Enlarge Feature: Add the ability to zoom in on cards to improve readability on smaller screens. (Severity: Medium, Frequency: High)
  • Add Scrollable Hand Interface: Implement a scrollable hand interface to make it easier to manage a large number of cards. (Severity: Medium, Frequency: Medium)
  • Address UI Scaling: Provide a setting to adjust the UI scale for better visibility on different devices. (Severity: Medium, Frequency: Medium)
  • Investigate Gameplay Bugs: Address reports of disappearing bonus cards and unequal turn numbers. (Severity: Medium, Frequency: Low)

Low Priority:

  • Improve Friend Management: Enhance friend management features for online play. (Severity: Low, Frequency: Medium)
  • Add Option to Disable Animations: Allow users to disable animations to speed up gameplay. (Severity: Low, Frequency: Medium)
  • Consider Expansion Pricing: Evaluate the pricing of expansions in relation to user feedback. (Severity: Low, Frequency: Low)

7. Opportunities for Startup Ideas

  • Board Game App Testing Service: A service that provides thorough testing and bug reporting for board game app adaptations, ensuring quality and a smooth user experience. This directly addresses the prevalent issues found in Wingspan and other similar apps.
  • Mobile UI/UX Optimization for Complex Games: A consulting service specializing in optimizing the user interface and user experience of complex board games for mobile devices, focusing on readability, intuitive controls, and efficient information display.
  • Community-Driven Bug Reporting Platform: A platform that allows board game app users to easily report bugs, track their progress, and contribute to the improvement of their favorite games. This could include features like voting on bug severity and providing detailed reproduction steps.
  • AI-Powered Board Game Tutorial Generator: An AI tool that automatically generates interactive and engaging tutorials for board game apps, based on the game's rules and mechanics. This could address the user feedback about the tutorial's length and complexity in Wingspan.

8. Trends and Observations

  • Emphasis on Mobile Issues: A significant portion of the negative reviews focus on the mobile app's performance and usability, suggesting that the mobile version may not be as polished as other platforms.
  • Recurring Bug Reports: The persistence of certain bugs, such as the notification issue and online play errors, indicates a need for more rigorous testing and bug fixing.
  • Positive Sentiment Towards the Core Game: Despite the technical issues, users consistently express their love for the underlying board game, highlighting the strength of the game's design.
  • Recent Negative Shift: Some reviews from late 2024 indicate that a recent patch may have introduced new bugs or exacerbated existing problems.

9. Conclusion

Wingspan: The Board Game has the potential to be a top-tier app, given the popularity and quality of the source material. However, the numerous technical issues are significantly hindering its success. Addressing these problems, particularly those related to online play, notifications, and performance, should be the top priority. Improving the user interface for mobile devices and considering user feedback on expansion pricing would further enhance the user experience. By focusing on these areas, the developers can unlock the full potential of this app and provide a truly enjoyable experience for Wingspan fans.

Overall Recommendation: Address critical bugs and improve mobile usability to capitalize on the game's strong foundation.

10. Original App Link

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.MonsterCouch.Wingspan