kostinen wrote: ↑08 June 2025, 22:06
I would really appreciate to have feedbacks about my last game (which I lost with only 73 points)
https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=685029725
The start was very bad since I didn't get a second forest bird (or some other bird with ability to gain food) until turn 7.
I'm pretty sure I didn't do the right choices after that, especially on move 68, I should have play the Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, and then have the ability to gain lot of invertebrates, since it was important for lot of birds I had to play later. Particulary for the Black Necked Stilt, which was good for my bonus card, and to gain more cards to feed the Brewer's Blackbird that I already planned to play.
And I played it on move 95 when it was almost useless, instead of drawing Hummingbird (and Titemouse ?) and just play my last game part with grasslands / play forest bird. But I had not that much egg spaces...
Anyway. As we say, what could I have done better in this game ?
Instead of Seed I'd have kept Rodent and used that for the Owl. The Invertebrate is a bit more flexible to hold on to, especially for what I mention next. (In light of that you also may have been better off of with smaller Wingspan bonus given the kind of birds you were seeking.)
House Wren should have had your attention early on. If you're willing to suffer a bit, you can have 2 forest birds and 1 wetland bird on the field by turn 5/6. (Draw Wren, play Loon, gain food, lay 1 egg, and play Wren and Owl for turn 5.) (Play Owl, gain food, play Loon, lay eggs, draw 2, play Wren for no effect turn 6. Your extra turn gave you an egg and a card.) Your 2 forest 1 wetland base is set. It makes me wince what you have to do for it, but it's settled.
You might think you can live off of drawing cards until you hit something and use your dead cards as forest fodder. That's fine, but Wren should have been drawn. A 1 food forest bird that can be played on the same turn as your third or fourth forest bird seems pretty useful. On turn 8 I'm not sure if not discarding a card (Whie Pelican) for another Seed was the right call. I guess you were saving up for Brewer's even then.
Gnat being played sooner might have given you some needed help in development instead of something like Barn Swallow, as you pointed out. Barn Swallow helped snatch a couple of points for end of round and you used it to get to Osprey with some egg speed up. That said, I don't think the tuck and draw for Osprey was that good at the time you chose to do it. I'd have just gained food instead, accepting having 1 less egg in exchange for 2 more food and an empty card instead of Osprey. You ended up fumbling the food issue looking for Invertebrate anyways, and this would have given it to you without hassle. Though I'd have just traded the two seed you had to play Gnatcatcher right away, the extra food for forest bird #4 and the Invertebrate for its effect trump the 1 food loss in the exchange.
Black Neck was a better card than you gave it credit for in game, if you were truly that desperate to keep all of your other cards you should have done a 2 for 1 food trade and played Black Next instead of Swan. Black Bird should not have been tucked, it would have been better not to Brewer's that turn than to get rid of Black Bird. Black Bird fitting your bonus and Brewer plans was rather helpful, as you pointed out.
