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Game Info
Year
2022
Players
1-5
Age
13+
Playtime
60 min
Collection
Ratings
Creator Score
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
Birdwatcher is a fast, competitive game in which players are rival wildlife photographers on a hunt to snap photos of the elusive and illustrious birds of paradise.
Each player has three actions on their turn, with which they can call birds to their tree from the central clearing and jungle, snap photos of birds in their tree, or run into the jungle to flush new birds to the clearing. Players can also use their actions to set up a zoom lens to capture a bird from another player's tree, or to publish a paper. Photos and publications are assembled from left to right in a player's photo journal where they will score points at game's end.
Featured Videos
Review
Birdwatcher Review!
Rules Teach
Birdwatcher - Kickstarter Preview
Ask a Rules Question
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 6 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video eMbrFpkmRHs
Rules Teach at 0:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 67990 · mention_pk 164311
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Easy to learn
- Plays fast
- Beautiful bird art
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Collecting birds to score points
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Points — Players get three action points per turn, with some actions costing two points.
- AI Opponent — A solo mode with an AI opponent (the 'crew') is used.
- Card Drafting — Players can take publication cards from an academy row.
- Push Your Luck — The game involves deciding when to take birds and potentially risk not completing sets.
- Set Collection — Players aim to collect sets of birds in their photo journal to score points.
- Variable player powers — There are different difficulty levels (six in total) that can be chosen.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I think is a very um easy tolearn game and it plays very fast within 30 minutes I'd say and you get to enjoy some really beautiful bird um art
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video WzEnHNYqnHw
Unboxing at 0:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 67991 · mention_pk 164312
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful bird art
- Pleasant and readable card design
- Good for solo play (mentioned by channel member)
- Includes solo expedition rules and achievements
- Thick player boards
- List of actions included on player boards
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- birds
Comparison games
- Wingspan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — Implied by the collection of bird cards and scoring publications.
- Set Collection — Mentioned as a potential similarity to another game, Wingspan: 'maybe aside from the set collection'.
- token management — Tokens are gained from cards and can be spent or used for end-game points: 'you have Nikon which will allow you to gain um those tokens which could be spent or you could actually just gain points at the end of the game for them'.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is bird watcher a game by Zakir Jaffrey and art by Lauren Helton
- this is published by oni games and Renegade game studios
- the bird watcher solo Expedition nice
- don't think this is going to be anything like wingspan at all maybe aside from the set collection
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video XkXubo3faJE
Ryan and Bethany board game reviews Review at 0:07 sentiment: positive
video_pk 62307 · mention_pk 154811
Click to watch at 0:07 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Easy to learn and teach, aided by clear theming
- Beautiful artwork and evocative subject matter (Birds of Paradise)
- Engaging anti-blocking dynamic via hate drafting
- Multiple scoring avenues (sets, publications, tokens) add depth
Cons
- Bugs token mechanic feels secondary and easy to overlook or forget to use
- Some token interactions require careful attention and may be underutilized by players
Thematic elements
- Array
- Bird watching in a nature-themed environment with three locations (Academy, Jungle, Clearing)
- Informative and enthusiastic with educational notes about birds
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — Players draw bird cards from the available pool to populate their options and determine scoring potential.
- Card drawing — Players draw bird cards from the available pool to populate their options and determine scoring potential.
- End Game Bonuses — End-game points come from multiple sources, including sets, publications, and tokens/symbols collected on cards.
- End-game scoring via publications and tokens — End-game points come from multiple sources, including sets, publications, and tokens/symbols collected on cards.
- Set Collection — Players aim to collect sets of birds to place in their photo journal and score points for completed sets.
- take that / interaction — Players can call birds over from other players' trees, which can lead to competitive, sometimes disruptive, interactions (hate drafting).
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I thought this game was really easy to learn and really easy to teach.
- The card art is evocative... these birds of paradise are just so wild.
- It’s a really fun mechanism that you can do... hate drafting.
- This might be a game you can introduce to new people or to new Gamers because of that.
- If you're not playing mean you're missing out a little bit of fun and probably some points too.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video sZrYzAUh-Rs
Sir Thecos Review at 0:33 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9504 · mention_pk 122203
Click to watch at 0:33 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful components and UV spot printing on the box
- Player boards are self-contained with actions printed on them
- Strong thematic integration around birds and photography
- Multiple solo modes enhance replayability
- Positive notes on storage and component organization
Cons
- Appears to be on the lighter end of complexity; may not satisfy heavier gamers
- Some potential initial confusion around card types (bird cards vs publication/bonus cards)
Thematic elements
- Bird photography, nature journaling, set collection
- Rival wildlife photographers in a nature setting, capturing birds and recording them in a Journal
- Light, family-friendly, thematic
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- board/tree placement — place birds on a tree-like structure to organize captures and plan scoring
- journal scoring — track and score birds in a personal Journal, influencing final points
- Set Collection — collect bird cards to place in your Journal/tree for scoring
- solo_mode — solo variants with multiple difficulty levels for replayability
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I love that everything is on your board you need
- storage solution immediately so isn't that great
- this is a pretty game, look at these cards
- six different solo modes … they just get harder and harder
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 2fHHnc4z1pQ
Before You Play Rules Teach
video_pk 3924 · mention_pk 166619
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
none
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Bird watcher is currently on Kickstarter
- the global geographic photographer award yes very prestigious
- timing is really important when you take these publication cards
- as soon as somebody has 16 cards in their photo journal that's going to trigger the end of the game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 2fHHnc4z1pQ
Before You Play Rules Teach at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3924 · mention_pk 116668
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Accessible action economy and striking theme
- Deep end-game scoring via publications and insect tokens
- Clear two-player dynamic with evolving scoring
- Prototype video clarifies rules and components
Cons
- Prototype status means components may change
- End-game scoring can be intricate and timing sensitive
Thematic elements
- Bird photography and field observation with a competitive scoring arc
- A jungle nature reserve where players photograph birds and document them in journals
- Tutorial narrative with live-play demonstration
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action point economy — Each turn players take up to three actions, chosen from a provided action list on their player aid, with some actions costing two.
- Bird call action — Take all birds of a single species from both clearing and jungle in one action.
- End-game trigger — Game ends when a player reaches 16 cards in their photo journal or the jungle runs out of cards.
- Insect token resource and end-game scoring — Insect tokens grant end-game bonuses; five types exist and are used for scoring and publications.
- Jungle to clearing movement — Move birds from the jungle to an invisible clearing, then lure them into your tree.
- Photography/Journal drafting — Taking a photo moves a bird into your photojournal and can trigger insect tokens.
- Publication cards and journal order — Publications provide end-game bonuses or in-game bonuses; they must be placed in a specific order in your photo journal.
- Set collection and scoring — Bird cards score by sets or by fixed values, with rarity affecting deck composition.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Bird watcher is currently on Kickstarter
- the global geographic photographer award yes very prestigious
- timing is really important when you take these publication cards
- as soon as somebody has 16 cards in their photo journal that's going to trigger the end of the game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video SiQomak9riM
Meeple Mountain Top List at 0:52 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3933 · mention_pk 89098
Click to watch at 0:52 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Quick to learn and teach
- Great art and bird theming
- Family-friendly, appealing to kids
- Solid variety in bird cards for replayability
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Bird watching / bird card set collection
- Bird habitats and nature
- informal, family-friendly with thematic flavor
Comparison games
- Mombasa (in context of Skymines being a reskin) – not a direct comparison, but related in the video discussion
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- rapid play / quick setup — Rules are simple and the game progresses quickly, enabling fast rounds.
- row-based scoring — Sets must be arranged in rows; misaligned rows prompt starting new sets and affect scoring opportunities.
- Set Collection — Players collect birds to form sets that score in different ways by type and color.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the rules are quick and easy to get through
- my daughter really likes birds
- the game uses the game trays making it a lot better easier to set up and take down
- one of the best components that I've ever seen
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7