Wingspan Designer's Next Game Announced

The creator of Wingspan's next game is all about the relationship between fungi and fir trees. AEG has announced Undergrove, a new board game by Wingspan creator Elizabeth Hargrave and Mark Wootton. The new game is described as an "area control and cube conversion" game in which players act as Douglas fir trees trying to establish seedlings and successfully grow them into trees. Douglas firs are a popular home to many species of mushrooms, and it appears that Undergrove will attempt to showcase the symbiotic relationship between trees and fungi via resource management and engine-building mechanics. The player with the best set of seedlings and the most valuable symbiotic relationships at the end of the game wins. 

Hargrave and Wootton previously collaborated on Mariposas, a tabletop game about the migration of monarch butterflies. Hargrave is also known for designing Wingspan, the enormously popular engine-building game about drawing different kinds of birds to a nature habitat to score victory points. Wingspan has been a breakout hit since it first debuted back in 2019, selling over 14 million copies, with several expansions adding more species of birds. Wingspan has been cited as the latest complex board to crossover into the mainstream. 

Undergrove will launch on Kickstarter later this year, with both a standard and a deluxe edition available as part of the crowdfunding campaign. No price or expected launch date has been announced, but it's likely more details will be revealed around Gen Con, which is due to take place this week in Indianapolis and is the largest board game convention of the year.