Ever since Wingspan’s release a few years ago, on occasion people have told us that they have trouble reading the cards. We don’t always hear specific feedback on the circumstances–reading cards in hand vs on player mats vs the card row across the table–but we’ve tried to gather information when possible.
Eventually we heard this feedback from enough people that we decided to try an experiment, the result of which went live on our webstores yesterday.
Wingspan Vision-Friendly Card Packs
These packs–one for the core game and one per expansion–offer a more accessible version of the bird cards in Wingspan. They also provide a way to buy just the cards from a certain set (a request we always hear from a handful of customers upon the release of any new expansion).
When we decided to pursue this experiment, we researched vision-friendly options and consulted with Brian Chandler, Karel Titeca, and Echobatix. The resulting differences implemented on the vision-friendly cards are as follows:
- We stripped away any visual clutter that wasn’t absolutely necessary for comprehending a card during gameplay
- We made icons darker (and sometimes bigger, if necessary)
- We reformatted the power area (larger text, different font, higher contrast, and black text on a white background overlaid on the power’s color swatch in the background).
The image below shows the standard format on the left (this will continue to be the format in the game and expansions) and the vision-friendly format for the card packs on the right.
Again, the original format for bird cards included in the core game and expansions (current and future) remains exactly the same–people love consistency even more than they love fun bird facts! That said, we’re learning from this experience and will continue to strive to make our new product components more vision friendly in the future.
The vision-friendly cards are a separate option available on our webstores now.
Eco-Friendly Packaging Experiment
We continue our pursuit to stop using shrinkwrap inside and outside our products. We now use stickers to seal expansion boxes, but that solution doesn’t work as well on games, as the stickers can damage the box. Plus, the lack of outer protection significantly increases the chances that the box will be scratched or that moisture will get into the box before a customer receives it.
Inspired by the game Canopy, we’re testing another solution with a small batch of Wingspan. Instead of shrinkwrap, we’ve printed basic information about the game on recycled, FSC-certified paper (front and back).
Just like on any other copy of Wingspan that begins with removing shrinkwrap, you simply remove the paper exterior to find the game inside:
The key difference is that instead of throwing away the shrinkwrap (which will still remain in landfills and oceans for hundreds of years), you recycle the paper wrapping (and even if it doesn’t end up being recycled, it will biodegrade much faster than plastic).
The main downside to this method is that it isn’t automated–it can be, but it requires a significant investment–resulting in a heavy burden on individual people to wrap each individual box. I think the wrapping machine is worth the investment, but we’re first testing the paper wrapping to see how it holds up to the wear and tear of shipping/fulfillment.
If this method works out, we might try it on other games and all copies of Wingspan, or we might just use it for copies headed to our online stores and online retailers. On store shelves, this wrapped method doesn’t have the same striking visual impact as Natalia’s art on the Wingspan box.
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What do you think about these efforts to make our games more accessible and eco-friendly? I’d love to also elevate other publishers trying to do the same if you have examples to share.
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56 Comments on “Vision-Friendly Cards and Eco-Friendly Packaging”
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[…] for which the packaging isn’t needed after you open the product, we’re trying to use recyclable alternatives. So far we’ve done this for Tapestry: Fantasies & Futures and the Expeditions playmat. […]
[…] for which the packaging isn’t needed after you open the product, we’re trying to use recyclable alternatives. So far we’ve done this for Tapestry: Fantasies & Futures and the Expeditions […]
I hope the limited sales currently doesn’t make this experiment a one time thing. I feel vision friendly components (font size, contrast, colorblind) are something all game publishers need to pay more attention to as board game population is shifting to older generations. I applaud your steps in this as well as your recent change in Viticulture Mama’s and Papa’s supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. The eco friendly wrapping is great but I can see how it would be an issue for retailers. The Yawning Portal so far is the game I saw recently with an eco friendly design you may want to consider. I recently bought a 2nd edition of a card game and was appalled the font size got smaller with a colored background. They went the wrong direction. While I currently don’t need the vision friendly cards I have someone in my game group who would benefit from them. As a consumer it’s frustrating to have to purchase them separately but I understand from your publisher perspective also why that’s needed. Hopefully future game designs will have a better balance. At first glance I would think the light gray icons (feathers, nest, eggs, wingspan) would benefit from black text and larger icons imo. Might also be said for Viticulture Papa cards building icons on colored background.
Thanks for the feedback! We absolutely will continue to focus on making our games more vision-friendly out of the box, and we’ll make small print runs of vision-friendly cards for future Wingspan expansions.
Shame that the Expedition cards didn’t follow the same lessons as the Wingspan vision-friendly ones. As my eyes age, I’m fining black text on a brown background – even a light brown one – increasingly irritating.
Other solutions – like larger text and less artwork – won’t always be suitable of course.
While I can’t condone the shaming of others, I hear you and respect your feedback. We made the text as large as possible in Expeditions, which features bold black text on a light biege background (a lesson we learned from Wingspan, which has thinner brown text).
When you bring out the vision friendly as standard box I might try this game I’ve been actively avoiding.
I’m sorry, Cat, but there simply isn’t enough demand for us to do that. However, on our webstore you can get the vision-friendly cards at a 40% discount if you get them at the same time as the game.
[…] Paper-Wrapped Games […]
I purchased the vision-friendly Wingspan cards for two reasons
1. Improved functionality
2. Help prove there is a market for these products
As Jamey stated in another reply below, I am also a bit surprised and disappointed to see the low sales so far but understand that many owners either don’t know the vision-friendly cards are available, they are content with their existing cards, and/or concerned about having to continue to invest in separate sets for the future expansions.
Although I am over 50 years old, I only rarely need any reading glasses and even then it’s to just make it easier. Text too small for me to read is rare, and had no issues with reading the original cards. I do think the original black text on brown action box was not ideal, but still legible. Contrast issues (e.g., grey text on yellow or orange background) are more of a problem for me.
Thank you so much, Christopher! I honestly went into this endeavor assuming that we would offer these types of cards as options for expansions in the future, but without proof of demand (as you mention), it may not be viable. We’ll see!
Please make your distributor here in Brazil publish those new cards here as well… My mom would appreciate that :)
I’m sorry, but I can’t make our localization partners do anything–their choices are their own to make. If you’d like to tell our partner in Brazil that you would buy cards like these, their name is Grok Games.
Excellent news, on both ends. I am almost 50, I started to have to wear reading glasses, so I definitely empatize with people who *need* easier-to-read products.
That might be of use for a group of people, but the shrikwrap banishing effort will definitely benefit every person on the planet, including the ones who don’t play games. Another win for Stonemaier. I already have everything Wingspan, so I will not receive the new packaging, but you have my support and applause.
(PS: The “Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.” option on these pages never worked for me!)
Jamey,
Fantastic. Another Stonemaier title comes to mind: Viticulture. The cards in that game are fine for my partner and myself, in our 30s, but when bringing it out to play with people in our parents’ generation, there can be minor-ish grumbles about reading the text on the cards. I almost wrote in about this when we discovered the game during corona lockdown, but didn’t because I thought the text size was related to card size, which was dependent upon the game board and player mats and so forth. But seeing the creativity brought to reformatting the Wingspan cards, I wonder if Viticulture could benefit from a similar option. Like Wingspan, I imagine Viticulture is thematically rather approachable for older audiences too.
Last but not least: One million likes for the environmental considerations!
Jay
Thanks Jay! We considered this for Viticulture a while ago and polled people about it, but it would require bigger cards (probably the size of cards in Catan), and there was very little interest in them. I must admit that after seeing how few people are actually purchasing the Wingspan vision-friend cards (a game that is nearly 10x more popular than Viticulture), I’m not encouraged that there’s anywhere close to enough interest in such cards for Viticulture. Plus, they wouldn’t fit into the inserts we’ve designed for Viticulture, including the special Wine Crate box. I know these are all things for me to think about, not you, but I just wanted to share them with full transparency. :)
Totally get it. And kind of a field survey for you: No one’s ever complained about it enough to the extent that they do not want to play again. The complaints are minor, as I noted, and the gameplay always transcends them.
Do they not have shrinkable transparent eco plastic yet (plastic made from like corn husks or starch or what not)? I know I’ve seen straws and forks made from that. My biggest fear with the paper is water spilling on it.
I think there are some early attempts at this, yes. Fortunately, I don’t think there are many circumstances where water would spill onto a game in transit or on a fulfillment center shelf. :) And if water is really spilling onto a game, even shrinkwrap isn’t going to help, as there are holes in shrinkwrap to let a little bit of air in.
The way packages are delivered here in New York City means we sometimes get soggy boxes where the plastic shrink is the only thing saving the game box from damage.
It’s so awesome that you’re considering feedback from the disabled community for this! I understand the reasoning to have these as a separate purchase for wingspan but I really hope that now you have made these contacts you’re able to include them (and others) in the design process for future games. Please be mindful of avoiding disability/accessibility tax ie. disabled people having to pay more to participate in the same activities as able bodied people, especially when the activity could be designed to be accessible from the beginning.
One thing I would buy a replacement for/hope to never see in a future game is the player mats in pendulum: the texture feels and sounds awful to me!
Looking forward to seeing what you do next!
Tatiana: Absolutely, we’re constantly asking ourselves if our games are accessible to a wide variety of people–check out our chart on this page to see the many different angles we look like: https://stonemaiergames.com/about/accessibility/
One of the things we (my wife and I, who co-own a store) really like about Stonemaier Games is your efforts in these areas. My wife likes the vision-friendly cards and can see why certain people would really like them.
As for the packaging, while a great idea, for us it would make the game near impossible to sell. Fantastic idea for the online stores where the visual impact isn’t required but for a brick and mortar store, it would mean only those who specifically come in for that game would be likely to buy it. That visual impact in the store is very much needed.
I did read somewhere about research being done to create a non-oil based plastic shrink wrap (starch I believe), would this be something you could take a look at?
Adam: I agree that this method makes games more difficult to sell when on the shelves (I wouldn’t say “impossible,” but it’s just a different type of challenge). I’m open to types of shrinkwrap that aren’t oil based and don’t stick around in landfills and oceans for long.
Thank you for being conscious about the environmental impact!
Thanks, Vera! We’re trying! :)
Great ideas Jamey.
I must mention: where I live, in the Netherlands, we recycle plastics in many cities. Not everywhere yet, but this will increase over time. Hopefully other countries will do this too.
Steven: We recycle plastic in the US too. But shrinkwrap and bubblewrap are hardly ever recycled or recyclable. In fact, if you include those types of plastic with other items you’re recycling, they make the recycling process more difficult, as they will clog up the machines used by recycle centers.
I love that you’re putting forth an effort to be environmentally conscious. But I think the effort and idea is lost on you that you’re the manufacturer and publisher of a board game; a one-purchase, please stay useable, nice, clean, playable, functional, displayable, etc… item.
Not all products are meant to be eco-friendly to this extreme. It’s one thing if you were selling hundreds of thousands of card packs that were being thrown into the ocean and causing waste.
You’re selling hundreds of thousands of items that people are keeping on their shelves.
You’re not mass producing waste, even with your original, brand new games. You’re actually producing good material that needs to stay shelf, human, and generationally stable.
If you were making plastic forks, yes, make the switch, but you’re producing a non-disposable item.
“You’re selling hundreds of thousands of items that people are keeping on their shelves.”
This is true. But those games have shrinkwrap, and no one is keeping shrinkwrap on their shelves–they’re throwing away the shrinkwrap, and that shrinkwrap is ending up in landfills and oceans.
But beyond that, the composition of the components people keep still matters. If we make a tray out of plastic, that plastic was created from a limited resource (fossil feels). If we create that tray out of sugarcane pulp or wood, those resources aren’t nearly as limited–if forested properly, they will grow back in a matter of years.
Hi are the 10 cards that were in Swift-Start set included in the Core game vision friendly set?
Absolutely! That’s why the total in the product description is listed as 180 instead of 170. :)
Thank you, much appreciated.
There are several games that I have played in the last year or so where I simply cannot read the text across the table. At the end of the day, no matter how good the game is, I won’t be purchasing them. This is another great innovation from Stonemaier.
I agree that this issue is compounded when a game asks you to read text from across the table. Sometimes that’s avoidable (using big icons instead of text), but not always.
The idea for the wrapped boxes is amazing. Would having one of those machines come into play after manufactoring or when they get to your own warehouse?
Now, you might not be able to answer this question but what are the economics behind the high visibility card from a business standpoint? What does having a component like this look like from that end? IE: Do they provide a decent return, does it help drive game sales, help generate a bigger fan-base due to inclusivitity, etc.
Overall, these are really great addtions and it truly is remarkable the steps your putting into place that will hopefully become mainstream in the industry in general.
The machine would be at the factory, so it would either be an expense for the factory or a joint expense shared by us and them.
From a business standpoint, we’ll be lucky to break even on the vision-friendly card packs. It’s purely a way for us to better serve our customers based on their feedback.
Love the new card layout. As a person who wears readers, this is a welcome addition. Question….do you think this version of the card will ever become the “standard” card in future print runs of Wingspan. And have you given thought to doing this for other games possibly.
Paul: It won’t be the standard for Wingspan–there’s too much attachment to the original format, the bird facts, the Latin names, and the consistency. But we will offer these cards for future expansions separately.
What are some other Stonemaier games in which the icons or text on cards isn’t working for you? The more specific, the better. I ask because I haven’t heard this concern about our other games.
Two great developments. At what point (how many units) would investing in a new wrapping machine make financial sense? Thank you!.
Jon: Technically, it doesn’t make financial sense no matter the units–it’s purely a sunk cost. I think we can justify it if we know we’ll use it on a consistent basis and for more than just one game.
Is the paper wrapping for the box only for direct order fulfillment (including online retail sales), or would you anticipate also using it for retail sales in stores? For the former I think it would be amazing, but for the latter it seems as though it would significantly impact sales as box art and presence would seem to be a huge selling point for people who don’t already know what the game is. (I’m sure this is stuff you’re already thinking about, I’m mainly curious about your long term thinking if it’s effective.)
Most likely we would probably just use this method for games sold online, as shelf presence doesn’t matter for them.
As always, you guys are leaders that I hope inspire other game companies to move in similar directions. Keep up the good work.
Thanks! I’m always inspired by other publishers too! :)
Great idea! But … why not show both versions of the SAME BIRD so it’s completely apples to apples?
I’d need to sort through hundreds of original cards and hundreds of vision-friendly cards to find the match…I figured this is still an effective example while being respectful of my time. :)
The listing in the Stonemaier web store have comparison cards as well, which are very helpful.
Ever consider “full art” variant of the wingspan cards, where the artwork takes up nearly the full card? It would be interesting to see if there is a demand for that.
I always thought shrink wrap & plastic was recyclable. But turns out a lot of things that I thought were recyclable, even those with the “recyclable” symbol on it, are not, at least in my city. Eg coffee cup lids. A lot of what is and isn’t recyclable depends on local municipalities and what they are set up to handle. There is a lot of work to be done at the local govt level to improve upon recycling practices and abilities.
I love the look on the eco-friendly packaging!
Mark: That’s essentially what we’re doing with many of the fan-art cards, and they look awesome. :)
I really appreciate the thoughtfulness you put into creating these cards. My sister in-law is low vision and I always worry w games she won’t be able to see cards.
Also that new attempt at eco friendly packaging is neat!
Thanks Mike! I hope these help with your sister-in-law.
I love how you’re looking for ways to make your games more eco-friendly. Please keep it up! I understand it’s often neither simple nor inexpensive. But I enjoy hearing about the testing you’re doing for effectiveness of the packaging, components, etc.
Thank you! I appreciate you recognizing that it’s rarely simple or cheap–I always have to chuckle when people accuse us of going cheap with the sugarcane pulp trays in Wingspan (which are considerably more expensive than the plastic trays we previously used). :) Any change at this scale requires testing, due diligence, and experimentation.
I’m all for it. I can pay more because of this.
Thanks! There’s no additional cost per se; rather, these cards are a separate, optional purchase if you want them. :)