TLDR: Is there a "correct" wooden bird feeder? If not, which would you recommend?
Hey everyone! So my partner LOVES wingspan - it's their favorite game ever. For the longest time, they have wanted a wooden bird feeder to replace the one that comes with the game. We all know that bird feeder gets so bent and hard to use after putting it together and taking it apart time after time.
I want to get them a wooden bird feeder as a gift - I have a lot of other gift ideas, but I feel like this is my strongest one. However, when they've talked about this, I don't know where I got this from, but I thought there was a definitive wooden bird house that was officially licensed with the game. That doesn't seem to be the case, LOL.
I've seen many different options on Board Game Geek - mainly listings from Etsy sellers. Here are my concerns:
- I know a big complaint people have is having to put the dice in the back instead of the back, so I want to make sure either that there isn't a roof or you can take the roof off.
- There are many different options, but the ones on Board Game Geek are on The Broken Token, The Shipshape Gamer, and Meeple Source. I think some of these are the Etsy seller names and some of them are just board game websites advertising them.
- Etsy has become a bit of a mess, what with AI and drop shipping and so many identical listings by different sellers, so I'm not sure who to trust.
So here are my opinions so far on each:
- Tower Rex: https://towerrex.com/wooden-bird-feeder-for-wingspan.html
It's VERY cute, but you have to glue it and paint it yourself, and I do not trust us to actually have the executive function to do this.
- Meeple Source: https://meeplesource.com/products.php?filter=wingspan
They have a ton of cute accessories, from wooden birds to trading cards, but ngl the bird house I think is a bit ugly :-( Lmk what you think. They have the blue birdhouse and the forest hideaway. This one comes pre-painted, which is for sure a plus.
- The Broken Token: https://thebrokentoken.com/products/mini-dice-tower-kit-birdhouse?_pos=3&_sid=de961fca1&_ss=r
This one is honestly just a slightly less cute version of Tower Rex's, with the same level of glue and painting required.
Ngl, cannot find the Shipshape Gamer listing, not sure if it really exists.
- Printables: https://www.printables.com/model/426926-wingspan-bird-feeder-dice-tower-laser-cut
3D printed, not a huge fan, kinda boring.
- GeekBox: https://centlusboardgame.com/product/geekbox-wingspan-bird-feeder-dice-tower/
This kinda feels more mass produced and also WAY more expensive, not super cute.
There's one on Amazon ofc but that's getting ruled out right away.
Here are the Etsy search results for this: https://www.etsy.com/market/wingspan_wooden_bird_feeder
My favs from the Etsy search, although none of them rly measure up to Tower Rex:
Meh: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1079157521/wingspan-dice-tower?ls=a&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=wingspan+wooden+bird+feeder&ref=sc_gallery-1-4&sts=1&plkey=Eu9nYJUTeWxRjrwcMhMt8nC1Ayb1%3ALTc732e78adef8ac6225d863190e25d37319920e75
Meh but the bird is cute: https://www.etsy.com/listing/750507304/chickadee-dice-tower-compatible-with?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=wingspan+wooden+bird+feeder&ref=sr_gallery-1-4&pro=1&content_source=d19e2c44-35a7-46aa-8cc0-a1799196bed2%253ALT29c6a767c8e5cb5debfb4271b737581e91d0a9cc&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=d19e2c44-35a7-46aa-8cc0-a1799196bed2%3ALT29c6a767c8e5cb5debfb4271b737581e91d0a9cc
It's pre assembled with an open roof but other than that not super cute: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1202752303/wingspan-assembled-wooden-dice-tower?ls=a&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=wingspan+wooden+bird+feeder&ref=sc_gallery-1-8&sts=1&plkey=Eu9nYJUTeWxRjrwcMhMt8nC1Ayb1%3ALT3dafb332796acc4b6f041b658fbc75dd14b79bf0
I think it's pretty obvious that I think Tower Rex has the cutest one, so do we think I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and make this a little art project? I know it will possibly stress us out - my partner I would trust more to actually put it together and paint it bc I know it'll look better, but I'm not sure if that makes it less of a gift if I'm making her do work, or if she'd be excited about the project. She's really into digital art and has recently gotten into mixed media, but painting and gluing isn't one of her main things that I'm super aware of.
Does anyone have anymore knowledge on this to share? Ideally if I go with this option I'll be getting this for her pretty soon [especially if it's Etsy, we know how long that can take to ship lol].
Thanks in advance for any help y'all can offer!
Edit that I forgot to add: I think they may have also talked about getting a wooden box as well, and I've also seen wooden organizers for the food and cards and such. If anyone has recs for that as well, that would be amazing! Should I get wooden everything? LOL