Fans of Pokemon and Wingspan, your prayers have been answered. The Wingspan Pokemon mod is now a thing. It's a conversion mod that replaces all assets on Tabletop Simulator's version of Wingspan with Pokemon-themed alternatives.
How does the Wingspan Pokemon mod work?
The mod is called Pokemon Nursery, and it comes to us from Redditor lockwinghong. Last month, the Redditor posted an image depicting a Wingspan card but with Pokemon art instead of the standard bird art. The reaction was positive, so lockwinghong decided to go ahead and actually create the mod. If you've got Tabletop Simulator and the official Wingspan mod for the game, you can download it and check it out right now. It's worth noting that there isn't a manual for Pokemon Nursery, but the creator says that if you're familiar with the rules of Wingspan, it shouldn't be too difficult. A few things to note:
- Master Balls represent wild nests
- The Hunting mechanic has been modified to use a d20 and involves a type check to see if an attack is strong
- The bird feeder dice tower has been replaced with a simple box marked "Berry Tree"
- The player mat is the Oceania version in order to "reduce the viability of the egg spam strategy"
In the Reddit announcement post, lockwinghong says they were "too lazy" to keep a development diary. Despite this, they do note some interesting challenges. Wingspan has 170 cards in its original form, but there are 151 Pokemon. To solve this issue, lockwinghong simply assigned the remaining 19 as shiny Pokemon cards, which is a pretty ingenious solution. Other challenges involved finding good high-res art of the Pokemon, retheming certain Wingspan mechanics, and which board to use. It's well worth reading the original post if you want to know more about the mod.
How do Wingspan's creators feel about Pokemon Nursery?
According to lockwinghong, they contacted Wingspan creator Stonemaier Games about the mod. Stonemaier co-founder Jamey Stegmaier said the mod was "fine" as long as the mod didn't copy images or the text of rules. In response to this, lockwinghong said they realized they hadn't changed Wingspan's habitat icons, so they went back to update every single card with a new icon. Despite this hiccup, however, it seems that Stonemaier is pretty on board with Pokemon Nursery as a mod.
In the future, lockwinghong says they might go back and "do the Gen 2 and Gen 3 'expansions'", but it's not likely. The Redditor says the mod has been a lot of work, and they need a break from "staring at Pokemon cards" every single evening. That's understandable; this mod already looks like it was a tremendous amount of work, so if you ask me, a victory lap is well-deserved. You can check out Pokemon Nursery, the Wingspan Pokemon mod for Tabletop Simulator, right here.
Have you played Pokemon Nursery? What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments below!
