Review: CuBirds

Introduction & Overview

Every day, dozens of birds perch on the fences of our fields. When it is time to leave, everything is in disarray, and the birds are unable to gather into flocks to fly home. Help them find their way back to their nests!

This is the premise behind CuBirds, designed by Stefan Alexander (Area 51: Top Secret or King Chocolate). The game was originally published in 2018 by Catch Up Games in a multilingual English and French edition. The artwork is illustrated by Kristiaan der Nederlanden, marking his debut in the board game industry.

In Spain, it is published in Spanish by Maldito Games (although the game is completely language-independent). It accommodates 2 to 5 players, with a recommended minimum age of 8 and an approximate playing time of around 20 minutes. The retail price is €15. For this review, we used a review copy generously provided by the publisher, Maldito Games.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Components

Inside a two-piece box (lid and bottom), measuring 16×16×4.5 cm (a small square box similar in size to IELLO titles such as For Sale! or Nyet!), we find:

110 cards (63.5×88 mm)
Rulebook

How to Play

CuBirds is a card filler featuring eight bird species, each with a specific card count and two flock values printed in the upper right corner. On their turn, players must play all cards of a single species from their hand to one end of the four rows that make up the central display, taking all cards that become trapped between two matching birds of that species (one already present in the row and those placed by the player). After this, the player may lay down a flock into their play area, keeping one bird if the number of cards played meets or exceeds the lower flock value, or two birds if it meets or exceeds the higher flock value (the remaining cards are discarded). If only a single bird species remains in that row, cards are revealed from the draw deck until the row contains at least two distinct species. Furthermore, if a player empties their hand, all players are forced to discard their hands, fresh cards are dealt, and the active player who triggered this reset takes another turn immediately. The game ends as soon as a player manages to collect either at least one card of 7 of the 8 different species or 3 cards of 2 different species in their score area, winning the game immediately.

Key Concepts

As in any good card filler, the cards are the core element of the game. Their anatomy is very straightforward. The center displays an illustration of a bird from one of the eight species included in the game (flamingo, toucan, mallard, magpie, robin, owl, reed warbler, and macaw). In the upper left corner, there is a symbol representing the species. In the upper right corner, two values are shown separated by a slash (the left value being lower than the right). Finally, the bottom corner displays the total number of cards of that species in the deck.

Aside from the draw deck, these cards can be found in three distinct areas. First, the player’s hand, which has no maximum hand limit. Second, the center of the table, arranged into a market of four rows where players place cards at one end of a row to draft others, depending on the species present. The crucial rule that must never be overlooked is that, whenever a player places birds, they must play all cards of that chosen species currently in their hand (holding any back is not allowed). Lastly, the player’s scoring area, where cards are placed directly from the hand as long as the number of played cards is at least equal to the lower value in the upper right corner. The player keeps 1 or 2 cards depending on whether the flock meets or surpasses the higher value.

Hand management represents the final key concept: if a player finishes their turn with an empty hand, play is momentarily halted and all players discard their hands to draw 8 new cards. Moreover, the player who triggered this reset takes an extra turn.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

Shuffle the deck and lay out 4 rows of 3 distinct bird cards each (if a duplicate card of a species already in that row is drawn, discard it immediately).
Deal 8 cards to each player.
Deal one additional face-up card to each player to start their personal scoring area.
Finally, choose a starting player.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of CuBirds plays out over an undetermined number of turns taken in clockwise order, starting with the first player.

On each turn, the active player proceeds through the following steps:

Play Cards (mandatory). The player must place all cards of one bird species from their hand at either end of one of the four rows. Two situations may arise:
- If the row already contained cards of that same bird species, and other species become trapped between the newly placed cards and the matching bird already in the row (counting from the side where cards were added). In this case, the player adds all trapped cards to their hand. If only one species remains in the row afterward, draw and reveal cards from the deck until at least 2 distinct species are present.
- If no cards are trapped between the newly added cards and matching birds already in the row (or if no matching bird is present). When this happens, the player may, if they choose, draw 2 cards from the deck and add them to their hand.
Lay Down a Flock (optional). If the player holds enough matching cards, they may lay down 1 or 2 birds of a single species:
- If they hold at least as many cards as the lower flock number on that bird type, they keep 1 and discard the rest.
- If they hold at least as many cards as the higher flock number on that bird type, they keep 2 and discard the rest.

The turn then passes to the player on the left.

If a player ends their turn with an empty hand, the round pauses immediately and all other players must discard their entire hands. Subsequently, 8 new cards are dealt to every player, and the one who forced this situation takes an additional consecutive turn.

Game End

The winner is the first player to assemble either of the following combinations in their scoring area:

At least 1 card of 7 of the 8 available species in the deck.
3 cards each of 2 distinct species.

Alternatively, the game ends if the deck and discard pile run out of cards when dealing new hands of 8. In this scenario, whoever has the most total bird cards in their collection (regardless of species) wins the game.

Personal Opinion

Sometimes you fall head over heels for a game. You feel an irrational connection simply by catching a glimpse of the cover, without knowing the slightest detail about how it plays. Most of the time, that gut feeling leads to disappointment because it is nothing more than a coin toss driven by blind attraction. Yet, with today’s game, it was love at first sight. I love technical drawing, especially isometric perspective—perhaps stemming from years of playing real-time strategy games like Age of Empires or StarCraft, where that viewpoint was the norm. Furthermore, the cover of CuBirds showcases a gorgeous isometric cubic robin that instantly caught my eye. Once I learned that Maldito Games would publish it in Spain, butterflies fluttered in my stomach. The only hurdle was waiting, as importing it proved tricky due to how quickly stock vanished—usually a very promising sign. Let us find out whether CuBirds is merely a brief fling or the beginning of a long and lasting romance.

In CuBirds, we become falconers aiming to gather various bird species into flocks, since living in a cubic world apparently keeps them from organizing themselves. At the start of the game, we face a field crowded with assorted birds arranged into four rows, which we will try to snare and arrange efficiently until someone triggers the end condition to claim victory.

Mechanically, the game is remarkably straightforward. Your turn features one mandatory action: placing all birds of a single species from your hand (at least one card must be played) at one of the ends of a row in the central display. If the row already held at least one card of that same species, you claim all the cards trapped between matching birds. Placing birds without trapping anything means you cannot collect from the row, opening the option to blind-draw two cards from the deck, though doing so is often far from ideal. Later, as an optional step, you may lay down a flock provided you satisfy the card count requirement for that species. Meeting the minimum threshold lets you keep one card in your scoring collection while discarding the others; reaching the higher threshold lets you keep two. Then, the turn passes to the next player.

Turns alternate in this manner until someone banks a seventh unique species or, failing that, collects three cards each of two different species, bringing the game to an instant halt with a declared victor. That is virtually all there is to it.

The charm lies in the unequal distribution of species throughout the deck. Exotic birds like flamingos or toucans are scarce in the deck and, naturally, require fewer cards to complete a flock. By contrast, magpies and robins can be found in abundance across the field, demanding hefty hands before a flock can be scored. Because of this dynamic, players must rely on memory to track which sets opponents are assembling, ensuring they do not hand them easy catches by dropping matching birds into vulnerable rows.

Additionally, the deck size is substantial, making it critical to track how many cards of certain scarce species have already hit the discard pile. Committing to a bird type can backfire terribly if you fail to pay attention and the deck runs dry of those specific cards.

This nuance becomes vital given that the game offers two divergent paths to victory. One approach is gathering distinct species. On paper, it seems the simpler route, as scoring single birds across varied species is generally manageable. However, this demands completing a flock at least six times, since players begin with one bird already in their area. Conversely, the shorter yet trickier path requires just three cards across two distinct species. Handled efficiently, this path requires scoring flocks only four times: once to round out your starting bird into a set of three, and twice more to complete a trio of a second species. The catch? You leave yourself completely exposed.

Exposed to what? Unless you have read the rules or played before, I have held back the game’s core twist. It is a subtly brilliant and brilliantly subtle idea that completely transforms how the match feels. Whenever a player ends their turn with zero cards left in hand, they trigger a shockwave that forces everyone else to discard their entire hand. Following this wipe, eight fresh cards are dealt to every player, and the person who triggered the reset immediately takes another turn. Simply sublime.

This mechanism injects mounting tension into every round, leaving a fantastic aftertaste. Picture the scene: you receive your hand and start maneuvering to hoard matching birds so that, right after scoring a flock or playing your final cards, you trigger this reset, sending groans echoing around the table. In this respect, it strongly recalls Abluxxen (here is its tocho-review), since the core appeal is similar: accumulating card sets to play them in runs amid an uncertain clock dictated by someone emptying their hand.

Despite those similarities, CuBirds has its own distinctive flavor. For starters, the collateral damage here cuts far deeper. In Abluxxen, you can anticipate or even bait attacks to further alternative goals. Getting caught empty-handed here, however, is brutal. You might spend several turns orchestrating trades to score a massive flock (the kind that yields two birds), only for an opponent to flush their hand right before your turn, wiping away all your hard work. It hurts.

The only minor gripe I have stems from this very mechanism: the impending blow is often visible from a mile away. If an opponent is down to one or two cards, they will typically place them on their turn without drafting back, wiping everyone’s hand and seizing an extra turn. Seeing the punch coming dulls some of the tension, making it sting a bit less. A potential remedy would be keeping hands hidden so card counts remain concealed.

A push-your-luck element also emerges whenever you choose to play cards purely to draw from the deck. The central rows might offer nothing useful for your hand, particularly when searching for that one elusive bird missing from the display. Games occasionally wrap up simply because a player draws the lucky card needed to cash in the winning flock. That gamble can just as easily saddle you with two mismatched cards, torpedoing any chance of emptying your hand over the next couple of turns and handing the reset trigger to a rival.

As you can tell, this is one of those fillers that lands squarely on its feet on my shelf, boasting everything needed to hit the table regularly. What is more, it scales beautifully. At two players, it leans strategic: tracking your opponent’s moves is straightforward, though assembling large flocks takes considerable effort. At four or five players, a delightful dose of chaos keeps you on your toes, forcing you to weigh whether to cash out small or risk waiting for a double score. The player counts deliver slightly different dynamics, but both are thoroughly enjoyable.

Matches also tend to chain together seamlessly because rounds resolve quickly, leaving losers hungry for a rematch—especially if the victor clinched the win by resetting the table’s hands repeatedly.

One final nitpick relates to the core placement rule: whenever you play birds, whether to the display or down as a flock, you must use every copy of that species in your hand. New players can easily forget this during early sessions, and with hidden hands, the game relies entirely on player honesty, much like traditional trick-taking games.

Moving on to production values, the small box is made of sturdy cardboard, accented with a glossy finish that makes elements of the artwork pop. The cards have good thickness, a smooth finish, and reliable snap. As always, I recommend card sleeves given the constant handling. The rulebook is crystal clear, filled with ample examples to grasp every concept effortlessly.

Last but certainly not least is the visual presentation. As mentioned earlier, I fell in love with the cover immediately, and Kristiaan der Nederlanden’s art is nothing short of brilliant. Pulling off such a fresh, captivating aesthetic is rare among filler card games. Rather than settling for uniform isometric illustrations, each card is distinct, featuring varied background elements and unique poses for birds of the same species (most noticeable on the reed warbler, which can look entirely different from card to card). Another delightful touch is having the birds perch on a wire; lining cards up makes them appear to sit along the same fence wire. It is superb artwork that crowns an already wonderful game.

And let’s wrap this up. CuBirds is one of those love-at-first-sight fillers that avoids disappointment entirely, delivering pure delight from the very first plays. Mechanically elegant, it possesses clever subtleties rarely encountered in games of this weight. Backed by solid production and exceptional illustration work, it stands as an almost flawless package. Its only real drawback is occasionally telegraphing a hand wipe, when catching opponents off-guard is where the real fun lies. For all these reasons, I give it a…