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Publisher: Greater Than Games
Powerful spirits have lived on this isolated island since time immemorial. They are part of the natural world and something supernatural at the same time. The local inhabitants, the Dahan, have learned to live alongside the spirits, but with a healthy dose of caution and respect. Now, however, the island has been "discovered" by invaders from a faraway land. These so-called colonists take over the land and upset the natural balance, destroying the presence of the spirits as they go. As spirits, you must develop your powers and work together to drive the invaders off your island before it is too late!
Each round the spirits act at the same time, using their powers to push back the invaders, strengthen the island and help the local people, the Dahan. The spirits start out small and limited, though, and must learn new tricks to match the fast advancing invaders, who spread across the island and build settlements based on actions driven by the game, sowing death and destruction along the way. To win, the spirits (with help from the Dahan) must destroy the invaders and chase off any survivors. The game ends in defeat, however, if the island is overrun by blight, if a spirit is completely destroyed, or if you act too slowly and cannot drive the invaders out in time.
You can find the English rules via this Dropbox link: Spirit Island rulebook (EN)
Prefer to watch a video? See below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeNIvfi1Qrw
| Aantal spelers | 1 - 4 |
| BoardGameGeek categories | Environmental, Fantasy, Mythology, Territory Building |
| BoardGameGeek mechanics | Area Majority / Influence, Campaign / Battle Card Driven, Cooperative Game, Hand Management, Modular Board, Simultaneous Action Selection, Variable Player Powers, Variable Set-up, Action Retrieval, Automatic Resource Growth, Deck / Bag / Pool Building, Solo / Solitaire Game, Tags |
| Complexiteit | Expert |
| Leeftijd v.a. | 13 |
| Speeltijd | > 60 |
| Taal | Engels |
| Uitgever | Greater Than Games |
There are no reviews yet.
Only customers who bought this game can leave a review. Check the invitation in your email.
Plenty of players give a wholehearted yes: they play Spirit Island mostly on their own and call it one of the finest solo games they know. Playing a single spirit works well, as long as you enjoy a proper brain workout. Some do mention that it can feel like a demanding starting point if you are new to solo gaming.
Players notice that spirits with situational or restrictive powers, like Shadows, shine more at higher player counts, simply because more is happening on the board. Memory Mentor also gets a mention, since the extra draft lets you hand a card to exactly the spirit who can use it best. Ocean, on the other hand, is felt by some to be a bit weaker in big games.
Spirit Island suits you if you enjoy thinking together and don't mind a game you get to know step by step. Some players find it quite overwhelming at first, while others say it is less complicated than its reputation suggests. Because you play co-operatively, mistakes are fine and you can help each other during the game, and the simpler spirits are a nice place to start.
Players like to start with the story of the spirits and the islanders, and then explain everything else step by step. Keep the cards and spirit boards out of sight until you get to them, pick low complexity spirits, and play without a scenario at a low difficulty. Opinions differ on the event cards: some leave them out for a first game, others feel they give a truer feel of the game.
Many players find that a fear victory is the easiest route when you play with a single spirit, since you can burn through the fear deck fairly quickly. It also helps to stop the invaders from building instead of constantly putting out fires, and to dig for major powers in the mid game so you can deal with cities. Some spirits, like Thunderspeaker and Rampant Green, feel better on your own than others.
Players mostly find the learning curve steep: there are lots of cards, icons and phases that interact, though the basic rules feel logical once they click. Opinions on the challenge differ, as some call the base game without an adversary fairly easy, while others find it really tough. With the Adversaries and scenarios you can dial the difficulty up or down together until it fits your group.
Powerful spirits have lived on this isolated island since time immemorial. They are part of the natural world and something supernatural at the same time. The local inhabitants, the Dahan, have learned to live alongside the spirits, but with a healthy dose of caution and respect. Now, however, the island has been "discovered" by invaders from a faraway land. These so-called colonists take over the land and upset the natural balance, destroying the presence of the spirits as they go. As spirits, you must develop your powers and work together to drive the invaders off your island before it is too late!
Each round the spirits act at the same time, using their powers to push back the invaders, strengthen the island and help the local people, the Dahan. The spirits start out small and limited, though, and must learn new tricks to match the fast advancing invaders, who spread across the island and build settlements based on actions driven by the game, sowing death and destruction along the way. To win, the spirits (with help from the Dahan) must destroy the invaders and chase off any survivors. The game ends in defeat, however, if the island is overrun by blight, if a spirit is completely destroyed, or if you act too slowly and cannot drive the invaders out in time.
You can find the English rules via this Dropbox link: Spirit Island rulebook (EN)
Prefer to watch a video? See below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeNIvfi1Qrw
| Aantal spelers | 1 - 4 |
| BoardGameGeek categories | Environmental, Fantasy, Mythology, Territory Building |
| BoardGameGeek mechanics | Area Majority / Influence, Campaign / Battle Card Driven, Cooperative Game, Hand Management, Modular Board, Simultaneous Action Selection, Variable Player Powers, Variable Set-up, Action Retrieval, Automatic Resource Growth, Deck / Bag / Pool Building, Solo / Solitaire Game, Tags |
| Complexiteit | Expert |
| Leeftijd v.a. | 13 |
| Speeltijd | > 60 |
| Taal | Engels |
| Uitgever | Greater Than Games |
There are no reviews yet.
Only customers who bought this game can leave a review. Check the invitation in your email.
Plenty of players give a wholehearted yes: they play Spirit Island mostly on their own and call it one of the finest solo games they know. Playing a single spirit works well, as long as you enjoy a proper brain workout. Some do mention that it can feel like a demanding starting point if you are new to solo gaming.
Players notice that spirits with situational or restrictive powers, like Shadows, shine more at higher player counts, simply because more is happening on the board. Memory Mentor also gets a mention, since the extra draft lets you hand a card to exactly the spirit who can use it best. Ocean, on the other hand, is felt by some to be a bit weaker in big games.
Spirit Island suits you if you enjoy thinking together and don't mind a game you get to know step by step. Some players find it quite overwhelming at first, while others say it is less complicated than its reputation suggests. Because you play co-operatively, mistakes are fine and you can help each other during the game, and the simpler spirits are a nice place to start.
Players like to start with the story of the spirits and the islanders, and then explain everything else step by step. Keep the cards and spirit boards out of sight until you get to them, pick low complexity spirits, and play without a scenario at a low difficulty. Opinions differ on the event cards: some leave them out for a first game, others feel they give a truer feel of the game.
Many players find that a fear victory is the easiest route when you play with a single spirit, since you can burn through the fear deck fairly quickly. It also helps to stop the invaders from building instead of constantly putting out fires, and to dig for major powers in the mid game so you can deal with cities. Some spirits, like Thunderspeaker and Rampant Green, feel better on your own than others.
Players mostly find the learning curve steep: there are lots of cards, icons and phases that interact, though the basic rules feel logical once they click. Opinions on the challenge differ, as some call the base game without an adversary fairly easy, while others find it really tough. With the Adversaries and scenarios you can dial the difficulty up or down together until it fits your group.
