Never before has a game looked so much like it would use resource-management, only to have, in fact, zero resources. Spirit Island is three things and three things only – Hand-management, area control, and asymmetrical factions. And that area control is something else. You don’t just spread your own control, you also throw your enemies into the oceans, relocate cities with nightmares, and request the local tigers to go on rampages. And those asymmetrical spirits are way more ‘A’ than symmetry.’ The game is pure co-op with no quarterbacking issues, which might sound like a bold face lie. The truth is you won’t be giving your allies commands – you will be begging them for help.
Instead of giving the old quarterbacking demand of “MOVE YOUR CHARACTER HERE,” you’ll be screaming “Someone please kill this town!” Luckily, if you can’t handle something, the unique powers of a different spirit will ensure that another player will answer the call. Of course, I’m making this complicated co-op sound easy. Even if everyone is doing all they can to help, there WILL be moments when you cry out from the pits of Hell “Got my pants around my ankles and about to be intestinally invaded” which will, of course, get you banned from future game nights. Anyhoo, I digress.
Spirit Island’s first claw is as sharp as any heavy game. How in the holy f*ck can you deal with so much villainy spreading so fast? The second claw hits once you gain some control over the map, and the bite is usually a humongous turn that shows how powerful you’ve become. My God, this game is addictive.
GAMEPLAY
The goal of Spirit Island is to remove a certain amount of the enemy invaders from the board (Depending on how much fear you’ve caused). Each round has 3 phases. The first phase allows you to spread your control, gain mana, gain new cards, and is the only phase you can play cards during. The phase ends with the activation of all ‘fast’ cards played and ‘fast’ powers. The 2nd phase is when the invaders strike. They will attack the island, build on the island, and spread further in. If this sounds really bad, that is because it is. Watching the invaders take their actions is pretty fricken scary. The 3rd phase is when the ‘slow’ cards you played in the 1st phase take effect as well as your ‘slow’ powers. This third phase can be quite entertaining if the invaders did what you wanted/expected. You repeat rounds until you’ve killed a certain amount of invaders, or the invaders have done too much damage to the land.
1ST CLAW - Sh*t your Pants
The first thing you will feel in Spirit Island is pure impotence. You have a pathetic starting hand, very little mana, and are staring at a main board that looks like the storming of Normandy. The invaders appear fast, unpredictably, and all over the f*ck*ng place. The constant in Spirit Island that allows you to strategize is what the invaders will do AFTER they land. You can’t predict where they show up, but you know exactly what they do once they arrive. This game is all forward thinking and in the beginning that is in no way comforting. You know that in exactly two rounds the enemies will cause damage there, there, and there. So … can you stop that from happening? This fear brings determination and is the first claw. Take a deep breath, talk with your teammates, and then start playing cards. And try not to sh*t your pants while you do.
2ND CLAW - Stand your Ground
Spirit Island is addictive for a number of reasons, but the biggest high you feel is when you are able to turn the tide. If you’ve never played Spirit Island, this feeling can be hard to understand, but it has EVERYTHING to do with the third phase I had described. Many cards and powers will not go off when activated. They are slow, but powerful, and trigger once the enemy A.I. completes its actions. They are meant to be played in a pre-emptive manner and are versatile enough to deal with the chaos that occurs during the invaders’ turn. But when they go off, and the chaos was accurately calculated or was not very damaging, your slow powers can blast the ever-loving sh*t out of the invaders. You can wipe out cities, force enemies to the coastlines, and spread your allied beasts and inhabitants into the stolen territory in the name of war. The triggering of slow powers can be euphoric and will absolutely inspire hope. Until the invaders take their next actions and shovel more sh*t for you to deal with. The 2nd claw is long, and lasts for the majority of the game.
THE BITE - Crush the Invaders
One of the incredible things about Spirit Island is how the game ends. A win and a defeat often look similar because this game was designed to come down to the wire. Without going into too much detail, the removal of the last invader city is usually what causes the win. But the damage of the invaders could spread rapidly if ignored (Causing the loss). How do you split your energy at the height of your power between these two events? Though this scenario appears in many Spirit Island games, the way your asymmetrical spirit handles this IS the reason no two gameplays feel the same. The ending magnifies what you have done, what you have failed to do, and what you are about to unleash. In the most difficult finales of Spirit Island, it can feel like two opponents swinging baseball bats at each other’s heads. It might look like there will be a tie, but that is absolutely impossible. One will strike first, maybe a nano-second faster, causing the other to be undeniably crushed beyond repair. It’s enough to make you cheer, clean up the board, and set-up again.