Horizons of Spirit Island

2022

Experience the immersive world of Horizons of Spirit Island. Featuring streamlined setup, new Spirits, and compatibility with existing components, it's the perfect introduction to the Spirit Island universe!

120
minutes

1 - 3
player(s)

14+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Welcome to the enthralling world of Horizons of Spirit Island, a game that seamlessly blends strategy, cooperative play, and immersive storytelling into an unforgettable tabletop experience.

The theme of this board game is set on the mystical Spirit Island, a lush, unspoiled paradise defended by ancient spirits. However, the tranquility of the island is threatened by invaders who seek to colonize and exploit its natural resources. As players, you assume the roles of these powerful spirits, each with unique abilities, and work together to fend off the intruders.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Horizons of Spirit Island is a cooperative, strategy board game where players take on the roles of different Spirits with unique powers to defend their island from invaders. Here’s a detailed guide on how to set up the game:

Step 1: Spirit Selection

Each player chooses a Spirit to play. These may be selected randomly or deliberately according to player preference. Each Spirit has a unique playstyle and abilities.

Step 2: Spirit Boards

Each player takes a Spirit board. They should situate their boards in front of them, making sure to have the correct side face-up according to the number of players.

Step 3: Initial Presence

Players place one of their presence tokens on the highest numbered space of both the Energy Track and the Card Plays Track on their Spirit boards.

Step 4: Island Board Placement

The Island board is placed in the center of the table. The number of boards used and their arrangement depends on the number of players.

Step 5: Dahan Placement

Place Dahan (island inhabitants) on the Island board. The number and location of Dahan are indicated by small Dahan icons on the board.

Step 6: Initial Explorer Placement

Draw an Explorer card to determine where the initial explorers land. Place one explorer in each land of that type which does not have a ‘Blight’ symbol.

Step 7: Power Cards

Each Spirit starts with four unique Power Cards. These should be placed face-up next to your Spirit board.

Step 8: Presence Placement

Each Spirit places one presence on a land of their starting board. The land type is indicated on the Spirit board.

Step 9: Fear Pool and Invader Deck

Set up the Fear Pool with Fear tokens and arrange the Invader Deck according to the game setup instructions.

Step 10: Blight

Place the Blight tokens on the Blight card.

Step 11: Energy and Card Plays

Each player gains energy equal to the topmost visible number on their Energy Track and may play cards equal to the topmost visible number on their Card Plays Track.

Now that you’ve finished setting up the game, you’re ready to start playing and defending your island from the invaders!

Game flow Round and round we go

‘Horizons of Spirit Island’ is a complex and engaging board game that involves elements of strategy, cooperation, and resource management. The game unfolds in a series of rounds, each of which is divided into several distinct phases. These phases include the Spirit Phase, the Fast Power Phase, the Invader Phase, and the Slow Power Phase. The following details the actions performed by players during each phase:

Spirit Phase

In the Spirit Phase, players have the opportunity to grow their spirits by performing one of three possible actions:

Add a presence: Players may choose to add a presence from their presence tracks to a land on the board. Adding presence can increase their range and allow them to gain more energy or play more power cards.
Gain energy: Players can gain energy equal to the number of energy symbols revealed on their energy track.
Gain a power card: Players can choose to gain a new power card by drawing the top four cards from the minor or major power deck, choosing one to keep, and discarding the rest.

Fast Power Phase

Next is the Fast Power Phase. During this phase, players can play power cards from their hand that have a bird symbol, indicating they are fast powers. These powers can be used to influence the board before the Invaders take their actions.

Invader Phase

The Invader Phase follows, during which the Invaders on the island carry out their actions in a specific order:

Blight Added: If the Invader card has a blight symbol, a blight is added to the land with the most towns and cities.
Ravage: Invaders deal damage to the land and any native inhabitants present in the regions indicated by the ravage card.
Build: Invaders add a new settlement to the regions indicated by the build card.
Explore: Invaders explore new lands, indicated by the explore card.

After the Invader Phase, the Invader cards are shifted to the left and a new card is drawn from the Invader deck.

Slow Power Phase

Finally, the Slow Power Phase commences. During this phase, players can play power cards from their hand that have a turtle symbol, indicating they are slow powers. These powers take effect after the Invaders have carried out their actions.

At the end of the Slow Power Phase, all players discard any power cards they played that round, refresh their spent energy, and prepare for the next round. The game continues in this way until either the players fulfill the victory condition and win the game or the Invaders fulfill a loss condition and the players lose the game.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

‘Horizons of Spirit Island’ is a highly strategic board game that offers a variety of victory conditions. The game ends when any one of these conditions is met:

Invaders are Depleted: If there are no invader cards left in the invader deck, the game ends immediately.
Fear Victory: If the fear pool is empty and all fear cards have been played, the game ends.
Island is Blighted: If the island becomes fully blighted, the game ends immediately.

The winning conditions for the players are as follows:

Invader Victory: If the invaders are depleted, the players win the game. The final score is calculated based on the number of remaining invader cards and the fear level.
Fear Victory: If the fear pool is empty and all fear cards have been played, the players win the game. The final score is calculated based on the remaining fear cards and the level of fear.
Island Victory: If the island is not fully blighted and at least one spirit is still present, the players win the game. The final score is calculated based on the number of blights on the island and the number of spirits present.

Before the final scoring, players must perform the following actions:

Invader Phase: Carry out the invader actions as per the cards drawn. This includes exploring, building, and ravaging.
Spirit Phase: In this phase, each player chooses and plays power cards, pays energy costs, and performs fast actions.
Slow Actions: After the invader phase, players perform any slow actions from power cards.
Fear Phase: Flip and resolve fear cards. This can lead to beneficial effects for the spirits and potentially contribute to a fear victory.

Once these actions are completed and the game ends due to any of the reasons mentioned above, the final scoring takes place. Each victory condition has a different scoring method, and the one with the highest score is declared the winner.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Spirit Island is a unique cooperative, area control game where players become different Spirits of the land, each with its own unique elemental powers. The goal of the game is to defend your island home from colonizing Invaders. Victory is achieved by fully eliminating the Invaders from your island, however, the scoring system adds a layer of complexity and strategy. The scoring system in Horizons of Spirit Island is as follows:

Scoring Points:

Defeating Invaders: Players gain points equal to the number of Invaders they have eliminated from the board. Each Invader is worth 1 point.
Removal of Blight: For each Blight removed from the island, players score 2 points. Blight is harmful to the island, and its removal represents healing and restoration.
Presence on the Island: The more a Spirit’s presence covers the island, the more points they score. Each Spirit earns 1 point for each of their presence tokens on the board.
Fear Generated: Spirits generate Fear by terrifying the Invaders. Each Fear card earned is worth 2 points.
Dahan Protected: The indigenous inhabitants of the island, the Dahan, are essential allies. Each surviving Dahan on the board at the end of the game is worth 1 point.

Tie-Breaking Rules:

In the event of a tie, the following rules are applied in order:

Most Fear Generated: The player who has generated the most Fear wins the tie.
Most Dahan Protected: If the tie persists, the player who has protected the most Dahan wins.
Least Blight Added: If there is still a tie, the player who has added the least amount of Blight to the island wins.
Most Invaders Defeated: If all previous conditions fail to break the tie, the player who has defeated the most Invaders wins.

Remember, while competition can be fun, Spirit Island is ultimately a cooperative game. The true victory is in working together to protect your island home!

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Horizons of Spirit Island is a complex and fascinating cooperative strategy board game. It involves defending an island from invading settlers, by controlling spirits who command different elements and aspects of the island. Here are some rare or special rules, exceptions and rule clarifications that may be important while playing the game:

Power Progression: Unlike many games, in Spirit Island, your spirit’s power progresses as the game continues. This means that in the early game, your spirit may not have many abilities, but as time goes on, you’ll unlock new abilities, called power cards, that can drastically change the state of the game.

Fast and Slow Powers: All power cards in Spirit Island are classified as either fast or slow. Fast powers take effect before the invaders act each turn, while slow powers take effect after the invaders have taken their turn. This requires strategic planning, as using a slow power means that its effects won’t be felt until the following turn.

Invader Actions: The Invaders have three types of actions – Explore, Build and Ravage. These actions are performed in order, but they’re revealed in the opposite order. This means the players can see what the Invaders will do in the future and plan their actions accordingly.

Scenarios and Adversaries: Spirit Island includes various scenarios and adversaries, which can be added to the basic game to increase complexity and replayability. These additional elements can change the rules in various ways, so it’s important to read the specific rules for each scenario or adversary before starting the game.
Fear: In Spirit Island, players can generate fear to scare the Invaders. When enough fear is generated, players draw a fear card which can have various beneficial effects. It’s important to note that generating fear is not the only way to win – players also need to completely remove Invaders from the island.
Dahan: The Dahan are indigenous people present on the island. While they don’t take actions unless directed by the spirits, they can help in fighting the Invaders. However, if a land is ravaged by the Invaders, any Dahan present on that land will be damaged or destroyed.

Energy and Cost: To play power cards or use innate abilities, spirits need to spend energy. The amount of energy a spirit gets each turn, and the cost of its abilities, can change over the course of the game. It’s important to manage your energy wisely, as running out can severely limit your options.
Blights: Blights are tokens that represent the damage Invaders do to the land. If a land has too many blights, it can cascade and spread blight to adjacent lands. If there are too many blights on the island, the spirits lose the game.