Horizons of Spirit Island | Shelfside Review

[@ashtonwu7760]

At 6:50, Devouring Teeth Lurk Underfood total damage will be 8 in one region. It is 4 + 2 + 1 (then +1 from ability).

[@Iamwrongbut]

That’s a lot of teeth

[@robertmcgehee7279]

At 8:43, the original 4 low complexity spirits also have these starter cards (or at least my Kickstarter version does)

[@chrisb.8758]

Correct, the low complexity spirits have the power progression cards in all versions. It’s a good feature for learning the game but it’s recommended to ditch the power progression as early as possible since it actually makes the game a little harder vs being able to pick the right card for the situation

[@robertmcgehee7279]

@@chrisb.8758 Oh for sure, I just wanted to mention it since in the video it was said "entirely new for spirit island". I agree learning powers is the way to go, but that resource does exist for people buying the base box.

[@spitfire4209]

I'm definitely approaching this one as a five spirit expansion for the main game.

[@XTCyan]

I'm pretty sure the base Spirit Island game also had power progression suggestion cards for the 4 beginner spirits.

[@marioho]

Yep, it does for the less complex Spirits. Lightning, the earth one, River and Shadow, I think? Anyway, yes it does.

[@Solcoyote]

To me Horizons is my travel version of Spirit Island. Perfect for hotel room play with a smaller footprint. Nice video as always. Keep it up fellas.

[@john-qz3fu]

Holy cow guys... You are the best boardgame reviewers on youtube. Easily the best. Straight forward, concise, and give three numeric scores that really really help. Pat yourselves on the back for a job well done. It blows my mind you don't have more subscribers - here's to many many thousands more.

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

What I love about Spirit Island is the fact that every player concentrates on their Spirit. There is no Alpha Player syndrome with Spirit Island.

[@Shelfside]

definitely agree! so much complexity overrides the quarterbacking -Ashton

[@seanv42]

You underestimate my power. I'm two manning it on phone, working on three.

[@Iamwrongbut]

Honestly I love spirit island so much I might buy this game just for the 5 spirits. $30 for a 5 spirit expansion is worth it to me

[@nitrorev]

It is a good deal but depends on what type of spirits you're looking for. It's 5 low-complexity spirits with no aspect cards. If that's what you and your group want more of then yeah, it's a steal. If you like more high-complexity head scratcher spirits, then one of the promo packs or feather and flame are more up your alley.

[@Iamwrongbut]

@@nitrorev I just want moreeeeeeeeeeee. But really I think they would be nice to have for introducing the game to other players because I HATE the rock guy and the shadows guy. I can’t even dignify them with their names

[@nitrorev]

@@Iamwrongbut Yeah, if you're teaching the game frequently then these are probably really great spirits. Since they have 5 years of experience in designing Spirits, these are probably even better teaching spirits than those in the base game. Vital Strength of the Earth and Shadows Flicker like Flame ;)

[@chrisb.8758]

It’s worth it. The extra set of base power cards with updated wordings is nice too (you can keep them separate for teaching games instead of having to go through your main decks and pull all the expansion cards out). Plus three new colors of presence tokens. Which is worth, like, $5 at best but it’s still something. As you said the spirits are worth it alone, the rest is a bonus

[@shanehaley1868]

I know this is wayy after the original comment but our group really likes the Horizons Spirits. Even though they’re low complexity half of the original SI easy spirits aren’t very fun or good for that matter (Earth and Shadows). These ones are more fun and interesting and I feel like they can better get a new player onboard.

[@callmewisdom]

I bought the full version of SI based on this review and after 5 games I am very happy that I did. :)

[@Shelfside]

And now if you want a great expansion, horizons is a thing! -Daniel

[@bluebooper]

Great review as always! Still looking forward to the review of the full version of the game!!

[@billstrohler]

100% agree on the Quick Guide. We are not expert gamers but not novices either and found the quick guide clunky.

[@DeadneckL]

My understanding of Horizons is that it was commissioned by Target, which is why it's an exclusive for two years. This probably also came with a required price tag, meaning no real room to add a few dollars for more quality. I got Horizons only for the new spirits and already had the rest of the available content so I can't speak to how good it is at teaching (didn't even look at the quick start). I understand your point about how this stands as an introductory product, but I'm also not really sure what they could do without stripping away fundamental aspects of the game. Anyway, I look forward to your review of the main game.

[@Shelfside]

The required price tag definitely influenced thsi game! Our friend also picked up Horizons for the new spirits and didn't even bother with the quick start, so lots of people like yourself out there! :) Daniel and I were really struck on how Spirit Island was a weird choice to get this intro treatment, since it is so hard to strip down Spirit Island even more without making it spirit island! Hence all the Gloomhaven JOTL comparisons. cheers! -Ashton

[@chrisb.8758]

Yeah, the designer has been consistent about the fact that this game wouldn’t exist at all without Target asking them to make it. So the exclusivity can still be a bummer but at least it’s not as if they had this game in the works and then went to Target and signed an agreement with them to make some extra money.

[@tbahr123]

Great thanks now I’m never going to be able to forget Whirlwind blowing the stiff villagers…

[@Shelfside]

ahahaha -Ashton

[@donnyhotard8575]

I really enjoyed when the quick start guide ends with "now do the ravage phase and playout the rest of the game" but never explains the ravage phase... this game was definitely not play tested for new players. Play testing with people who already play Spirit Island does not help new player experience. Most people I see that love this game are just taking the spirits out and playing with the original game and expansions.

[@Timmymtd]

100% agree

[@nitrorev]

As a standalone product, I have to agree that the production quality and lack of adversary to scale the difficulty hurts the overall value of horizons. It was certainly a weird choice by Target since this is a very complex game and wasn't ever going to be a massive hit with non-biard gamers no matter how cutesy you make the art or how low you can bring the cost. What ever motivated the decision, we are so lucky that they did because these new spirits are wonderful! As an expansion for existing Spirit Island fans, this is an excellent expansion with low-complexity spirits that are much smoother than the 4 low-complexity spirits from the base game. In hindsight (and many years of sweaty fans optimizing), a lot of the spirits from the base game are just not that well made. Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares is basically the only base game spirit I'll play without an aspect, most of the other base game spirits are either overpowered (Thunder Speaker, Rampant Green) or kinda lame (Shadows, Earth). These 5 spirits in Horizons are a lot more refined and fun than most of the base game and the dev team out a lot mote effort into them than you might think for a low-cost product.

[@billable1861]

11:40 more complicated than gloomhaven? Since I love spirit island maybe I’ll take a chance on gloomhaven then.

[@Shelfside]

Yep, certainly more complciated than the Gloomhaven structure- since that always has players programming 2 cards, and then operating on a pretty clean initative level. Also since its dungeon crawler themed, you can really just attack stuff and have it immediately die- SI isn't that oonga boonga attack heavy ahaha. Also, innate powers, slow abilities, etc. can be more dense in SI! -Ashton

[@balthrus]

I've Horizons and Jagged Earth. I've played Spirit Island + Branch & Claw so much that only thing that I wish I had are the old adversaries, but more boards would be nice.

[@RealGamer336]

Just bought this. Currently on 12/18/24 this is $15.98 on amazon! For this price even though its cramped on space I think it will be worth it to see if like the game. This allows me to play Spirit Island without spending $50-75. I'm hoping I enjoy it.

[@seemyjohn]

I NEED THE SPIRIT ISLAND REVIEW AAAAAH

[@rjkral]

Super helpful discussion, well done! Instant sub! 👍

[@Shelfside]

cheers man! -Ashton

[@soulside]

Target was having a buy one get one 50% off so I picked this up for $15. I agree about the crowded tokens issue but otherwise I’m pretty happy with my purchase!

[@shineLouisShine]

Awesome. Reasonings are awesome. Honesty is awesome.

[@sebastienvivas9319]

Lord Daniel looking supa fly sporting that hoodie. Respect

[@douglasmurray2147]

I kept the new pieces (including the board and new invader deck) and tossed the cardboard pieces

[@tahubob]

Ashton have you played any hidden movement games like Whitehall Mystery, Fury of Dracula or Mind MGMT? I feel like that would scratch your itch of playing a co-op against an opponent with a soul

[@Shelfside]

I played FoD 2nd edition a while ago, I quite liked it (especially the theme), but I don't think we finished the game we played. Mansions and Eldritch do a fantastic job of making me feel like I'm playing against an opponent with a soul! -Ashton

[@Cheddarific]

Even Scotland Yard Sherlock Holmes edition.

[@brianbaker1700]

Such a great review. I just played with a friend, and we said the same thing at the end ("Wait, we just won." "We did?" "Checking, checking... yeah, I suppose so. That was anticlimactic"). I prefer games that crescendo and then go out with a bang. The whack-a-mole thing really does feel like the same (lonnnng) game over and over, every time. By the way, you guys are great. And if Daniel is not in comedy films yet… why the eff not??

[@Shelfside]

hear hear! Though I have met quite a bit of people that say they like the whack a mole feeling! -Ashton

[@Nominrath]

I was only interested in this for the 5 spirits as I have regular Spirit Island + everything else… but wasn’t going to spend $30-$40 for it. Recently it was on clearance for $10. Sold. +5 spirits for $10 is worth it.

[@duMaurier15]

Is y'all getting Oathsworn? I'm in Canada and our CAD is shit right now plus shipping cost.. not wanting to spend $400.. but I am tempted.

[@Shelfside]

no plans to do anytime soon, but may cover when we have time! -Ashton

[@samuelacevedo6904]

I bought Horizons for $9 at Target. I'm happy with the purchase considering I've never played the base game.

[@robertthurman9866]

90% of my gaming is solo and the other 10% is two player. So this looks good to me compared to the full game.

[@Al0neStillAlive]

Picked it up at Target today. I love Target exclusives because it's actually insanely easy for me to get those compared to some shit like the Stardew Valley board game immediately selling out online.

[@21cabbage93]

I picked up Horizons for £21 as the full game is £65, I’m ok with this because I don’t wanna invest a lot of money incase my wife doesn’t like it, plus it’s a smaller table presence and slightly less complicated

[@RealGamer336]

Comment or Potential way to solve Problem: I am not sure if this would solve the cramped pieces problem. If you use something similar to the plastic cardboard stands (example: what you use in Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion for all the cardboard enemies) this should theoretically solve this problem since all the pieces would then be vertical taking up less space. The publishers should have included something like this. They had to do play testing and they choose to not include something like this which is lazy and not caring towards customers. Including stands would be simple, cheap, and solve this problem.

[@halforange1]

Great review, but it’s probably better to think of Horizons as a travel version or a cheaper version of the base game, not a beginner version. I bought Horizons over the base game. I have been skeptical that I would like SI’s gameplay, but it is the number one solo game, so I decided to dip my toes in by spending $15 on Horizons rather than $45 on SI. It’s hard to beat $15 for a decently long and deep strategy game.

[@nathansatnarain9079]

In the netherlands were both are imported from amarica, 45€ is a lot better than 110€

[@ilqrd.6608]

I love how you are not reluctant to say how you feel about it

[@phk975]

Legit review. It makes sense that base SI feels like a programming game, never quite thought of it that way. Two things when you review the game proper: crank up the difficulty and play with events. Events actually don't add that much complexity and help the island feel much more alive. And struggling the whole game (instead of just in the beginning) pretty much eliminates the "anticlimactic ending" criticism that's pretty common with this game. There's an exhilarating feeling when you find a way out of an impossible situation, or get lucky with a huge event or fear card hitting at the right times. But you need the odds stacked against you for it.

[@icer2312]

Agreed. Playing with no adversaries made the game so samey. It's basically impossible to lose. As you get more games in, you'll start recognising turning points in the game where you start to overpower the invaders. This is where you really win, not just at the end when you meet the win/fear condition

[@callmewisdom]

Just my weekly view thinking the Spirit Island review is finally out...

[@Shelfside]

haha, will take some time -Ashton

[@jasonc2784]

Picked it up on clearance at Target for $7. Nice.

[@loarnchilcote9895]

Sweet review, thank you!!

[@mike9139]

YOU ARE AWESOME! ❤❤❤

[@raustzeal4212]

can you confirm the quality of the spirit boards compared to the base game? it appears to be more flimsy here and that bothers me...

[@emanuelsantiago6734]

I have horizons and the boards are good quality they look like they have linen finish but are for sure way thinner then the base games boards

[@RenbroNL]

Casuals don't solo and 4 players is insane for most casuals. So I think it makes sense going for just the 2-3 player board. People are just cheap. And yes I guess it's still a rough entry for new casual players. But common 5/10 for something that is still Spirit Island???

[@solidawesomeness]

What's that board game table you guys were using and would you recommend it?

[@Shelfside]

its a Duchess from Boardgametables.com. They don't sell it anymore, they sell a current version called the Jasper which is pretty decent for the price. We have videos for both of them (bought with our own $$$)! We'll also have a upcoming board game table video where we'll compare the Duchess to a new one, so we're hyped for that! -Ashton

[@solidawesomeness]

@@Shelfside Awesome, looking forward to that video!

[@christaggart5687]

I just bought spirit island from a guy down my street for 25 bucks. Brand new!! Wanted to get these spirits… but not for this price

[@MafiulRobin]

SI 10/10 for me; I'm a SI veteran and there aren't many games I like these much.

[@tiredguy2753]

Overall it sounds like you where not really the target audience for the product (assuming paying 30$ for 5 extra spirits is worth it). I think for the first time board gamer or someone who has never touched spirit island it is a good purchase. Worst comes to worst and the game bounces off you , you are only out 30$ as opposed to 60-70$ etc… for the “real” spirit island.

[@Shelfside]

It's just that for what's supposed to be introduction to spirit island, it doesn't do enough in that department and you'd still be introduced to the rules with similar efficacy from buying the base game. Sure it's cheaper, but it also has a fraction of the content and worse components. If the rulebook was better and included actual difficulty sliders instead of just telling you to go buy the base game this product could've definitely been a slam dunk, but the current value is just so low, hence why it's more like an expansion to Spirit Island to offer noob friendly spirits and less of a standalone. -Daniel

[@tiredguy2753]

@@Shelfside heh my wallet would tell your otherwise

[@likessox92]

I got spirit island for 36 bucks

[@Shelfside]

Lmao literally no point in Horizons existing at that price goddamn -Daniel

[@youngcoco4445]

What card sleeves do you guys use?

[@bjornspindel6249]

Plastic

[@OmfgItsSteven]

They are dragon shields

[@ihmpall]

I bought this for 16.99 of Amazon seems like a steal

[@DoppelgangerF02]

so brave

[@DF-we4pt]

Good review. Their current backer kit campaign is just as bad and lazy. Go look at comments lol.

[@jupiterloner999]

Definitely stopping me from getting it after watching this... My wallet is safe once again...

[@Shelfside]

Nice! Though that shouldn't stop you from checking out Spirit Island proper if you're interested, cause it's definitely one of the best co-ops out there! -Daniel

[@jupiterloner999]

@@Shelfside One thing about the "whack a mole" thing... Other games like pandemic is also a "whack a mole", why many particularly views it that way towards SI but not pandemic? I'm curious 🤔 And by the way, have you ever heard of Darkest Night from VPG?

[@Shelfside]

@@jupiterloner999 Eh, Pandemic isn't really whack-a-mole it's more like rush the objective and disregard most mechanics of the game, which is super flawed since treating and eradicating is a bait. Haven't heard of Darkest Night either. -Daniel

[@jupiterloner999]

@@Shelfside Ok noted~ For Darkest Night, I wonder if you will ever interested in it or not 😅

[@jupiterloner999]

@@Shelfside Darkest Night is preferably played solo... Just FYI.

[@-Ambos-]

hmmm I am a fan of your channel but a little bit dissappointed that you still didn't make a video about spirit island and it's expansions but now about this version nobody wants:/

[@ejim941099]

Oh man, had to take a L on this channel. Although enjoyable and a very unique take on scoring (user score), I found that most games you disliked I thoroughly enjoyed. Even though this is my last viewing on this channel, I just wanted to wish you all the best. Good gaming.

[@Shelfside]

I mean Spirit Island is one of my favorites, just not Horizons -Daniel