Spirit Island: Branch & Claw Overview - Beyond The Base Game

The Branch & Claw Expansion for Spirit Island, featuring two new Spirits (Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves and Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds) and a new Adversary (France) as well as adding Events to the Invader Phase of the game!
The Event Deck has events that happen each turn, adding further variation to the game play. In addition, the expansion has Tokens that prevent the invaders from exploring, building, or ravaging or add wild Beasts to the land, a new set of powers (31 Minor and 21 Major) that use the new Tokens and expand the gameplay, 15 new Fear cards, new Blight cards, and new Scenarios.
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Who Am I?
One single batchelor from the UK talking about his passion for board games and the people who play them! I support small content creators, board game cafes and go against the status quo when it comes to the board game industry. I give my honest opinions without bias towards any publishers or designers and will not hold back if I don't like a game.
The Broken Meeple is a variety channel that hosts all kinds of board game content from reviews to Top 10 lists to playthroughs to live stream collaborations with special guests (predominantly small channels who deserve more exposure).
I look forward to engaging with you, the community on my live streams or in the comments on my videos!
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:23 - More Variety
04:08 - New Tokens To Add New Effects
07:22 - The Controversial Event Deck
11:13 - The Redundant and Pointless Board
11:59 - Two New Spirits - Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds
14:46 - Two New Spirits - Sharp Fangs Behind The Leaves
17:23 - Summary
#brokenmeeple #spiritisland #branchandclaw #boardgames #boardgame #lukehector #supportsmallcreators #boardgamegeek #game #tabletop #tabletopgames #bgg #boardgamer #boardgamereview
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[@chosenoneunmatched4617]

Hey Luke. I know it's like 3 years late to post on herr...not even sure you'll see this, but thought I'd take a shot. First of all....Love your content man!! Keep it up. You are my Number 1 go to reviewer. Love your honest appraisal of games, and your passion (and dissatisfaction) when merited. Now, onto question. My friends and I played a 3 player game of Spirit Island this weekend. (just before the birmingham half marathon which we ran...lolz...was a late night and tough race as a result....but totally worth it) One of them played Sharp Fangs. And he absolutely detested it. He felt he couldn't do anything of meaning or value in the game. Occasionally he would kill off an explorer here or there, but overall he felt useless. To be fair, whether it was piloting skills or what, it did feel like me and my other friend won the game out, IN SPITE of this Sharp fangs friend of ours, rather than THANKS to him. Any tips? I ask because you clearly loved this spirit so much...and I agree I think the theme is great with him. But any ideas of how to bring the best out of him? Is he a kill off the explorers in the slow phase kinda spirit, so...very methodically predictive. Or is he a reactive spirit? Any thoughts would be welcome. Not looking for a guide on him, plenty of places I can turn to for that, and the Facebook group is amazing...just wanting your opinion and take on him since I think its always more valuable coming from someone hwo clearly enjoys the playstyle so much. Anyway, thanks (even if you don't really see this...not sure How you would tbh...)hope you are well, and looking forward to more content as always!! 👍👍

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Nah I see all mate! :-) Sharp Fans is a fun spirit for me but I'd be lying if I said he was A-tier. He is easily thwarted by blight and does struggle a little I think in larger multiplayer games. I tend to play true solo or 2 player more often and he can pair up nicely with some other spirits. Play Sharp Fangs with Many Beasts Move As One or whatever it is and go nuts! What Sharp Fang needs is beast tokens - they can do nice things per the events, but Sharp Fang should be willing to get more beast tokens on the board as often as possible even if it means cashing in his own presence to do it. Sharp Fang doesn't need as many presence tokens on the board as other spirits and I don't think he cares one bit about sacred sites. So you do have to be frugal with his presence and plan ahead, but he does have the advantage of some fast cards that can kill off explorers before they get a chance to build. Granted some of that depends on what you draw later down the line. I've tried high energy builds and only had so much luck. I do feel he's much better going down the bottom route primarily - getting lots of card plays so that you can trigger his innate abilities as often as possible. Hope that helps a little!

[@chosenoneunmatched4617]

@@TheBrokenMeeple Thanks a lot Luke. I also tend to play him as, a minimal presence, "Rally to me my beasties!!" kinda spirit, sacrificing a lot of my presence and "shapeshifting into beasts". My mate didn't do that as much,...perhaps that was one of the problems. Definately felt the struggle in a 3 player game...gotta give him another go I think. Awesome suggestions tho, and again, love your passion and reviews. Hope you still loving Spirit Island man, and that sheen hasn't quite warn off. For me, it's getting stronger and stronger. And wow!! Can't believe you saw this!! You are indeed omniscient!! All hail to Luke, the all seeing Broken Meeple God!! Heheheh 🤣🤣 Honestly...cheers for your response...and hope you enjoying the weather in good ol' Blighty at the mo!! Maybe catch you at Uk games expo, I'm only going on Friday tho...family commitments...Grrr

[@scyldscefing3913]

My wife and I love Spirit Island. It makes my top 10. We love the Branch & Claw expansion as well.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

And then put Jagged Earth on top and oh the shinies! :D

[@TheHexyBeast]

i love that event deck theres so many times when it has come along and done what i really needed it to... i dont think i could play without branch and claw these days great review Stay Hexy!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I totally agree!

[@FireFr0ggy]

Branch & Claw is indeed very polarizing. Most people's issue with it is that they don't like the "randomness" it introduces to Spirit Island. I'm fine with or without. I do like how it gives some sort of narrative to already very thematic game. My favorite spirit is River Surges in Sunlight.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Yeah a bit of extra theme and it uses the tokens more. River is nice, I like pairing him with Oceans.

[@DarknessProphet]

I play without the event deck. Too random/swingy for me to include it. For solo games, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares is the way to go for me. Every game is just so tense and exciting. River is quite versatile, so I like playing it with other people around. Newbies I give Lightning's Swift Strike, so I can be a semi-support role to their absolute destruction, but it also pairs really well with Thunderspeaker.

[@AzadAlam-du4dc]

😊l lplollll

[@joseg.6187]

Thanks for video..glad.to hear your excitement. I have jagged earth coming. Will check out your eventual review.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Wonderful! And yep, Spirit Island has consumed me! :P

[@hanslamal5632]

Life is full of unexpected events, just look at the worldwide "event" since last year 😉 so imho playing spirit island with the events deck is much closer to real life!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Never took it that far, but I enjoy it! :P

[@AzureIV]

@TheBrokenMeeple - 8:40 There are rules for playing with the tokens, but without the Event Deck. Some people love the tokens, but hate the Event Deck. I myself love everything in the game, but some people just don’t have fun with the Event Deck. I’m glad they have the option to just remove that one component without losing access to the others.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Yes, I think I put the text on screen as I discovered that AFTER opening up my Jagged Earth box.

[@AzureIV]

@@TheBrokenMeeple I believe there were rules (or at least errata) in Branch and Claw to just not use the Event Deck. Jagged Earth added additional cards to go with the "I don't want to use the Event Deck but still want to have some use out of the tokens beyond what the powers give me."

[@onepipwonder915]

great review Luke! I haven't played Sharp Fangs yet, I really think I aught give him a try now that I hear your take on him. Jagged Earth has a no event card options which was really forward thinking of the designer. It allows for the full use of the tokens without the randomness which is pretty cool :) so fun watching you get into to Spirit Island!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

You should! And yeah it's a bit of a trip I must say! So annoyed it's taken this long then I wouldn't be such a novice! Surprised there's a spirit you haven't played yet especially when you have all of them! Yeah I added in the text about the no event card option on screen, but someone else mentioned that also oddly! :P Someone said we should do a Top 10 Favourite Spirits or a Tier List for spirits - I have no where near enough expertise to do any kind of tier list, but with enough plays I could eventually be able to play every spirit and give my thoughts on my ten favourites.

[@onepipwonder915]

@@TheBrokenMeeple oh yeah there are a couple I haven't played yet from all three editions of the game. Just because they seemed too difficult. But my confidence is really growing so by the time I get them all played you might have them played too lol I would love to do a top ten spirit video!

[@danielmarlett1421]

Great Review. Events are great if you like theme. I find the game too easy nowadays without them unless I am going for 10+ level difficulty. Once you get a feel for the events you can almost predict them anyway. There is definitely a rhythm to the event deck. That said, Jagged Earth gives you a cool way to play without it. I don't, but I'm happy it is there. I think you're gonna love that expansion.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Totally agree on the expansion love after I've opened it up! :D I'm still a novice though, - be a LONG time before i go anywhere near 10+ difficulty!

[@marduk3604]

I resisted using the event deck for my first few games, but once I tried it; It feels lacking without it. I'd still play it without, but would prefer using the event deck.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Same here!

[@amansparekh]

I’ve already got the base game, and am going to buy JE. How good is B&C once you have already got JE (considering tokens, events both come in JE as well)? Excluding scenarios and adversaries since you don’t need the physical copy to play with them

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Well I normally tell people to go to Branch and Claw first to ease themselves into it, but if you're skipping ahead then yes mainly you get B & C for two very cool spirits. But the cards aren't duplicated remember, so you're getting more fear cards, more events (you really want the bigger deck) more powers etc. So B & C is still worth its weight.

[@amansparekh]

@@TheBrokenMeeple ok. Will get JE then consider. I’ve played the B&C on the app and played a lot of base game so I’m ready for the more complex spirits

[@kathleenstanford8431]

I love the event deck, l feel like it makes each play more like a game and less like a puzzle, which for me is a positive. There have been occasions where an event has really harmed me, but many more occasions where it has really helped. I like thunderspeaker.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

She's getting better but she's a slow burn for me!

[@Rkm0504]

I'm one of those that doesn't like the event deck, but for different reasons. I actually don't hate the randomness of it. For me, I just felt it bogged down the flow of the game a bit by adding one extra step to take care of. I can understand why people like them, but I just decided they aren't for me.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Ok cool, most I know who dislike it hate the randomness, so that's a different take on it.

[@Oaklestat]

Wait until you get Jagged Earth!! So exciting.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Lol did you see the photo in the first part? 😉

[@Oaklestat]

@@TheBrokenMeeple yup.

[@Kentchangar]

10 out of 10 without events, 7 out of 10 if I had to play with events. PS. I also thought Keeper was slow to build up, but I was horribly wrong. :)

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

So you much prefer the long term planning version without events. Fair enough.

[@annominous826]

Your contrast is too high on the face cam.

[@mikolajwitkowski8093]

Hey! Spoilers!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

For what?

[@mikolajwitkowski8093]

@@TheBrokenMeeple for your opinion, the clip at the start takes away the suspense. 😉