Spirit Island - GameNight! Se6 Ep 32 - How to Play and Playthrough

Intro: 0:00
Start of Game: 33:11
End Game Discussion: 3:16:55
Tonight on GameNight!, Nikki, Aaron, Dave, and Lincoln teach and show you how to play Spirit Island designed by R. Eric Reuss and published by Greater Than Games (Fabled Nexus).
Support the show by purchasing Spirit Island on Amazon: amzn.to/2VYhaQJ
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#GameNight #boardgames #tutorial #HowtoPlay

[@Danathon80]

As far as explaining and then playing games go, you guys are the go to video series. Love Daves explanation style, swear it doubles up as an ASMR listen once the rules have been learnt also.

[@TapCat]

Great playthrough, doubly so because it's such a pleasure to see Aaron!

[@ianoble]

One of the best games I played last year. I'm going to watch all 3 1/2 hours of this!!

[@charlieinnes4378]

My favourite game. Didn’t think I would see it on this show.

[@Dometooplz]

My favorite cooperative game. I've enjoyed this game in all player counts but do bear in mind that the more players you have the more options you'll have to consider so if you're going into a 4 player game you should stick with either experienced spirit-island gamers or with gamers that are used to the heavier side of board games. The game has a very pleasing arc. The enemies get tougher and the spirits get powerful. In the start of the game you feel so weak and the enemies are everywhere. By the end of the game it feels like you are an immense force of nature, destroying and cleansing the land. And it is always so tight and interesting. The way I teach the game is as a 10-15 minutes rolling teach, explaining the core mechanisms of the game and getting into the fine details as we go along, it is a cooperative game after all so there's no harm in me helping others along the game as it goes. One very important tip I have to make the game flow more rapidly, even with two players, is to NOT try to get to the ultimate possible solution. The game has too many options to consider to do that. I'd recommend everyone to play their OWN game and only ask\offer specific things. "Can someone move this Dahan into this territory" or "does anyone need me to allow them to play up to two powers as fast powers?" this way you can cooperate without getting into too much detail. especially for the first few games and with large player counts.

[@Blakestefer]

Surprisingly this was the only game over the last year that I was able to consistently get to the table. My friends loved trying to find that perfect solution, even if it meant the game lasted a bit longer.

[@Spudkitty513]

Love, love, love the fact that you are doing a deep and fairly complex game. Thank you! Our gaming group has played Spirit Island three or four times … and making mistakes in every one. Thank you for helping us to sort everything out!

[@trentvansant2250]

Yay! The gangs back together and playing a game that I like!

[@TimeSlayer3]

One of the 2 10/10 games I've ever played, the other one being Kingdom Death: Monster. Thank you for playing this and sharing it with us.

[@staticklingon2182]

Is Spirit Island as much of a brain burner as KD:M? Or can you pick a good choice of cards relatively quickly then play it out once the round starts? (Like in Gloomhaven and win often)

[@nolanpearson211]

@@staticklingon2182 Super late reply. I'm sure you've already played the game by now. But the game is somewhat of a brain burner. It's similar to chess where you need to think multiple turns in advance. Co-op isn't that hard to win with standard set up so long as everyone knows what theyre doing

[@georgea5162]

This was a good playthrough of a beginner's game of Spirit Island. The key thing to note is that the game has a very well designed adjustable difficulty: The main way that experienced players would play the game would be to play against an adversary (e.g. England, Prussia, Sweden) - which adds extra abilities to the invaders depending on the adversary level selected. This adds a lot of replayability and keeps the challenge fresh as you become better at this game.

[@Romey301]

Yayyyyy FINALLY.... been waiting for this one . Glad it's finally on the table. Thanks guys!!😁

[@patrickrochel9827]

You all are so fantastic. This is one of the greatest play through channels ever. I love that you all seem like people that I might meet in a game group. Keep it up, can't wait to see what else is on the way

[@garrettelkins1585]

So glad you guys played this! I've had Spirit Island for months now and have been nervous about learning it. This will definitely help! Thanks!

[@TheDarktater]

This game might have taken my top co-op spot. Such a great game. Once everyone knows the game you can play 3-4 players in under 90 minutes. 3 of us we are right around the 60 minute mark.

[@staticklingon2182]

3-4 under 90 minutes?!?! So is your strategy everyone choose their cards mostly silently then you decide who goes first? I could see my group wanting to stop and go over each person's options one by one and formulate a grand release every turn. FYI, I don't have the game, I assume this from watching videos like this one.

[@Elohandre]

At low difficulty level yes, but when you raise the difficulty level, it takes more thinking tactical/strategy time to win.

[@ClintK.]

Thank you guys for playing this one! I pulled it off the shelf and forgot a few things. Love love love your videos. Thanks for doing a meaty game. This one was well deserved!

[@tranquilitytravels2994]

I love to learn games with your play throughs! Thanks so much for doing this.

[@AhJong0]

I adore this game, one of my absolute favourites. Having said that , it is very cumbersome at 4 players. It’s increases several of the negative aspects (that Aaron mentions) without significantly increasing the positives. The “beginner game” is not a patch on the full game, it really rewards clever thinking. The expansion is absolutely superb. I was unsure on the randomness of the Encounter card but they breathe life in the game.

[@robisen1]

Hhhhhhhiuh juice i

[@paulfortner3259]

Dave was playing that the repeat action had to be paid again but I don't think that is the case unless the power specifically states that it does. The glossary for repeat just says that you don't get the element a 2nd time (which I don't think he did).

[@antoniogutierrez7218]

This game is one of my favorites, the group I play with and I decided to each take care of our own little island tile at least for the first couple turns, and then only ask for help or say where we can help to keep the game fast, since organizing every action of every player takes a great deal of time since you are going back and forward among the whole possibilities.

[@Duxa_]

one of my favorite games, cant get enough! 2nd expansion just came out too

[@kylethieman4254]

Great timing as one member of my group got this for Christmas a d probably playing next week.

[@Sean-or1bv]

Awesome game playthrough guys!

[@styjoy]

Couldn't believe myself watching a 3.5 hours video on youtube to the end.

[@carlosacevedo9818]

YESSS, finally. Been waiting for you guys to do this one. I like how Dave explain games. I love board games, and i still cant explain well simple games like LOW without making them sound difficult. Dave manages to explain these games in such a way that its easier to follow and grasp.

[@ryanfournier9522]

It seems like he’s very quarterbacky. I didn’t enjoy watching him tell everyone what to do at all

[@SoloClub123]

1:05:21 When you add a blight to a space and it already has a blight, you still add it to that land. You just also have to add one more to an adjacent land. If that land were to already have a blight, then you still add it, but also add another to an adjacent land. So you can have multiple blights in one land. (edit: I just saw you put a note when you were initially explaining the blight.)

[@Dreadnote-pf7of]

Yeah, I agree with Nikki, because that constant talking, strategising and non-stop player interaction is what Spirit Island a perfect coop - it definetly take a long time to play, so as most "big" coop do, but in spirit island you always need to "connect" with other spirits, you always helping someone with something that their spirit can't do (or atleast can't do that efficient). And this is what makes it so good. Because in Eldritch Horror, Pandemic or other games yeah, you playing it one team and you need to help others... But you still feel alone or if someone keep forsing you to "make a move that they need", you feel "alpha-played". When in SI you just... Dk, connect with other players, you like some greater overmind that try to unpack how to overcome problems, but you still "part" of this collective and you need to help it... And being helped. And yeah, expansion somewhat fixes problem with "predict and overcalculate everything" because it adds event deck and beasts, so at some point you just say "okay, this plan looks good enough, we don't need prepare ultimate-overcalculated one because something like unexpected plague or beast attack or many other things could screw our plan anyway", and then it really screw it, sometimes in a bad way, but sometimes in good. You was worried about this pack of explorers? Well... They are not there more, thanks event deck! And because there is so much events - you never could be shure what comes next, and it really help with AP, atleast in my group.

[@kkey1030]

I am so excited! I’ve been playing this game solo, and I’m happy to be able to watch it played by a group.

[@BoardgameswithNiramas]

Good one! For me this is a 1-2 player game, but I love it !

[@mbalazs3544]

grate game thx for showing and playing it I will add this to my colecetion one day

[@swvi9459]

What Aaron said at the end of the game, that's how I felt when I've played GAIA Project. This game is amazing.

[@macurvello]

16:03 Yep, I heard it too, Nicky.

[@rattenusrattoonus1880]

i dont get it HAHA

[@pimentoloaf1509]

@@rattenusrattoonus1880 He misspoke and said, "gross" where he meant, "growth."

[@schoko-fan4370]

Wow, can not believe I just stayed tuned in for over 3h 🤓 but I would agree with Aaron, the box looked so nice and cool and colorful and then it‘s THIS. What a heavy book keeping game. The turnes might not be too complex but with 4pl you really have to time all your moves and discuss options ... at the beginning it felt overwhelming with all those white plastic spawning all over the board. I felt: no chance to win this. I would probably even forget what I was going to do before it comes to the slow actions just like Dave did a couple times - even the tokens did not help cause he could not remember for what which one was - just phew ... Cool that you showed this game- I would not have the group for it but love to watch you guys play - always fun 🖖

[@crisglenn788]

I adore Spirit Island (and you guys), and have only one criticism of the game. I think the three "markers" that each player has to make "notes" are way more important, and players should actually have a larger array of tokens. For example, "shields" to indicate where you intend to defend and "spirits" where you intend to otherwise affect are cool, but how about "repeat" tokens to mark powers/cards you intend to repeat, "boosts" showing which players you may be awarding bonus elements/energy to, "used" tokens to mark which cards you've used during play, etc.

[@LiiChinHo]

I agree this game gets really complex turns often and I often find myself wishing for more reminder tokens. It's satisfying removing them one at a time as you carry execute your plan.

[@ChrisRobb77]

I agree. What I did was buy some small colored wooden discs and put numbers on pairs of them. So, I have 6 pairs for each spirit that are the same color as their presence markers. Then I put one of the pair on the card and one on the board where I intended for that card to happen.

[@GrandElemental]

Absolutely!

[@megalodon2012]

Am i the only immature one who had to stifle a giggle at 1:14:18 "going to ravage her sacred site"? I'm probably the only one lol. Thanks for the video as always guys, i tried playing this game with some friends and they DID NOT enjoy it. Hopefully i can find some people to play it with in the future.

[@mapanzer]

Thanks for playing this, one of my favorite games of the last few years. Looking at some of the comments above, this is a hard game to showcase, especially with four players. When you are merely observing the decision-making process (rather than being part of it) the board can be very hard to read and just look busy. I have played the game 20+ times and I hard a hard time following along. Two thing I wish you had done more of: reading the titles of the powers more often (some incredible writing there), and showing some of the advanced spirits at the end (instead of the scenarios, etc.)

[@boardgamegeek]

Michael, I couldn't agree with you more about reading the cards. I tried hard to do so but I'm sure I slipped up in the game. Thanks for the note and for watching. -Lincoln

[@staticklingon2182]

What do you suggest? Is this a "Let's just learn as we go" type game?

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Awesome job

[@heccubus1]

Thank you Paul!

[@gunsbulletsheroin]

i was pretty surprised by the reviews at the end. nikki seemed bored and frustrated the whole time but then said she really liked it. aaron seemed pissed off at first but got super into the game but then gave it the most negative review. lincoln also seemed pretty frustrated by the game but then defended it when aaron attacked it.

[@boardgamegeek]

It's a co-op and they should be tough and that is what I appreciate about it. I will say I was surprised by Aaron's feelings about the game which might be a reason for my defense. Thanks for the note and for watching. -Lincoln

[@gunsbulletsheroin]

@@boardgamegeek thanks for replying so quickly! i appreciate your close connection to your audience

[@dkiprijanovski]

Loved Aaron's review of the game, and the gameplay specifically , and cannot agree more! This is a fun game, but a bit overstays it's welcome ... Still for me, this is a game I'd play if invited ... I've played it 5+ times and I enjoy it more due to the group of players rather than the game itself, due to the hard work keeping track of turns and the engine of the game ... But still Spirit Island is a very good and clever co-op game!

[@charlieinnes4378]

dkiprijanovski It’ a great 1-3 player game. 4 is too many for me but if the four people were all confident and didn’t have the need to know everything syndrome, it’s probably okay

[@LiiChinHo]

@@charlieinnes4378 the need to know everything syndrome is too real lol

[@JendersGaming]

Nice video!

[@Duxa_]

Oof, my tastes align with Aaron's, I love Arkham Horror, long and complex games, and Spirit Island is in my top 3 of all time. I think the negatives he brought up are non issue at all after playing a few times. It does not take 45 minutes to do a turn. About 15 in a 2 player game, 20 to 25 in 3-4 player games. Also the discussion and synergizing is what makes this game so much fun. I wouldnt want it to be any shorter or less complex. The bookkeeping issue he brought up. Im not sure where that is coming from, there are very few things to keep track of in this game. There is a clear structure and order to stuff happening, all easy to keep track of (there is a helper card for each player to glance at if needed). I think Aaron needs to give this one a few more plays. Perhaps in a 2 player setup.

[@chrisb.8758]

Probably doesn’t help that he ended up with Shadows, either

[@isobelmason1069]

fantastic 😇

[@BGBarbarian]

Aaron should give it another try on normal level and now that they know how to play it would go quicker. It seems like maybe he would like it 2-3 players. I really like Lincoln’s approach.

[@Br0kenM0nkey]

I noticed you guys weren't removing spirit presence tokens when Blight was being added to an area.

[@panthwolfy]

Yeah cause they only win. They almost never lose especially when they can rig it or "make mistakes" so they can win. I mean they win Arkham Horror games, like the card game.

[@CharlestonAES]

@@panthwolfy Why are you so salty? If you don't like their content or the way they present things, then don't watch. This is just for entertainment... Nothing serious going on here. Looking at all your comments for this channel clearly shows you don't enjoy it... Why let it piss you off?

[@zefciu]

@@CharlestonAES Especially that they also made some mistakes to their disadvantage. They heal towns before the turtle phase. They put setup blight from the card instead of from the box. So there’s no reason to believe they did anything on purpose.

[@sayobaki]

​@@CharlestonAES no but i agree with him, cuz it says "How to play" so you would get here to learn how to fkn play right? But they dont know how to play in the first place

[@brianartman3877]

Would love to see you guys play Above and Below, or one of the other Red Raven games. Love your channel, but my bank account curses you every time I add a must have to my list. Thanks for all you do for the gaming community!

[@m.i.3294]

1:05:30 You made a mistake there. When Blight cascades, you add one Blight on the original space and one ADDITIONAL blight in an adjacent land. Cascading means you will always put (at least) TWO blight, not just one. This is why cascades are actually quite deadly in this game. (Just to be clear: There is no maximum to the number of blight that can be in one land.)

[@DotDorte]

Is was corrected in 1:09:00

[@ElaDivine]

AAAAH they keep healing towns before slow powers!!! Other than that, real fun :)

[@kassiehustrulid6651]

Md

[@juliel5474]

During set up, I believe you are suppose to put blight from the box onto the board and not from the blight card. The blight from the card only comes off when you start the game.

[@AndrewRichesson]

Analysis Paralysis: The Game But no, this game looks really enjoyable once you can get the hang of it.

[@mewingkitty]

It looks really enjoyable if each player was allowed to play their own turn.

[@Blakestefer]

@@mewingkitty - the nature of the game does mean that some of the spirits are more for support and they need to be actively assisting the offensive spirits. But I do agree, at times they are really hushing other players opinions, especially Nikki's.

[@staticklingon2182]

@@Blakestefer I love the idea of supporting spirits. But if the whole group tries to do each person's turn then I along with my group would hate it. I like the idea of one spirit saying "hey, what are you doing?" though.

[@Reggie1408]

@@staticklingon2182 That's how my partner and I play it. "I can take care of this land if you can get Dahan in here" "Don't worry about that land. I have it under control."

[@staticklingon2182]

@@Reggie1408 Awesome. Glad to hear this strategy works. It's still at the tip top of my wish list. I may give it a shot soon!

[@billable1861]

I think everyone had a strong opinion of this game whether they loved it or hated it. The majority of criticisms about the game from Aaron I consider major strengths of this game and what lends itself to high replay ability. I do think there should be more markers to note reminders, abilities, defending.

[@leodouskyron5671]

I love when Aaron actually disagrees. The fact is if you say it is all great you don’t get good feeling on the game. This game looks like every time you add a player it adds mental complexity. It looks like first time you should play with 2 or 3 and once everyone is good with it then you try 4. I wish I could give it a shot ... then Cov is making sure most of us did not get to do things.

[@melissaarsenault5218]

Lincoln. We need a haircare video. The world demands to know how you maintain your luscious locks.

[@heccubus1]

Melissa, LOL! My "secret", I never use a blow-dryer. It might be better if I did. Thanks for the note and for watching.

[@DotDorte]

Lincoln Damerst haha me too, but as my hair is so thick it would also take me too long to bliw dry it 🤣

[@stevegeorge7773]

I think there was a mis count on fear at 3:05 with Nikki’s actions by two more than what was applicable.

[@sukicly]

At 3:14:45 the last turn of Lincoln, Aaron's comments just had me bursted out laughing!

[@winnie_s]

I love the game, really, it's my no.5 board game of all time (out of 500 games). I think the perfect number of players is 2p for newbies and 3p for elites. That being said, you guys play with 4!!, its too long and also too complicate with 4 players even for me. Please, especially Aaron, play it again with 2 or 3 players (plus scenario and adversary) you will enjoy it more :D

[@Fighterfan69]

agree. I think 4 players is too many. The new expansion that was on KS adds a 5th and 6th person I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong. The game plays best with 2-3 players. Of course I play this solo with one spirit as well as 2 handed as it's nice to have synergies with spirits. My favorite game of all time.

[@billable1861]

My Cat's Breath Smells Like Cat Food I don’t think it’s as hard as people make it out to be and kids are inquisitive and fast thinking so I think give it a chance. I learned basic chess at about age 7 though.

[@fergman3690]

Great stuff.. hoping to play this one soon and this is informative. Is there any chance you'll be upping the overhead camera upload to 4k sometime soon?

[@bennelson270]

Yay Aaron!

[@tommessig2060]

the first time i played this game i thought, "is this winnable? am I playing it correctly?". i'm going to try my second game soon.

[@AndreasKungl]

I just finished my very first game (I bought it for myself as a christmas present after watching this video right here). My set-up was solo with beginner rules and the lightning dude as my spirit. Man, that was already hard. I managed to win in the absolutely final round (no invader cards to draw anymore) for an astonishing 11 points. Looking forward to repeating it soon. The influence/expansion phase (first thingy in the spirit phase) seems to be quite decisive in the solo game. This didn't seem so obvious in the 4 piece game in the video.

[@GreenStarMidoriBoshi]

what setup are you using for filming the table from above? it's very clear, and the sound quality is very good also

[@CeePhour]

"Also fewer" *smirk*

[@Reggie1408]

He's not even right. Plastic isn't countable. If Aaron had said " less plastic *pieces* " then Dave would've had a point. But he didn't.

[@supernova6398]

At 2:42:10 - shouldn't Nikki's Spirit presence got removed by the cascading blight added there?

[@Blakestefer]

Yes it should

[@Carpetslipper]

I play this solo and 2 player also. I agree that I think 4 would be a bit too much to chew. It is a head burner.May I recommend Brass Birmingham. Plenty to think about but not too rules heavy. I think you will enjoy it.

[@ivokostadinov6413]

Ok i have a question. Lightning's special rule says that you can make slow power a fast one but in brackets it states: power card OR innate power. Do I have to choose or can i make my power cards fast and at the same time play my innate power like a fast one along with them in the same turn.

[@Blakestefer]

The special rule says for every purple element you've played you can make a slow power a fast power. So if you have 3 purple elements then you can make 3 separate powers fast, that can be a combination of power cards and the one innate power that Lightning has... or all of it could just be used on power cards.

[@billable1861]

Blakestefer is it just Lightning’s swift strike that can make his own fast or any spirit with that ability?

[@adelfaidah3224]

to be fair not only was it a really long game due to it being 4 players, but aaron got the least straightforward spirit of the 4 basic ones and arguably the weakest in the entire game, so that could have compounded the negative experience as well. Either way, not everyone needs to like every game I understand that, I am just saying that it is possible that another spirit and a shorter player count might solve the issues aaron has with it. Also the invaders phase can be streamlined somewhat by everyone doing the invader phase on their starting board, instead of all four of you checking all lands one by one. Granted they would have to be familiar with how invaders work, but it definitely speeds it up, helps get the game flowing

[@dkoudrin]

I've played this twice and won both times quite easily. The key to me seemed that you should mainly concentrate on the 'build' locations, so that you can stop them ever spreading, if you concentrate on the ravaging, then you are just going to be fighting a losing battle.

[@m.i.3294]

Well you probably won both of these games at difficulty 0 (which basically is like beginner mode). The game is designed in a way that makes sure you can't actually lose at difficulty 0 if you know what you're doing.

[@dkoudrin]

@@m.i.3294 No, we played on 'normal' and 'hard' with the special blight conditions. We also chose characters randomly without any knowledge of them and didn't use the 'beginner' suggested setup.

[@mapanzer]

@@dkoudrin Not sure what you are referring to, but there is no "normal" or "hard" mode. the difficulty scales from 0-10, depending mainly on the adversary used (Brandenburg Level 6 is difficulty 10, e.g.). Commonly, 5-7 is regarded as medium difficulty, while 8+ is hard. Using the blight cards is difficulty-neutral to the beginner setup with only the printed blight conditions.

[@alexholcomb3168]

Looks like you kept the build pieces out after showing how they would be played for the first round, meaning you didn't have your turn before pieces were played for the invaders.

[@gamineglass]

This is one of my favorite games, but I will NOT play it with four. Two or three is ideal.

[@GrandElemental]

Agreed with both points, it is one of my absolute favourites too and 2-3 players is how it plays best. 4 is too much for me, the game board and interaction is much more difficult to deal with and the game becomes very long.

[@GrandElemental]

Also isn't it crazy that there was a Kickstarter campaign for a new expansion that adds 5-6 player support? ...yeah, I don't see how that could possibly work in any way.

[@lazulin]

Agreed! My favorite game, but as far as I'm concerned, it's a 2-3 player game. Let's just say the part of the KS I'm least interested in is 5-6 player support. Have zero interest in that.

[@lazulin]

For others' reference - it plays super-fast with far less AP in 2p, because the decision space is significantly narrowed and there's only two players deciding. It's not unusual to polish off a game in 90 minutes, and I'm a person who tends to run on the high end of almost every time estimate. 3p is also faster. They actually played it quite quickly for 4p. Also, some of the stuff they didn't play with like blight cards is stuff that I'd play with even with brand new players. Normally 2 or 3 is the favorite player count, with 4 considered to largely be an expert player count, and even a lot of very experienced groups won't play with 4. My favorite thing about the game is something they didn't actually demonstrate, which is how the invaders can provide an endless difficulty scale. I am also a big fan of the branch & claw expansion and have even been known to teach with it, but most wouldn't recommend it for new players, so I understand why they didn't include it.

[@crashnip]

you should play some Meko Card Games Farm Game next

[@PsRetrogamer]

Hey guys. Feel free to join the Spirit Island Facebook group if you also love this game. Share some game sessions, strategies and questions with other fans. facebook.com/groups/spiritisland See you there!

[@joej.8315]

River not using Blue tokens is a big mistake. Pretty sure that's in the rulebook

[@Danarchy3]

I knew I was in over my head when I noticed they didn't even start playing the game for 30 minutes.

[@BoardgameLiker]

“I helped!” Ok, good boy. Here’s your cookie.

[@HomestarRunner20X6]

Can you guys play 7 Wonders or Catacombs? Not that I don't watch everything you upload anyway.

[@mewingkitty]

Game starts at 33 minutes, if anyone wants to watch the game actually played.

[@mewingkitty]

Sorry that was a lie. They thought about discussing potentially starting the game at 33 minutes in.

[@GGJeeF]

Great series guys. I enjoyed watching it! :) I have two questions: 1. If the invasion ravage for example in a swamp and there are two Dahan and one town and one city, does get the land a blight? Because I'm not sure if it is the difference between the attack damge of the invasion minus the defense of the Dahan which is dealt to land OR if the Invasion deals damage to Dahan and at the same time the equal amount of damage to the land. I'm aware of the 2 damage minimum rule to place a blight token. 2. Do the cards I "purchase" come firstly into my hand and then in my personal pile of graveyard (deck) after playing it? So if I claim my graveyard back into my hand I have all the cards I have "purchased" over the whole game? best greets and hope someone can help me out. :D

[@Rachjer]

Have you found an answer for the first question by now? Struggling with the same thing rn

[@AndreasKungl]

The rules seem to suggest: 1. second option 2. yes

[@TofuMeOnce]

1. The second option, so they would do 5 damage to the Dahan AND 5 damage to the land. You basically just have to remind yourself that Dahan offer no defense. However, if you have a power that provides defense, that defense applies to both the land and the Dahan. So if you had a Defend 4 card in your example, only 1 damage would be dealt to the Dahan and land (which is not enough to kill a Dahan or blight the land) and then the Dahan would be able to respond with the full 4 damage. 2. Yes, when you reclaim you reclaim your whole personal discard pile, and cards you buy come into your hand first. That being said, if you purchase a MAJOR power card, you have to forget another card you have, and that card is permanently discarded so it can't be reclaimed.

[@AndreasKungl]

@@TofuMeOnce Forgotten minor powers are going back to the common discard pile and can be redrawn by any player after a reshuffle. Only spirit specific forgotten powers will be permanently removed.

[@pixxelwizzard]

Aaron: "A good one hour game that takes three hours." Perhaps the player count and lack of game experience inflated the play time? I don't think I would want to play this game for three hours, but if we can play it in one I might pick it up.

[@pimentoloaf1509]

It has a fairly steep learning curve, but eventually 3 people can play in 90 minutes. It is completely worth getting over this hump.

[@sdhokie]

Nikki is holding herself together pretty well playing Mansplain Island

[@DRK0114]

??? what on earth are you talking about you lunatic

[@MattCrawley_Music]

@@DRK0114 because the men are treating like she's stupid

[@jenniferhebb9348]

Pandemic, Robinson Crusoe,( I already have and do play)just tired of the do or die. I want to enjoy the journey. Also all the up keep I agee is tiresome. Plus, its so easy to miss all the details. My top point is not pretty...😁. I appreciate the content as I now have a clear idea if this is for me. As I also have absolutly no game group for this. I'd try it in that case.

[@tychay]

This is an old vid so I’m sure it was mentioned already. 3:24 It looks like you but blight from the card onto the board as part of setup. You are supposed to put blight from the box. This means 4 more blight tokens should be there. 38:06 I stopped watching but wow, I forgot how complex this game is! So much planning to do.

[@goldblend86]

-3:08:49 that look, get on with it :-)

[@stephenhickey130]

Game length wise, definitely should never be played with 4 unless everyone's an expert. 2 player is great moving on to 3 when you've all several games experience

[@KnorSC]

Ho do you guys decide what game you will play? Sponsored?

[@heccubus1]

Ron, we pick what we are excited about. We really want to feature games that are fun for us. Thanks for the note and for watching.

[@KnorSC]

Lincoln Damerst great job thanks

[@arvydasXIII]

“Time Passages?”

[@ourfamilytogether]

I noticed that you only have 16 blight on the board to start the game. You should have 20. The blight you add to the island in setup should come from the supply in the box, not from the board.

[@Koshak87]

Tammy L Rulebook, page 6, specifically states otherwise.

[@paulfortner3259]

@@Koshak87 Actually Page6 specifically states the blight should come from the box just as Tammy said.

[@FredzGreen]

Alfa gamers? This game was not supposed to have them but ... Good video all the same.

[@MattCrawley_Music]

Love Lincoln's Doctor Who shirt

[@PreppinShootinLivin]

Whoa, that's convoluted. I mean, if you have the playing group that can sit through all the rules, the long game, the figuring out where/when every spot gets more tokens, etc, etc, etc....then it would likely be a fun game, but there is no way my group could sit through or even understand all that....unfortunately.

[@charlieinnes4378]

PreppinShootinLivin i think this show, by its nature of explaining every rule at the beginning will always suffer with 3.5+ weight games. If you teach this game with just the spirit actions and the gist of invader actions rather than the nitty gritty, it can be taught in 10 with wuestions to follow. Still deffo not for every game group but I dont think quite as scary as this makes it look!

[@TapCat]

I just bought Spirit Island but will either play it solo or with my wife. So there won't be a need to teach every time and the game moves a lot faster at a low player count. I have no interest in playing with 4 people. As you say, that's a lot to deal with and more time at the table than I'm looking for.

[@jeremysnyder8848]

The game is less complex than it seems. The perceived complexity comes about because there is a steep learning curve due to the uniqueness of the theme and mechanics. Once you get into the rhythm of it, it gets a lot simpler. Also, it works better with more independence... "We need to take care of these three spots, I can take care of this one" is better than discussing all of the different options for each person and collectively deciding on the optimal play (I'm not say that's what Game Night did, but they were somewhere along that continuum).

[@Dometooplz]

I've played Spirit island with 4 players. The trick is to have experienced boardgames who are into the heavier side of board games AND to not consult each other too much. Attempt to do the most you can with what you have and at most ask or offer other players specific effects on the board. Ex: "can you move 2 dahan into this teritory?", "will it help anyone if I'll push this town into a specific territory?"

[@m.i.3294]

​@@galad5173 Agree, it definitely plays best with 2 or 3 players. Also, I would agree with you about not accepting more than 1 new player at a time. I mean, it's fine if there are two new players, but I would make them play 1 Spirit together (which is still quite complex at first if there are 3 Spirits in the game).

[@softshoes]

Sometimes you can let Nikki play her game Dave. I adore your explaining of the game but I don't think I could sit next to you.

[@mgk2020]

They've explained before that they ask him to do that.

[@teen-at-heart]

mgk2020 Yes, Lincoln said that they do that, but apparently not every time/game. Anyway, the problem is a bit that the others stay so passive in comparison and that Dave does it more ‘to’ Nikki as she’s sitting beside him...sort of a “geographical” bias. ;) And in addition, Dave often gives advice to Nikki not seeing/knowing that this option is not available to her, which gives it a slightly ‘ignorant’ feeling. I know (for a fact) that he doesn’t mean any of that in such negative ways, however, when working with publicity and cameras you cannot completely ignore how things might come off and what messages you might send (the combination ‘a man telling a woman what to do’ is unlucky as well). That’s why I would change these involvements slightly in order to lessen the misinterpretations. For example Dave could do it more actively with all players (like last time with that Gods game). And/or he could examine Nikkis exact situation first, before giving advice. Or Nikki could be seated on the other side every now and then to eliminate the bias. Etc. There are many options.... :)

[@teehlfx5238]

mgk2020 They ask him to explain Nikki’s turn to her or Nikki has asked for Dave to explain her turns for her?

[@teen-at-heart]

Tee Hlfx Lincoln said that they (apparently sometimes) ask Dave to start discussions about and voice thoughts on the turns of other players, so that the game/video is not too quiet and with little interaction (as you play some games a bit ‘on your own’ without much interaction with the other players). And apparently they ask Dave to do that (to all players) as he knows the rules best and can comment most on possible options and players’ turns.

[@softshoes]

@@teen-at-heart I don't buy that entirely. Dave constantly plays Nikki's game for her. Now if she asks for the help I don't know, but if she does they should show that too. It makes it look like Nikki doesn't have the ability to play herself. I watch most of their playthroughs and Dave is alpha but it seems he mostly responds during Nikki's turn. Maybe I'm wrong but that's how it seems to me.

[@CamilleDeveveraux]

the alpha gamer is in, i repeat, the alpha is here

[@rappscallion3238]

Bough this game but we've only played it once. It's hard game to get on the table due to it's somewhat complicated rules, heavy analysis paralysis and long playtime. Which is sad because it's really a good game.

[@Blakestefer]

Funny enough it's been the only game I've consistently gotten to the table with my small friend group 🤷‍♂️

[@paulfortner3259]

It plays great solo to help get the rules down and master your favorite spirits. This really helps keep the playtime down when you do get it back out for a 2-3 player game.

[@WilliamHELLHASEYIS]

I don’t blame you!! Nothing wrong with making towns and cities!! Enough with this noble savage narrative Painful game! Yet so popular UGH

[@timgrossman8346]

I really like this game solo or with 2 players but honestly 4 players looks like an absolute nightmare. Way too much going on.

[@mikesied]

seemed like a few cranky players on this one

[@Blakestefer]

2:12:19 my god that was freaking rude.

[@Blakestefer]

@My Cat's Breath Smells Like Cat Food it's the way he answers it.

[@MattCrawley_Music]

Not really.

[@billable1861]

You’re really stretching. He answered her question and explained why he felt it would be more beneficial to focus on a different objective for fear of losing.

[@Reggie1408]

@@Blakestefer I think he's right to be annoyed. This is not the game you ask others to play for you.

[@Blakestefer]

@@Reggie1408 I've played this game over a dozen times and I get asked a million questions from my friends, but I don't answer them like they're morons.

[@Psychotron7x2]

Holy moly, this game looks like an absolute nightmare to learn. Good vid but this game is the hardest of passes.

[@andrewng7110]

the gameplay is simple, onc eyou played a couple of rounds you will get the flow. The only problem is the book keeping which can be overwhelming even with 2 players.

[@joshtaylor6137]

It's definitely one you will have to have the rulebook handy just in case, but the rules overhead isn't too bad, it's just that the depth of strategy is staggering (in a good way) :) Learning isn't super difficult (it isn't easy), it's the mastery that's tough!

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

Its not simple though. Dave is VERY good at rules explanations and 30 minutes of explanations = not a simple game

[@Dometooplz]

@@danteshydratshirt2360 The rules complexity is not too high. I can get a game of this going in 10 minutes (explaining the meat of the game, then going into a rolling teach as we play. Within one round everyone gets all the rules). The staggering amount of possibilities, especially with larger player count is what really drives the weight up in my opinion.

[@Blakestefer]

This game has one of the best rulebooks I've read. Mechanically it plays pretty simple, just follow each step in order during the phases and you'll be good. The complexity of the game is in the puzzle and figuring out how to best eliminate the invaders.

[@fredericduran5186]

way too late, but at 28:40 you explain that jungle inland tile withe city & town wil get another city, this is wrong. the rule is: more towns than cities at the moment... a town & a city ==> 2 towns & a city 2 towns & a city ==> 2 town & 2 cities 2 town & 2 cities ==> 3 towns & 2 cities

[@thomashantgin5124]

give me a six player version

[@twiztid79]

Skip 2 hours and 37 minutes into the video if you wanna skip the short how to play intro...........

[@archmagus1510]

ufff not for me.very convoluted.probably best solo or with only 2.under those rules alpha players came out really quick and that makes coops boring as F.i like more smaller coops.like pandemic the cure,forbidden desert.something i can take to pub.probably best big coop i played is still Freedom: The Underground Railroad

[@m.i.3294]

Trust me, Spirit Island is not prone to alpha players! There's no way one person can keep track of every option every other player has. Too many options, your brain would explode.

[@Blakestefer]

Out of every co-op game out there Spirit Island probably suffers the least from alpha gaming. If someone is trying to direct the whole table then they're probably doing a suboptimal job of managing their own spirit.

[@panthwolfy]

Let me guess, you won.

[@floodkevin4716]

They lose plenty. Maybe watch more videos. Or don't, only doing us all a favor from your lame ass comments

[@Gorkilein]

Wow did you make many mistakes.... Explorer don't generate fear and blight is only if there's more than 2 damage left afzer the dahan defend. Or is there a difference between language versions?

[@trdi]

I was surprised to see that only Aaron criticized this game in the end, to some extent. I was especially surprised to see Nikki is loving this game, because she looked disinterested and frustrated with the rules. In fact neither of the 4 players seemed to know the rules very well. Which doesn't surprise me at all. I tried to think what is wrong with this game and I think that the game is too convoluted and complex, has too much maintenance going on - for the amount of fun and satisfaction it can offer in return. Biiig pass on this one. And as much as 3 of the players were defending this game, I just don't see them playing this game very often in the future themselves.

[@Blakestefer]

Have you ever played it? This is the only game my non-gaming friends have loved and constantly ask to play. It's really not as complicated as it seems.

[@dannyboyjenkins]

Trashing such a beautiful game