Greater Than Games | Horizons of Spirit Island (Standalone)

I’m constantly on the lookout for two player co-operative games as my wife and I often while away the occasional dull winter afternoon at the gaming table and it is nice to have a variety. Following our less than satisfying experience with ‘Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion’ I’ve tried to avoid games with a high degree of complexity – I’m always tempted by them though and some are still on our ‘games to be considered’ list. One such game was ‘Spirit Island’. Many reviews of the base game state that, while an excellent game, it is complicated, hard to learn and games can go on for ages. Enter ‘Horizons of Spirit Island’.Described as a simplified version of the base game with streamlined gameplay, it seemed an obvious choice. Don’t be fooled by the description; it is still a complicated game with a lot of steps in each round so, even after several playthroughs we still have to work through the rule book to make sure we don’t miss anything. Once you’ve played a couple of times and become more familiar with the mechanics, it is an excellent strategy co-op experience – we’ve even won our last two games without adopting any house rules.It is an interesting game and the only one of its type in our constantly expanding collection. Each player selects a spirit to play & is dealt some starting cards. The game board is set up with initial invaders, spirit presences, native inhabitants and blight. It is too complicated to describe the gameplay in any detail as I would just be copying from the rulebook but suffice to say that each round consists of players selecting and paying for cards to play, performing the corresponding actions (hopefully damaging/defeating invaders in the process), invaders damaging the land & pressing further into new territory and finally natives fighting back. The eventual aim is for the spirits and natives to defeat the invaders. That is very much a precis – there’s a lot going on and even now that we are more familiar with the mechanics and rules, games can easily take 3+ hours over a couple of afternoons. That is not to say that it is a slow & tedious game. There is a lot of strategic co-op planning ahead and analysis paralysis is not too prevalent so the rounds always seem to have a decent pace.The rulebook is very good, the board is clear & well laid out, the component quality is good and it is not much of a table-hog. With a good choice of spirits, each with different abilities and the randomness of card draws, replayability is excellent. All-in all, a splendid game - not simple but engrossing and satisfying.Rulebook: 10/10 Complexity: 8/10 Component quality: 9/10 Replayability: 10/10 Gameplay pace: 6/10

I’m new to complex board games but loved this so much, was accessible for me and a young teen. We have gone on to buy the main base game now but I am glad I got this to try it out first and we still have the spirits and items to use if we want to.

Great game! Arrived quickly and very enjoyable

This is an excellent co-operative board game for between one and three players. It is a stand alone game, not an expansion. If you already have the original Spirit Island, be aware that ALL the Minor Power, Major Power, Fear and Invader cards (except the new Spirits own power cards) are duplicates of cards that also feature in Spirit Island. But you get five fine new Spirits each with their own set of four unique power carts, three sets of player counters differently coloured to the original four sets, and a very handy single piece playing board, doubled sided for either 2 or 3 Spirits to be played.This game is simplified version of Spirit Island (eg no Blight Cards), but is great fun in its own right, and can be treated as an extension of the base game with its five new Spirits.One player can have great fun running two or even three Spirits as a solo game. Negotiating assistance between Spirits is somewhat easier to manage!

You probably already know something about Spirit Island if you're looking at this.There are of course more thorough sources of discussion and review for this particular incarnation.Regardless, it is exactly what it purports to be -- a more affordably-produced (i.e. cheaper components) version of a really great cooperative game. As a bonus to people who might already have said fancier original version of the game, this variant comes with 5 new beginner-friendly spirits which are also (in my opinion) fun to play, and worthwhile to have available for fans of the game, in general.For people that don't already have regular Spirit Island, this is a great way to try it out and see if you like the gameplay. And of course even if you do, there's nothing that says you can't stick with this affordable version in its nice small portable easier-to-store box.You always have the option to buy its big older brother and start slowing getting sucked into the expansions available for that one, in the future, when you've finally got that dedicated board gaming space and your kids finally aren't demanding all your time, and work has calmed down, etc.

Awesome game! Grabbed almost every expansion I could after playing a few games.

This is a 3 player version of the original, with cheaper components. It plays exactly the same as the original. Great cost effective way to get into the Spirit Island game world without breaking the bank. Highly recommended.

Aunque no es el Spirit Island original, su jugabilidad es excelente. Mis grupos de juegos rara vez pasan de tres personas, así que es perfecto para 1-3 jugadores. Los componentes no echan en falta al original (fichas de cartón en ve de casitas e invasores de plástico) de hecho creo que hasta mejor opción en un juego de posicionamiento.Grandioso juego, tiene 5 espíritus para elegir, tiene varios modos de dificultad, muchas cartas para experimentar distintas combinaciones. El juego es fácil de aprender pero requiere su tiempo para dominar. Es de los más satisfactorios que he jugado cuando logras una victoria. Definitivamente lo recomiendo para aquellos que quieren probar el Spirit Island.

Muito bom