Spirit Island reference sheet

Overview

• Cooperative game for 1–4 players; each player is a Spirit defending an island from colonizing Invaders [p.3 — Gameplay Overview]
• Win by meeting the current Terror Level victory condition (clear Invaders per level) [p.12 — Victory and Defeat]
• Lose if: Blight runs out on the Blight Card, any Spirit has no Presence left, or the Invader Deck is empty when you must Explore [p.12 — Victory and Defeat]
• Core loop: Spirits grow in power, play Power Cards, then Invaders automatically Ravage → Build → Explore each turn [p.8 — Sequence of Play]
• Playtime ~90–120 min; slightly shorter at 1–2 players [p.3 — Gameplay Overview]

Setup

1. Place Invader Board; add 4 Fear Markers per player to Fear Pool [p.6 — Invader Board]
2. Shuffle Fear Cards; place 9 on Fear Deck with Terror Level 2 divider 3 from bottom, Terror Level 3 divider 3 above that [p.6 — Invader Board]
3. Build Invader Deck: 3 Stage I + 4 Stage II + 5 Stage III (random from each stage); place on Explore Action Space [p.6 — Making the Invader Deck]
4. Place random Blight Card (Healthy side up) on Blight Space; add shown Blight to card [p.6 — Invader Board]
5. Place 1 Island Board per player; populate with Invaders, Dahan, and Blight per board icons [p.6 — The Island and Supply]
6. Shuffle Minor and Major Power Decks separately; place near board [p.6 — The Island and Supply]
7. Each player picks a Spirit, takes its Panel + 4 Unique Power Cards; follow Spirit Panel setup instructions for starting Presence [p.6 — Player Setup]
8. Place remaining Presence on dashed circles of Presence Tracks (leftmost solid-circle numbers stay uncovered) [p.6 — Player Setup]
9. Invaders' Starting Action: Reveal top Invader Card → Explore that land type → place card face-up in Build Space [p.6 — Invaders' Starting Action]

Turn structure

Each turn in order (all players act simultaneously within each phase):

1. Spirit Phase — Each Spirit: (a) choose a Growth option, (b) gain Energy = highest uncovered Energy Track number, (c) select and pay for Power Cards (Fast and Slow); gain Elements immediately [p.8 — Spirit Phase]
2. Fast Power Phase — Resolve all Fast Powers (Innate + cards); cannot delay to Slow Phase [p.8 — Fast Power Phase]
3. Invader Phase — (a) Blighted Island effect if applicable, (b) resolve earned Fear Cards, (c) Ravage, (d) Build, (e) Explore, (f) Advance Invader Cards left [p.9 — Invader Phase]
4. Slow Power Phase — Resolve all Slow Powers (Innate + cards) [p.10 — Slow Power Phase]
5. Time Passes — Discard played Power Cards to personal discard; clear all Damage and Elements [p.10 — Time Passes]

Actions

Invader Actions (automated — card in each space determines land type affected)

Spirit Actions (chosen during Spirit Phase)

Combat

Ravage sequence (per land with Invaders of shown type):

1. Invaders deal Damage: Explorer = 1, Town = 2, City = 3 [p.9 — Ravage]
2. If total Damage ≥ 2 → add 1 Blight to land (once per land regardless of total) [p.9 — Ravage]
3. Every 2 Damage to Dahan destroys 1 Dahan; 1 leftover Damage = flip Dahan (damaged, recovers end of turn) [p.9 — Ravage]
4. Surviving Dahan fight back: each deals 2 Damage to Invaders (your choice how to distribute) [p.9 — Ravage]
5. Damage equal to or exceeding Health destroys the piece; destroyed Town = 1 Fear, City = 2 Fear [p.15 — Invaders]

Invader Health: Explorer 1 HP · Town 2 HP · City 3 HP · Dahan 2 HP [p.15–16]

Blight cascade: Adding Blight to a land that already has Blight → also add 1 Blight to an adjacent land (chains if that land also has Blight); each Blight added destroys 1 Presence per Spirit in that land [p.15 — Blight]

Scoring

• Victory: 5 × Difficulty + 10 (win bonus) + 2 per Invader Card remaining in deck [p.23 — Scoring]
• Defeat: 2 × Difficulty + 1 per Invader Card not in deck (discard + face-up under Actions) [p.23 — Scoring]
• Both: +1 per X living Dahan − 1 per X Blight on island, where X = number of players [p.23 — Scoring]

End of game

Win immediately when you meet the current Terror Level victory condition [p.12 — Victory and Defeat]:

• Terror Level 1: No Invaders anywhere on the island
• Terror Level 2: No Towns or Cities on the island
• Terror Level 3: No Cities on the island
• Terror Level Victory card earned: Immediate win

Lose immediately if [p.12 — Victory and Defeat]:

• Last Blight comes off the Blight Card (follow card instructions — usually lose)
• Any Spirit has zero Presence remaining on the island
• Must draw an Invader Card to Explore but the deck is empty

Glossary

• Sacred Site: Land where a Spirit has 2+ Presence; required by some Powers [p.13 — Presence and Sacred Sites]
• Cascade: When Blight is added to a land that already has Blight, 1 Blight must also be added to an adjacent land (chains) [p.15 — Blight]
• Gather: Move pieces into the target land from adjacent lands (Range boosts don't extend Gather distance) [p.19 — Gather and Push]
• Push: Move pieces out of the target land to adjacent lands (Range boosts don't extend Push distance) [p.19 — Gather and Push]
• Defend X: Reduces total Invader Damage to land/Dahan by X this turn; multiple Defends add together [p.18 — Defend]
• Terror Level: 1–3 scale of Invader fear; sets the current win condition; advances when Terror Level dividers are revealed [p.12 — Fear and Terror]
• Escalation: Effect on Stage II Invader Cards triggered when revealed (only relevant when using an Adversary) [p.10 — Stage II Escalation]
• Forget a Power Card: Permanently remove a card from your hand/discard/play; required after gaining a Major Power [p.18 — Gaining Power Cards]
• Elemental Threshold: Bonus Power effect that activates only if you have the required Elements this turn; Elements are checked, not spent [p.17 — Elemental Thresholds]
• Reclaim One: Presence Track space; while revealed, return 1 Power Card from discard to hand each Spirit Phase [p.14 — Anatomy of a Spirit Panel]
• Remove vs. Destroy: Removing Invaders returns them to supply with no Fear; Destroying generates Fear (Town = 1, City = 2) [p.18 — Damage, Destruction, and Removal]