Something I would add is "Don't neglect your slow powers". Early on when I first started, I didn't really get the point of them. You alluded to this when you said that you don't have to target a land right when you play the card, but I think that's most important with slow powers. A slow power that lets you push a single explorer may sound pretty weak, but when you get to do it after they explore... You can prevent a build and a ravage! I think River is really good with this, and when you really have a good grasp on what slow powers can do, River becomes more powerful and way more fun. It's also worth noting that, in general, slow powers are generally cheaper or have more range to a fast power with a similar effect, meaning you can use your energy for other things. Thanks for sharing! Great video.
That's a really good point about slow powers and I've possibly been too subtle about it here! River is a great starting spirit I think partly because you organically learn how good it is to push explorers around in the slow phase. Glad you liked the video. It took me five hours to make XD
"Don't neglect your slow powers" So true! The same with "Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds". After a build, with your Innate "Spreading Wilds", you can push an explorer from where they built a town and add a wilderness token; then next round, "Sacrosanct Wilderness" can damage that town (If no blight, push 2 Dahan, Damage 2 per Wilderness). So I think of "Add Wilderness late" as "Fast damage next round".
Glad it was helpful - that's my main mission with this channel. Can be a hard game to pick up. Yeah, letting a bit of the island go to prioritise powering up your spirit massively helps. "A little bit of blight... is alright!"
Great tips as always~ Small'ish tips: - Paying attention to Invader phase and what percentage of next land will come up to plan for that turn (e.g. first and second in phase 1 had Sands and Wetlands already; there's a 50/50 chance the third will be Mountain/Jungle, so no need to prioritize clearing/dealing with the ones that already came up) - Not feeling overwhelmed by many Invaders on the board; if you can Push / Gather many into a single land in a turn without destroying them that can often be a game-changer for later turns (especially for City builds) - No shame in a fear win :) -- if picking specific Spirit(s), managing the board (and Blight) while generating lots of fear is still a win~
@@pheasantSI That's great! 😊 Always look forward to your Spirit Island Content, esp. the beginner stuff. Trying to get some people to try out digital first so we can transition to physical later for the (for the time being) exclusive spirits from JE.
I would love to see a video about how to counter the different adversaries and scenarios and a video about compensating for your solo spirits weaknesses
I hope this video helps people get their first win! Did you have a revelation that helped *you* get your first win? I would love to make a follow up video with some of your tips!
For me it has to be openings - hands down the best resource to complement the basics shown in this video. Not necessarily for the rigid approach but for seeing what you gain from heavily focusing on getting presence out (while still being able to affect the board).
Good call. I think there are some Spirits for whom going with a fairly precise opening (with fairly precise branching) can make a huge difference to their impact on the board.
The last point mentioned is one of the most important: Don‘t try to counter each and every Ravage. Why? Because then you will very soon become overly reactive instead of proactive. Just preventing a Ravage without destroying at least some of the Invaders just postpones the problem. When the same terrain type shows up again, the problem will be even worse. The more often you stop the Invaders right in their tracks the more room to breathe you‘ll have - even if that means sacrificing one or two regions for now. Blight can be removed by some spirits and by several Power Cards so don‘t overestimate its spreading.
I have fond but vague memories of being a new player and reclaiming especially to grab a defend card to defend a particular land, when really doing so did nothing for my longer term game plan.
One thing I learned from you is to choose a power before placing presence. Especially true when you get a range 0 card. In the physical copy this is easily fixable, but I don't like meddling with the game flow too much. Another thing that recently helped me improve my collaborative plays was to discuss openly which powers we're going to pick. For example, my friend had pushed many explorers and Dahan towards the coast and would have gotten a blight cascade through a ravage this turn because he couldn't defend. We both got to pick a power this turn, so I took defend 10 and he took range +2 so we could defend & clear the land. What other tips could you give us for collaborative plays?
I would say a few things for collaborative players (and ymmv with this) is that it's good to mainly focus on your own island board, but ask for help (or offer help) on key points (like card choice, or "I can't defend this land, is it easy for you to help?" (The possibility space in Spirit Island can be overwhelming so it's good to keep it narrow when you're first learning). It's good to be aware of how you can help your teammates overcome their weaknesses, or play to their strengths. The most straightforward example of that is Green can really help slow growing spirits explode in power, LIghtning massively benefits from being gifted power cards, Serpent can defend many many lands with its aegis, Ocean can handle multiple coastlines etc.
I get a lot of the Spirit Island art that I use from screenrips in the digital version. 3 handed? I've played a few 3 handed games and I find it a bit too much for my taste (I prefer 2 handed plus an extra island board) That may have changed now though, it's been a while since I played with 3 spirits!
I just started playing Spirit Island and so far I am loosing every godamn single game. I like the game, it is just so frustratingly difficult. One thing I have to say about the video: At the end yo utalk about "action efficiency", and "letting lands go". In my experience this is a sure recipe for desaster, especially when blight cascades. Most games I lost to blight... tbf, I'm playing with power progression so far cause Im still a beginner...
Hey Sascha! Just got to check this thing - when blight cascades, you're only adding one additional blight to one additional land after the first one? (it's a very common rules error to play blight like it's a Pandemic outbreak!) That rules issue aside - I'm very keen to help players that like the game but are struggling at difficulty zero (that's why I made this video XD) so I'm keen to hear from you if there was a breakthrough moment you had. Re: letting lands go, it's about - if it's too challenging to prevent a blight somewhere, better to ignore it than to not get as much presence placed (more presence = more plays/energy/power cards). Power progression isn't for everyone - it might be more fun to get to pick your own powers. (The other benefit is you can pick a power that might help you with your particular situation). It might help to watch a playthrough? I've got a ton but I actually think it's good to see a quick win to see it happening: ua-cam.com/channels/2Q2j2ARrrNV_BuZWQuHgXA.htmlvideos
One thing for new players is that the blight cards that come with the base game are pretty brutal and in my opinion one of the few missteps they made. I know B&C was originally supposed to all be part of the base game and they had to split it up, but the way they handled blight cards was weird (only including 2 with the main game, and having them basically be two different versions of the same, really punishing card). I feel they should’ve either included more of them with the base game or just not bothered with blight cards in the base game at all and moved the whole concept to the expansion. For a new player I would skip the blight card for the first few games and probably add low levels of Prussia, etc to get used to adversaries before I started using a blight card. Maybe don’t even use it at all until you introduce expansion content, which I think can be done pretty early once you’ve got the hang of the basics. Once you get to B&C the blight cards are a much more varied and fully fleshed out idea. Also anyone playing the physical game should remember to add one extra blight to the card / board. Especially for solo it’s a big difference.
Something I would add is "Don't neglect your slow powers". Early on when I first started, I didn't really get the point of them. You alluded to this when you said that you don't have to target a land right when you play the card, but I think that's most important with slow powers. A slow power that lets you push a single explorer may sound pretty weak, but when you get to do it after they explore... You can prevent a build and a ravage! I think River is really good with this, and when you really have a good grasp on what slow powers can do, River becomes more powerful and way more fun. It's also worth noting that, in general, slow powers are generally cheaper or have more range to a fast power with a similar effect, meaning you can use your energy for other things.
Thanks for sharing! Great video.
That's a really good point about slow powers and I've possibly been too subtle about it here! River is a great starting spirit I think partly because you organically learn how good it is to push explorers around in the slow phase. Glad you liked the video. It took me five hours to make XD
"Don't neglect your slow powers" So true!
The same with "Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds". After a build, with your Innate "Spreading Wilds", you can push an explorer from where they built a town and add a wilderness token; then next round, "Sacrosanct Wilderness" can damage that town (If no blight, push 2 Dahan, Damage 2 per Wilderness). So I think of "Add Wilderness late" as "Fast damage next round".
If there's something better than spirit island it might be dry humor.
Thank you, I found your video very clear and helpful. I’ve found this game a challenge with my instincts to control and micro-manage!
Glad it was helpful - that's my main mission with this channel. Can be a hard game to pick up. Yeah, letting a bit of the island go to prioritise powering up your spirit massively helps. "A little bit of blight... is alright!"
Great tips as always~
Small'ish tips:
- Paying attention to Invader phase and what percentage of next land will come up to plan for that turn (e.g. first and second in phase 1 had Sands and Wetlands already; there's a 50/50 chance the third will be Mountain/Jungle, so no need to prioritize clearing/dealing with the ones that already came up)
- Not feeling overwhelmed by many Invaders on the board; if you can Push / Gather many into a single land in a turn without destroying them that can often be a game-changer for later turns (especially for City builds)
- No shame in a fear win :) -- if picking specific Spirit(s), managing the board (and Blight) while generating lots of fear is still a win~
I think a pure fear win might be my favourite win. I often feel a bit cheeky with Terror 2 and 3 wins :D
Great video! I'll send this to my playgroup when we tackle this game in person. 😊
Thanks for your kind comment! You may have inspired another video with your comment :)
@@pheasantSI That's great! 😊 Always look forward to your Spirit Island Content, esp. the beginner stuff. Trying to get some people to try out digital first so we can transition to physical later for the (for the time being) exclusive spirits from JE.
Semi common rules mistakes:
querki.net/u/darker/spirit-island-faq/#!Rules-semi-commonly-misplayed
I would love to see a video about how to counter the different adversaries and scenarios and a video about compensating for your solo spirits weaknesses
Nice suggestions! I've added them to the list :)
I hope this video helps people get their first win! Did you have a revelation that helped *you* get your first win? I would love to make a follow up video with some of your tips!
For me it has to be openings - hands down the best resource to complement the basics shown in this video. Not necessarily for the rigid approach but for seeing what you gain from heavily focusing on getting presence out (while still being able to affect the board).
Good call. I think there are some Spirits for whom going with a fairly precise opening (with fairly precise branching) can make a huge difference to their impact on the board.
The last point mentioned is one of the most important: Don‘t try to counter each and every Ravage. Why? Because then you will very soon become overly reactive instead of proactive. Just preventing a Ravage without destroying at least some of the Invaders just postpones the problem. When the same terrain type shows up again, the problem will be even worse. The more often you stop the Invaders right in their tracks the more room to breathe you‘ll have - even if that means sacrificing one or two regions for now. Blight can be removed by some spirits and by several Power Cards so don‘t overestimate its spreading.
I have fond but vague memories of being a new player and reclaiming especially to grab a defend card to defend a particular land, when really doing so did nothing for my longer term game plan.
One thing I learned from you is to choose a power before placing presence. Especially true when you get a range 0 card. In the physical copy this is easily fixable, but I don't like meddling with the game flow too much.
Another thing that recently helped me improve my collaborative plays was to discuss openly which powers we're going to pick. For example, my friend had pushed many explorers and Dahan towards the coast and would have gotten a blight cascade through a ravage this turn because he couldn't defend. We both got to pick a power this turn, so I took defend 10 and he took range +2 so we could defend & clear the land.
What other tips could you give us for collaborative plays?
I would say a few things for collaborative players (and ymmv with this) is that it's good to mainly focus on your own island board, but ask for help (or offer help) on key points (like card choice, or "I can't defend this land, is it easy for you to help?" (The possibility space in Spirit Island can be overwhelming so it's good to keep it narrow when you're first learning). It's good to be aware of how you can help your teammates overcome their weaknesses, or play to their strengths. The most straightforward example of that is Green can really help slow growing spirits explode in power, LIghtning massively benefits from being gifted power cards, Serpent can defend many many lands with its aegis, Ocean can handle multiple coastlines etc.
@@pheasantSI Please create a video on that topic! :)
I wonder where you got the whole spirits picture. I'm making content by playing spirit island 3 handed as well.
I get a lot of the Spirit Island art that I use from screenrips in the digital version. 3 handed? I've played a few 3 handed games and I find it a bit too much for my taste (I prefer 2 handed plus an extra island board) That may have changed now though, it's been a while since I played with 3 spirits!
I just started playing Spirit Island and so far I am loosing every godamn single game. I like the game, it is just so frustratingly difficult. One thing I have to say about the video: At the end yo utalk about "action efficiency", and "letting lands go". In my experience this is a sure recipe for desaster, especially when blight cascades. Most games I lost to blight... tbf, I'm playing with power progression so far cause Im still a beginner...
Hey Sascha! Just got to check this thing - when blight cascades, you're only adding one additional blight to one additional land after the first one? (it's a very common rules error to play blight like it's a Pandemic outbreak!) That rules issue aside - I'm very keen to help players that like the game but are struggling at difficulty zero (that's why I made this video XD) so I'm keen to hear from you if there was a breakthrough moment you had. Re: letting lands go, it's about - if it's too challenging to prevent a blight somewhere, better to ignore it than to not get as much presence placed (more presence = more plays/energy/power cards).
Power progression isn't for everyone - it might be more fun to get to pick your own powers. (The other benefit is you can pick a power that might help you with your particular situation).
It might help to watch a playthrough? I've got a ton but I actually think it's good to see a quick win to see it happening: ua-cam.com/channels/2Q2j2ARrrNV_BuZWQuHgXA.htmlvideos
One thing for new players is that the blight cards that come with the base game are pretty brutal and in my opinion one of the few missteps they made.
I know B&C was originally supposed to all be part of the base game and they had to split it up, but the way they handled blight cards was weird (only including 2 with the main game, and having them basically be two different versions of the same, really punishing card).
I feel they should’ve either included more of them with the base game or just not bothered with blight cards in the base game at all and moved the whole concept to the expansion.
For a new player I would skip the blight card for the first few games and probably add low levels of Prussia, etc to get used to adversaries before I started using a blight card. Maybe don’t even use it at all until you introduce expansion content, which I think can be done pretty early once you’ve got the hang of the basics. Once you get to B&C the blight cards are a much more varied and fully fleshed out idea.
Also anyone playing the physical game should remember to add one extra blight to the card / board. Especially for solo it’s a big difference.
Great things to point out! I made notes about the errata and then forgot to mention it XD