Set in an alternate-history world around A.D. 1700, Spirit Island casts players as spirits defending their home from European colonists. The islanders known as the Dahan join that resistance as the Invaders spread blight and destruction. This is a cooperative settler-destruction strategy game: its central conflict is not expansion by the players, but protecting the island and driving the invaders away.
Players choose one to four Spirits, each with unique elemental powers, and the number of Spirits determines the island’s size. Area control and card-driven powers shape the struggle: Minor Power cards enhance abilities, while Major Power cards offer stronger effects against the Invaders. An evolving threat comes through the game’s distinctive Invader expansion system, while Fear cards provide beneficial effects earned by terrifying the colonists. Modular and thematic island boards, adversaries, and optional scenarios offer different layouts and challenges.
The format accommodates solo play controlling one to four Spirits, as well as cooperative play locally through pass-and-play or remotely, and online with friends and others. Its combination of asymmetric powers, changing island layouts, and a steadily advancing Invader system gives that cooperation a specific strategic shape.
