Spirit Island (2017)

“It has been a long time since I enjoyed a game as much as I enjoy Spirit Island. I think it's going to end up as one of my all-time favorite games.”

The reviewer highly praises Spirit Island for its exceptional strategic depth and immense replayability, noting that each unique spirit offers a distinct playstyle and every decision significantly impacts the game's outcome, providing a continuously engaging experience for dedicated players.

The reviewer highly praises Spirit Island as a tremendously thematic, integrated, and engaging cooperative board game that quickly became one of their top favorite cooperative titles, highlighting its fresh decolonization theme and high replay value.

“From the beautiful art, to the names of the spirits, to the intricate interplay between the spirits, this is a game that oozes character. It is a little fiddly, and lacking a little guidance here and there, but it is very, very close to being a perfect game in my eyes.”

The reviewer highly praises "Spirit Island" as a complex, thematic cooperative board game that offers a satisfying puzzle, particularly excelling as a solo experience. He considers it an outstanding game for those who enjoy heavier cooperative challenges.

“Spirit Island is one of those landmark board games that comes along every decade to completely change the board gaming landscape. With its fascinating theme and rich gameplay, this is a board game everyone should try once.”

“If I were ever on 5 Days for Doomsday, the board gaming podcast in which board game personalities are asked to choose five board games they’d bring with them in the apocalypse, Spirit Island would be there without hesitation. If I can get away with lawyering in all the expansions, it would be number one with a bullet.”

The reviewer considers Spirit Island one of his all-time favorite games, praising it as an excellent cooperative and solo experience that deeply immersed him in solo gaming, noting its complex puzzle and effective management of the alpha player problem.

“I’m properly in love with Spirit Island. It’s so tight, everything works together perfectly.”

The reviewer highly praises 'Spirit Island' as a uniquely cooperative game that hits an "absolute perfect sweet spot" due to its diverse spirits, high replayability, and engaging strategic depth, despite some initial challenges with the rulebook and a preference for lower player counts.

“After a handful of sessions, I can report that I am head over heels for this game. In addition to its great theme, the game brings a ton of strategic depth.”

“But it’s the game’s thematic aspects that push it above many of its contemporaries and seals its reputation as one of the best – if not the best – co-op board games ever made.”

“Spirit Island is a high strategy game with a ton of variety, player choice, and replay value. It’s the mechanical Adonis of board games and has quite easily taken my number one spot.”

Rahdo found 'Spirit Island' to be a phenomenal and refreshing cooperative game, praising its innovative gameplay and clever, fresh theme that stands out from other co-op titles. He considered it a strong candidate for his top games of the year.

The reviewer highly praises Spirit Island as their absolute favorite game, highlighting its excellent integration of theme and mechanics, deep strategic gameplay with extensive long-term planning, and immense replayability offered by the highly asymmetric spirits.

The reviewer highly praises Spirit Island for its incredible variety, fast gameplay, and deep tactical puzzles, considering it one of his top cooperative games of all time and an excellent solo experience that every gamer should have in their collection.

“It is a little fiddly, and lacking a little guidance here and there, but it is very, very close to being a perfect game in my eyes.”

The reviewer highlights Spirit Island as a highly satisfying and complex solo game, praising its deep strategic planning and thematic immersion, making it a strong recommendation for solo play.

The reviewer highly recommends Spirit Island, praising its deep, well-crafted, and balanced design that offers immense strategic depth and replayability, despite acknowledging its challenging learning curve and high initial difficulty.

The reviewer praises Spirit Island as a deeply strategic and mentally challenging cooperative game, particularly highlighting its excellence as a solo experience and high replayability, despite acknowledging minor flaws like an anticlimactic ending and occasional power management complexities.

The reviewer found that despite a steep learning curve and initial difficulty, Spirit Island becomes a deeply rewarding and essential cooperative game once its complex mechanics are understood and 'click' into place, making it a staple for experienced players seeking a challenging experience.

The reviewers found Spirit Island to be a deeply challenging and rewarding cooperative game that uniquely flips the colonial theme, offering powerful spirit gameplay and intricate strategic depth despite its sometimes dry and mechanical nature.

“Overall, this is a game that will forever be part of my collection, it is perfect to play with friends, as a couple and even solo and I get genuinely excited each time there is an expansion.”

The reviewer highly praises Spirit Island for its unique take on cooperative gameplay, where players embody powerful spirits defending an island against invaders, highlighting the game's deep replayability through varied spirits, scenarios, and escalating difficulty.

The reviewer highlights Spirit Island as a deeply strategic cooperative game with a unique theme and smooth mechanics, especially praising its solo play experience. While acknowledging its complexity can be a barrier for new players, they highly recommend it for seasoned gamers and solo enthusiasts.

The reviewer praises Spirit Island as a highly replayable and deeply strategic 'brain burner' that offers immense satisfaction as spirits grow in power to repel invaders, though cautioning that its complexity and potential for analysis paralysis make it best suited for experienced board gamers.

“However, further plays have really open up all of the options and combos. And it has a really, really awesome theme! Truly a keeper that has dethroned Robinson Crusoe as the go-to heavy-ish strategy cooperative game, at least for me.”

The reviewers initially found Spirit Island challenging with a steep learning curve, leading to early losses. However, once the complex mechanics clicked, they enthusiastically praised its rewarding depth, high replayability, and beautiful production, recommending it for experienced co-op gamers seeking a significant strategic challenge.

The reviewer highly praises Spirit Island as a complex but profoundly rewarding cooperative game that, despite an initial learning curve and potential for early losses, becomes an outstanding and essential addition to a collection once its strategic depth clicks with players.

The reviewer praises Spirit Island as a complex yet highly rewarding cooperative game that, despite a steep learning curve, offers immense replayability and becomes a cherished staple once players grasp its intricate mechanics.

“Spirit Island has it all: a deep and meaningful theme, complex and interesting gameplay, and a look that ties everything up in a truly magnificent package.”

The reviewers expressed excitement for Spirit Island, highlighting its engaging cooperative strategy and depth, which was further evidenced by their production of a subsequent video for intermediate difficulty.

The reviewer finds Spirit Island to be a complex and deeply engaging cooperative game that offers a rich and challenging experience, despite some minor criticisms regarding component presentation and its potential difficulty for newer players.

The reviewer appreciated Spirit Island's mechanics and cooperative gameplay, noting its strong thematic elements. However, they personally found that the theme didn't resonate enough to inspire a strong desire for repeated plays, placing it as an honorable mention rather than in their top solo games list.