- Score sheets
- Board games
- Spirit Island
How to score Spirit Island
Spirit Island scoring is simple, because there are no points to win: the spirits win or lose together. You win by clearing the island of what the Terror Level asks, or by emptying the Fear Deck. You lose if the island takes too much blight, any spirit loses its last presence on the island, or you need to explore with the Invader deck empty.
- 1 to 4 players
- About 90 to 120 minutes
- Ends at a win or a loss
- Everyone wins or loses together
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This is the real app screen, live: pick Co-op and tap We won or We lost. Scores are optional.
Spirit Island
- BGG #11
- 90 to 120 min
A cooperative strategy game: you play the spirits of an island, working together to drive off the Invaders who explore, build and spread blight across it. You win or lose as one.
Year, players, time and rank from BoardGameGeek.
How to play Spirit Island, in brief
In Spirit Island you all play on one side, as island spirits driving colonizing Invaders off your land.
- Choose spiritsEach player takes a spirit and an island board; your presence pieces mark your spirit’s lands.
- Grow, then use powersEach round, every spirit grows (more presence, powers or energy) and pays energy for power cards. Fast powers act before the Invaders, slow ones after.
- Let the Invaders actInvader cards say where they explore, build and ravage (harm the land, adding blight). A land explored one round is built on the next, then ravaged.
- Earn fearFear powers and destroyed towns and cities earn fear cards, which weaken the Invaders and raise the terror level.
- Win or loseYou win by meeting the terror level’s goal (at first, no Invaders left) or by drawing the last fear card. You lose to too much blight, a spirit with no presence or an empty Invader deck.
Fear moves the finish line closer.
Each fear card you earn brings the Terror Level closer to rising, and each level asks less of you. At first you must clear every Invader from the island; later, only the towns and cities, then only the cities. Run the Fear Deck dry and you win outright.
How the game is won and lost
| What happens | Result |
|---|---|
| Terror Level 1: no Invaders left on the island | Win |
| Terror Level 2: no towns or cities leftExplorers may stay | Win |
| Terror Level 3: no cities left | Win |
| The Fear Deck runs outAt any Terror Level, at once | Win |
| Too much blight on the islandHorizons: the blight pool runs out. Base game: the Blight Card says when | Loss |
| Any spirit has no presence left on the island | Loss |
| You must explore and the Invader deck is empty | Loss |
- Earn fearFear cards raise the Terror Level as you earn them, and emptying the Fear Deck wins the game at once.
- Check the conditionKnow what your Terror Level asks: every Invader, the towns and cities, or just the cities.
- Win when it is metVictory counts as soon as the condition is met, once the effect in progress finishes resolving.
- Watch the three lossesToo much blight, a spirit with no presence left, or needing to explore with no Invader card to reveal.
Terror Level 2: Mara destroys the last town.
Three players have earned enough fear to reach Terror Level 2, so only towns and cities stand between them and the win. This is the game on the screen above.
| Player | The last turn | Towns, cities |
|---|---|---|
| Mara | Her power destroys the last town on the islandNothing left once it resolves | 0 |
| You | Your spirit cleared the last city a turn earlierAlready clear | 0 |
| Dev | Explorers still stand on his island boardExplorers no longer matter at Level 2 | 0 |
No points to add. The win still counts.
Tabletales is a scorepad and scrapbook for game night. For Spirit Island, pick Co-op, tap We won or We lost, and the game is saved for the whole table.
- Co-op, made for itPick Co-op on Who played? and tap We won or We lost. The card says “You beat it together.” or “Lost, maybe next time.”
- Nobody beats anybodyThere is no trophy for one player. The win, or the loss, belongs to everyone at the table.
- A score only if you want oneIf your group keeps the rulebook’s optional score, work it out, then type the same number under every player in Totals. Hold Next to copy it along.
- And the night is keptSave it with who played and a photo of the island. Spirit Island gets its own history: how often you play it, who with, and how often you win.
- Everyone who was there
- Photos from the table
- Spirit Island, won together
Common Spirit Island scoring mistakes
- Clearing every Invader at every levelAt Terror Level 2 only towns and cities must go, and at Level 3 only cities.
- Forgetting the clockNeeding to explore with an empty Invader deck is a loss, however good the island looks.
- Missing a spirit’s last presenceIf any one spirit has no presence left on the island, everyone loses.
Spirit Island scoring, answered
- Is there a score in Spirit Island?
- Not to win. The spirits win or lose together; the rulebook adds an optional score only for comparing games.
- How do you win Spirit Island?
- Clear the island of what your Terror Level asks: every Invader at Level 1, all towns and cities at Level 2, all cities at Level 3. Emptying the Fear Deck also wins at once.
- How do you lose Spirit Island?
- You lose if the island takes too much blight (in the base game, the Blight Card says when), if any spirit has no presence left on the island, or if you must explore and the Invader deck is empty.
Spirit Island score sheet
Print one to log your games: each spirit and island board, then how the game ended, so you can see which pairings win.
Score another game
Horizons of Spirit Island, the standalone starter version, wins and loses the same way, and there you lose when the blight pool runs out. The base game takes blight from a Blight Card instead: when its last blight comes off, you follow the card’s own instructions, which often mean a loss. The Jagged Earth expansion takes the game to 6 players. The rulebook’s optional score for comparing games is not covered here. Rules checked on 19 October 2026 against the Horizons of Spirit Island rules on Dized, UltraBoardGames and Wikipedia. Spirit Island is a trademark of Greater Than Games. Tabletales is not affiliated with it.
Keep score tonight. Keep the night for good.
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