Is Spirit Island Worth It? All 4 Expansions Ranked (2026)

Short answer: Yes - if you’re ready for it. Spirit Island is one of the most inventive co-operative games ever designed. But it’s also a 4.07 out of 5 on BGG’s complexity scale, currently ranked #11 in the world, and surrounded by four expansions with wildly different value propositions. Getting the buying sequence wrong costs you money and potentially the game itself.

This is your map.

What Spirit Island Actually Is

Spirit Island flips the colonial narrative: you are the spirits of an island, and you must drive out the invaders before they terraform your home into oblivion. Players take on asymmetric spirit roles - each with unique powers, growth options, and win conditions - and co-operatively manage the spread of blight, towns, and cities across the island board.

The design innovation that makes it brilliant is the invader system: enemies don’t react to you, they follow a clockwork logic of explore → build → ravage. Your job is to predict that logic three turns out and pre-empt it. Victory is systemic disruption, not direct combat.

The numbers: 1-4 players, 90-120 minutes, BGG rating 8.34 across 65,000+ votes. Designed by R. Eric Reuss, published by Greater Than Games in 2017. The game has received sustained love for years, not a hype spike - that’s rare.

Is the Base Game Worth Buying?

For the right player: absolutely. Here’s a plain-spoken breakdown of who that is.

Buy it if you:

• Play co-operatively and are tired of games where “co-op” means one person drives while others watch. Spirit Island forces genuine shared deliberate - you can’t table-captain this game.
• Play solo regularly. The solo mode is exceptional. One or two spirits against the system, no filler, no downtime. BGG solo poll data: Spirit Island is rated Best at 1 player by a large margin.
• Like your games to scale in difficulty. The adversary system (France, England, Sweden, etc.) adds challenge and thematic flavour. You can pick up the game fast on easy and spend years mastering hard adversaries.
• Have a gaming group that commits. The first game runs long and steep. The second game clicks. By game three you’re planning spirit synergies before you sit down. This game pays dividends.

Think twice if you:

• You’re a casual or gateway audience. Spirit Island is not a gateway game. The learn-to-play alone takes 45 minutes. If your group bounces off medium-weight games, this will hurt.
• You hate setup. Each scenario requires laying out island boards, fear cards, invader decks, blight cards, dahan tokens, city pieces, and per-spirit power decks. Twenty minutes easily. It’s worth it, but know what you’re signing up for.
• You play at 4 players frequently. The game works at 4, but it’s strongest at 2-3. At 4, coordination overhead becomes significant and games stretch past two hours.

The Horizons Question

Before buying the full base game, one option worth flagging: Horizons of Spirit Island is a smaller standalone version (BGG rank #482, rating 8.12, weight 3.56) designed as an entry point. Five spirits, simplified rules, lower price (~£30 vs ~£60 for the base game).

Is Horizons worth it as an intro? For groups uncertain about the system, yes. The spirits are simpler, the powers are streamlined, and you get a real sense of whether the core loop clicks for your table. Horizons is fully compatible with the main game if you later upgrade.

Skip Horizons if you know you’re buying the full game regardless - the five spirits overlap with base game spirits, and the money is better saved toward Jagged Earth (more on that below).

All 4 Expansions Ranked

Once you’re past a few base game plays and the system clicks, the expansion question arrives. Here’s what the data says, combined with what actually matters at the table.

🥇 1. Jagged Earth (2020) - BGG Rating 9.33 / Weight 4.52

Jagged Earth is the definitive Spirit Island expansion. Ten new spirits, three new adversaries (Russia, Habsburg Mining, a harder England), new event cards, scenario upgrades, badlands tokens, and impending doom - a new resource that creates escalating crisis pressure.

The BGG rating of 9.33 among expansion ratings is extraordinary. This is one of the highest-rated expansions of any game on the site. It’s not bloat - everything added deepens the system. The new spirits are genuinely novel (Lure of the Deep Wilderness, Shroud of Silent Mist, Fractured Days Split the Sky), not palette swaps.

When to buy: After 5-10 base game plays, when you’ve tried all 8 base spirits and want more. Jagged Earth is where most long-term Spirit Island players live.

Weight note: The expansion pushes complexity to 4.52. Some of the new spirits have very intricate timing rules. Go in with that expectation.

🥈 2. Nature Incarnate (2023) - BGG Rating 9.32 / Weight 4.44

Nature Incarnate is the newest major expansion (2023) and has immediately matched Jagged Earth in community ratings at 9.32. Six new spirits - including the acclaimed Ember-Eyed Behemoth and Towering Roots of the Jungle - plus new powers and a grim new adversary (Habsburg Livestock Colony).

The distinguishing mechanic is Aspect cards: modifications you can layer onto existing spirits to create new builds. This extends the longevity of every spirit you already own, base and Jagged Earth alike.

When to buy: After Jagged Earth. The Aspects system benefits most when you already have experience with the spirits being modified. Nature Incarnate rewards mastery; don’t buy it before you have that foundation.

🥉 3. Branch & Claw (2017) - BGG Rating 8.98 / Weight 4.23

Branch & Claw was the first expansion, released the same year as the base game. It adds two spirits (Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves, Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds), three adversaries (France, Prussia, Habsburg), event cards, and the blight card overhaul.

The event cards - which trigger unpredictable complications each round - are widely considered a mandatory improvement to the base game. They replace the static feel of clean invader turns with reactive chaos that forces adaptation.

Is it worth it? Yes, but it sits third because Jagged Earth supersedes much of what Branch & Claw adds, and if budget forces a choice, Jagged Earth is the right call. The two France adversaries from B&C are also covered in digital implementations, so physical players who skip it miss relatively little long-term.

Best for: Groups who want the event card system before committing to Jagged Earth’s complexity jump. Branch & Claw is the gentler expansion escalation.

4. Horizons of Spirit Island (2022) - BGG Rating 8.12 / Weight 3.56

Already discussed above as an intro alternative. Ranked last as an expansion not because it’s bad, but because its purpose is entry-level play. If you already own the base game, Horizons’ five spirits offer limited marginal value compared to the core expansions. One spirit (Vital Strength of the Earth) is also in the base box.

The exception: If you want a lighter gift version to share with family or introduce new players without setting up the full base game, Horizons earns its place.

The Buying Path

Here’s the sequence that makes sense for most players:

Stage 1 (starter): Base game → 8-12 plays across all 8 spirits
Stage 2 (committed): Add Jagged Earth → now you have 18 spirits and the best adversary selection
Stage 3 (deep): Add Nature Incarnate → Aspects breathe new life into every spirit you already own
Optional addition: Branch & Claw if you want more adversaries and the event card variant built-in rather than via Jagged Earth

The Numbers at a Glance

Final Verdict

Spirit Island earns its #11 ranking. For co-op players who want something that rewards genuine strategy, scales beautifully in difficulty, and plays exceptionally solo, it’s one of the best purchases in the hobby.

The risk is misplacement: buy it for a casual group, never play it past game one, and it becomes a $60 shelf ornament. Know your table.

For expansion sequencing: Jagged Earth first, every time. The rating of 9.33 isn’t hype - it’s the community’s decade of evidence. Get the base game solid, then go there. Nature Incarnate follows when you want the system to feel new again. Branch & Claw fills gaps rather than defines the experience.

The full collection - base, B&C, Jagged Earth, Nature Incarnate - is a complete game ecosystem that will outlast most of what’s on your shelf.