Saturday night is game night here at Our Humble O’Bode. Number Two Son typically arrives in the evening, we eat dinner together, and then we set up a game of Spirit Island and play into the night. It’s a game that takes at least two or three hours from start to finish, although sometimes we’re at it until midnight.

Spirit Island is a game of conquest, but in reverse. The idea is for players to repel invaders who arrive on the island to explore, then to build towns and cities, taking over the island one plot of land at a time. Players take on the identities of spirits who protect the island. Each spirit has special powers to repel or destroy the invaders. Some spirits are more effective at removing invaders than others. Some start out weak but become strong over the course of the game. Some work especially well with others. Planning becomes very important.

Tim (Number Two Son) is the gamer in the family. He introduced the game to us many years ago (before COVID, in fact) and we have been playing it nearly every weekend together (minus the year and a half during, well, you know). The makers of the game have added spirits and modified rules over the years to make the game more challenging, more interesting, and more fun.

Something came up this weekend that prevented Tim from coming to our usual game night. I had just returned from three days and two nights of camping and I kinda wanted to play, so I asked My Darling B to join me for a game, just the two of us. She agreed. We had never played without Tim before, and he usually runs the game, so we had a slow start, figuring out how to play the game without his guiding hand. We adjusted the game to play it at a simpler setting so we wouldn’t be overwhelmed in the first twenty minutes of play. It took us six hours to finish, but we beat the invaders.