Spirited

Spirited is a 1–6 player hand-management and set-collection game from Garphill Games about recruiting ancient clans, forging allegiances, building Wonders, and timing your biggest marches before history catches up with you. Your cards move through several different places around your City Board: a public Road opponents can interfere with, safe Camps where clans gather for future marches, and your private hand. Collect enough members of a clan and you can claim its Allegiance and medal for Spirit, but hold too many exposed cards on the Road and your city can become Overrun.

Collect the Clan, but Don't Let It Overrun the City

Spirited has an unusual tension between wanting more cards and not wanting them in the wrong place.

Cards accumulating on your Road are accessible, but they are also exposed. Push a clan past its Overrun limit at the wrong moment and your carefully organized Road and Camps can collapse into a forced regroup.

Moving useful cards into Camps protects them and prepares them for a March, where sets become Allegiances. Those Allegiances are not permanent possessions either. Another civilization can arrive with a stronger collection and take one away.

How the Game Works

On each turn, choose one of three actions: Scout, Build, or March.

Scouting lets you use cards from your hand, recruit or rally cards from the Road, and then summon new Clan cards. Building a Wonder requires a broad collection across the available clans and converts those cards into Spirit and a special effect.

Marching uses cards stored in your Camps to forge Allegiances. Larger sets earn better medals and more Spirit. An Allegiance already controlled by another player can be stolen, but doing so requires committing an even stronger set.

Three Passing of Time cards are hidden in the Clan deck. Whenever one appears, the Hourglass advances on the Time Track. Certain spaces trigger Battles where medals matter again, and when the Hourglass reaches the end, the Final Battle occurs and the game ends.

That uncertain timer makes the last few turns particularly awkward. You know history is moving toward its conclusion. You do not know exactly which draw will make it happen.

Why You’ll Love It

• Scout, Build, and March give every turn a clear choice without requiring a heavy Garphill rules load.
• Public Roads and protected Camps make card location almost as important as the cards themselves.
• Allegiances can change hands, giving set collection meaningful player interaction.
• The Passing of Time deck creates a variable ending that discourages waiting forever for the perfect combination.
• Different sets of clans produce a fresh mix of powers and interactions from game to game.
• Includes a dedicated solo system.

Game Details

🧩 Players: 1–6
⏱️ Playtime: 40–80 minutes
🎂 Age: 13+
🗂️ Genre: Ancient civilization card game, hand management, set collection, push-your-luck, variable powers
🎯 Complexity: Medium-light; around a 2.2/5 hobby-game weight and notably lighter than many Garphill strategy games
🔁 Replayability: Very high from the rotating clans, variable powers, contested Allegiances, uncertain game timer, and solo mode
🎮 Great for fans of: Garphill Games, Raiders of Scythia-style historical themes at a lighter weight, interactive set collection, combo card games, and players who enjoy seeing a perfectly safe civilization become less safe after one unfortunate card draw

What's in the Box

• 1 Main Board
• 6 City Boards
• 12 Clan Discs
• 4 Double-Sided Time Track Tiles
• 21 Medals
• 60 Spirit Tokens
• 12 Allegiance Cards
• 12 Wonder Cards
• 6 Player Aid Cards
• 120 Clan Cards
• 3 Passing of Time Cards
• 1 Solo Die
• 1 Hourglass
• 12 Card Dividers
• 1 Drawstring Bag
• Rulebook