Adjacency & Range
Adjacency is deceptively simple: two lands are adjacent if they share a border. Range is how many adjacent-hops a power can reach. Everything else — every targeting rule, every push/gather question, every “can I play this card here?” — derives from this.
And despite the simplicity, adjacency questions come up every game, usually under time pressure, usually with real stakes.
The basic rule
Two lands are adjacent if they share a border on the board. Adjacency is symmetric (if A is adjacent to B, B is adjacent to A).
The ocean counts as one “land” for adjacency purposes:
- Coastal lands are adjacent to the ocean.
- Coastal lands on the same ocean are not adjacent to each other unless they share a land border.
Range
Range-N means the target land is N hops away from a qualifying source.
- Range-0 or “your presence”: the target land contains your presence.
- Range-1: target is adjacent to a land with your presence.
- Range-2: target is up to 2 hops away from a land with your presence.
Hops count through the ocean for range purposes only if the power allows it — most powers restrict to land-to-land adjacency.
Range examples
- Your presence is in a jungle land. A Range-1 power can target that jungle land OR any adjacent land (jungle’s neighbors).
- Two lands apart via a mountain: Range-2 can hop over.
- Two coastal lands, not sharing a border, both adjacent to ocean: Range-1 can NOT hop between them through the ocean (unless the power specifies ocean-traversal).
“Source of your presence” vs. “your presence”
Many powers distinguish:
- “Target land with your presence”: the presence itself must be in the target.
- “Source of your presence”: the presence is adjacent to or in the target, depending on range.
- “Any” source: no restriction — sometimes with the caveat “from any Spirit’s presence” in multiplayer.
Read the card carefully. “Source of your presence” with Range-1 does NOT require your presence in the target; only adjacent-from.
Sacred sites
2+ presence in one land = a sacred site. Some powers key off sacred-site adjacency rather than presence adjacency. For those, a lone presence in an adjacent land does not satisfy the targeting — the sacred site itself must be positioned correctly.
Ocean and coastal
The ocean is one continuous “land space” for targeting purposes in most contexts:
- Powers with “Target: ocean” exist (rare, typically Ocean-spirit cards).
- Coastal lands around the same ocean are not adjacent to each other via ocean (no hop-through) unless stated.
- Ocean’s Hungry Grasp has specific exceptions: its presence in the ocean treats coastal lands as adjacent.
Shroud’s Mists Shift and Flow
Shroud of Silent Mist has a special rule that modifies adjacency for its own targeting: when playing a power, Shroud may move (gather) one presence into the target land or an adjacent land to meet range requirements. This effectively extends Shroud’s reach by 1 land hop, mid-play, for the cost of disrupting presence position.
Rei’s strategic note: this is the rule that gives Shroud its “spatial mobility” feel and supports the damaged-invader farming playstyle.
Finder and vision
Finder of Paths Unseen uses Vision tokens that interact with adjacency in ways other spirits don’t. Targeting can reach further via Vision-token chains. Not a universal rule; Finder-specific.
Adjacency edge cases
River crossings
Some boards mark rivers on land borders. By default, rivers don’t block adjacency — two lands on either side of a river are still adjacent. But specific powers say “across a river” or “not across a river,” modifying from the base.
Coastal diagonals
Coastal lands touching only at a corner (not a full border) are NOT adjacent. Corner-touching is not shared-border.
“Within Range N” vs. “Range N”
“Within Range N” includes 0 (your presence counts). “Range N” sometimes excludes 0 — read the card.
Beast/Dahan movement
Push and Gather move units between adjacent lands by default, unless a spirit rule extends (Many Minds: Beasts move up to 2 lands via Fly Fast as Thought).
Pre-turn adjacency audit
Before finalizing your turn, check adjacency for each card:
- Does my presence (or Sacred Site) satisfy the source requirement?
- Is the target within range from the correct source type?
- Are there any special adjacency rules (Shroud’s Mists, Ocean’s coastal extension, river crossings)?
Most adjacency errors come from trying to target a land that looked in-range but wasn’t. Visual intuition fails on Spirit Island’s dense boards — verify by counting hops.
Common mistakes
Targeting a Range-1 power from a “near-but-not-adjacent” land. Always count hops. Shared corner is not shared border.
Forgetting Shroud’s gather-to-target on a Range-0 power. You have more flexibility than you think — use it.
Treating the ocean as a hop-through space for generic powers. It isn’t — ocean is specific to Ocean’s Hungry Grasp and a handful of explicit effects.
Ignoring sacred-site-only adjacency. A power with “target land adjacent to your Sacred Site” does NOT trigger off a single-presence land. Check the card’s exact wording.
Forgetting “Your presence” vs. “Source of your presence” distinction when the card’s effect is flexible. They’re different; one requires presence IN the target, the other only adjacent.
Cross-references
- Terrain — adjacency + terrain shape.
- Presence Economy — presence placement decisions factor in future range.
- Spirit Island Wiki — Adjacency rules
- Querki FAQ — Rules commonly misplayed — has specific adjacency clarifications
Last revised: 2026-04-19