The rulebook says Sweden’s Ravages are more dangerous than most, with advanced military tactics and a large population interested in farming and mining. The Crown also tries to assimilate the Dahan, which works only where the Invader population is large. Where England takes space and Brandenburg-Prussia takes time, Sweden takes the land itself.
Base level
No extra loss condition.
Escalation, Swayed by the Invaders: after the Invaders Explore into each land during this Phase, if that land has at least as many Invaders as Dahan, replace 1 Dahan with 1 Town.
Swayed by the Invaders can turn your allies into a building in one step. A land with 1 Dahan and 1 Explorer that gets Explored now has 1 Town instead of a Dahan. Before an Escalation, look at the lands the new card will Explore and count Invaders against Dahan.
The levels
Every level includes the ones below it. Difficulty comes from the core rulebook’s chart; the rest from the adversary panel.
| Level | Name | Difficulty | Fear Cards | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heavy Mining | 2 | 3/3/3 | A Ravage dealing 6 or more Damage to the land adds an extra Blight. |
| 2 | Population Pressure at Home | 3 | 3/4/3 | During setup, add 1 City to land 4 on each board. |
| 3 | Fine Steel for Tools and Guns | 5 | 3/4/3 | Towns deal 3 Damage. Cities deal 5. |
| 4 | Royal Backing | 6 | 3/4/4 | After setup, Accelerate the Invader Deck and add Towns. |
| 5 | Mining Rush | 7 | 4/4/4 | A Ravage that adds Blight also adds a Town nearby. |
| 6 | Prospecting Outpost | 8 | 4/4/5 | During setup, add 1 Town and 1 Blight to land 8 on each board. |
The rules in play
Heavy Mining (level 1). The extra Blight does not destroy Presence or cascade, but it does drain the Blight Card. A Ravage of 6 or more Damage now costs 2 Blight from the card instead of 1.
Population Pressure at Home (level 2). A City on every board from the start. If land 4 begins with Blight, that Blight moves to land 5 instead.
Fine Steel for Tools and Guns (level 3). This is the level that changes the math. With Towns at 3 Damage and Cities at 5, Heavy Mining triggers far more easily: two Towns, or a City and an Explorer, reach 6.
Royal Backing (level 4). At the end of setup, after the first Explore, discard the top card of the lowest Invader stage left in the deck. On each board, add 1 Town to the land of that card’s terrain with the fewest Invaders. The deck is one card shorter, so you have one turn less.
Mining Rush (level 5). When a Ravage adds Blight to a land, also add 1 Town to an adjacent land with no Town or City. Cascading Blight does not trigger it. Every Blighted land now spreads the Invaders too.
Prospecting Outpost (level 6). A Town and a Blight in land 8 of every board from the start. The Blight comes from the box, not the Blight Card, and as setup Blight it does not cascade or destroy Presence.
Dahan math under Fine Steel
The Dahan lesson worked out Ravages with normal Damage. Here is how Sweden’s level 3 changes them, with no Defend:
| Invaders | Sweden Damage | Dahan needed to destroy them all |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Town | 3 | 2 (one falls, one survives) |
| 1 Town, 1 Explorer | 4 | 4 (two fall, two survive and deal 4) |
| 1 City | 5 | 4 (two fall, two survive and deal 4) |
Every row costs more Dahan than before, and the land still takes Blight. Defend matters even more against Sweden: Defend 2 against a lone City brings 5 Damage to 3, which still Blights the land but saves a Dahan.
How to beat it
Prevent Ravages. The rulebook says Sweden is notably easier for Spirits that can prevent Ravages, naming A Spread of Rampant Green and Vital Strength of the Earth. A Ravage that never happens ignores Fine Steel, Heavy Mining, and Mining Rush all at once.
Keep Damage under 6. From level 1, the line that matters is 6 Damage. Removing a single Town from a land can drop it below the line and save a Blight.
Guard the Dahan. Swayed by the Invaders turns Dahan into Towns where Invaders equal or outnumber them. Gather Dahan into groups, or Push lone Dahan away from lands about to be Explored when the Escalation is coming.
Mind the Blight budget. Heavy Mining and Prospecting Outpost both drain Blight faster than usual. Use the Blight lesson checklist every turn.
Sweden’s top level sits at Difficulty 8 on the rulebook’s chart, the lowest top of the three. That makes Sweden 6 a good place to test a team before trying Brandenburg-Prussia or England at their highest levels.
Next lesson
Spirit Island at High Difficulty: Thematic Maps and Stacking
Level 5 begins with the hardest games in the box: the thematic map, stacking an adversary with a scenario, and what Difficulty 10 and beyond asks of a table.
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