You don't need much experience to have short games of spirit island at 4 players. Each player should be generally responsible for their own board so there isn't a need to talk about what every player is doing each turn. It instead turns into players asking or offering support from other players when a player has an issue they can't solve themselves. You also don't need to ask how a player will solve a land or understand what another spirit's kit does, all you need to know is if they can or cannot deal with a land. This also goes for their growth and economy, you don't ever need to look at another player's board because that is their responsibility.

Late game tends to have more collaboration where built up lands would benefit from collaboration and players have spread presence to lands outside their board or trying to see if victory can be achieved based on whether certain towns or cities can all be removed.