Small World

First of all, the quality, the design well deserve a 5 star rating. The only thing which steal the last star for me is that if you run a 5 player match the ammount of races is not enough. ( 1 active + 1 declined race leaves 4 new races to select from as the game has 14 races in the box ).
This can have a severe impact on the gameplay during lategame/endgame with 5 players.
This can be solved by getting one of the expansions released to date.

The gameplay is fun, the races are well developed and keeps you thinking after you selected one to stand with, wheter the other one would have been better -
The built-in autovary keep the game challenging and fun for replays as well.
The fun increases exponentially with the number of the players. Can be fun for two, but the real flavours surface only with more lords pushing their races against the others.

Money well spent on this one. ( If you plan for 5 players, grab one of the expansions as well ).

Small World is an excellent board game that I have throughly enjoyed playing each time I play, regardless of whether I win or lose.

The contents are made to a high quality and a separate board for each number of players (2–5) provides a balanced play area regardless of the number of players. The Race + Power combination generates a hugh number of possibilities which makes the game great to play over and over without getting bored. Each time you will see new combinations and think of new ways to play those combinations. The main thing I like about Small World is that regardless of what happens, you are never out of the game. Just grab a new race combination and get back on the board. Great game!

The only downside for me is only having 14 races, which can get used up when playing a 5 player game. The solution is buy one of the expansions, like Be Not Afraid and/or Cursed! I played Small World once and found it so much fun I promptly picked up the expansions.

Overall I highly recommend this game to one and all. Small World is now a favourite with me and my gaming friends.

I like finding games that I can play with my partner and also play when we have friends around. There are different boards to use for 2, 3, 4, or 5 players. What's also nice is that the races + the special abilities are in two seperate stacks so there's a large amount of variability between games. We've played it several times and really enjoyed it.

The latest and greatest offering from Days of Wonder Inc. Comes Small World, an award winning strategy boardgame that is complex, competitive and fun!

Set in a world too small to be shared, Small World populated by fantasy races such as Elves, Skeletons and Amazons, players compete for territory with their chosen race, gaining points through regions held as well as special abilities. This is accomplished through strategy rather than dice rolls, where victory is achieved through planning and diplomacy, rather than luck.

Each race is unique in nature – for example, Orcs gain bonus points for attacking other races, where Wizards gain bonus points for every magic region they hold. In addition, each race is paired with another special power (randomly drawn at the start of the game) – where in one game the Elves may draw the Flying power, allowing them to attack any region on the board, in the next game they may draw the Forest power, giving bonus points for each forest region held.

The game art is stylised and attractive, with a visually bright game board and distinctive artistic styles for each race. The replay value of the game is immense – each playthrough looks and feels like a totally new game!

Playable with 2–5 people, Small World will quickly become a favourite of those familiar with classics such as Risk or Settlers of Catan, but new boardgame players are by no means excluded from the fun. However, it has a fairly steep learning curve, and it takes a few games to gain a full understanding of the rules. The length of each game depends on the number of players, ranging from between 30 minutes (2 players) to up to 90 minutes (5 players).

Overall, Small World is an extremely well designed, strategically complex and visually attractive boardgame that is best played by those ages 13+.