Small World reviews

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 ).

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+.

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.

Awesome and amusing. Each game will have different character combos and requires you think about your moves in order to win. The only downside is something others have also mentioned – When playing with 5 players, you eventually run out of races. But with expansion packs available, that's not too much of an issue :)

Really enjoyed it, quick to learn and is 2 – 5 players. Lots of fun to be had!

Amazing game. Delivered fast and in great condition

This is a great game for a wide range of ages – the adults enjoyed it as much as the kids. Good quality pieces and boards, great artwork, all very well done, and highly recommended :)

A great game for anyone wanting something quick and easy to setup with only a few rules that need to memorised. Even so, the rule book is simple and well laid out and can be quickly skimmed to find what you need during the game. The replayability is immense due to the random faction/power combinations. A killer strategy in one game may not even be available in the next. If that's not enough, there are a tonne of expansions to keep things fresh.

An essential game to almost any respectable tabletop game collection.

Really good game, great for the family and for introducing kids to more complex games

I love this game, easily one of the funnest games I've played and it comes with 2 game boards so you can play with 2 – 3 people or 5 – 6. I've already purchased two of the expansions to add even more races to it as well. A very fun game that gets you thinking with strategy

Each game is different with availability of different combination of races and special powers. The 2, 3 and 4 players boards provide great flexible to suit desired game duration. Highly strategical with a small element of luck (i.e. Dice rolls) if so desired.

Great game easy to play with lots of variation

Games nights are always fun but with this game we are enjoying them more. Great for getting the kids reading and applying strategies to win.

More for the kids and so far not our favourite game. I like the concept so far but need to play alot more. Still a cool game just we have a lot to choose from. maybe this will be played when we are bored of the rest and become our new fav.

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.