Born from another of his designs, Phillipe Keyaerts’ most notable game has something of a pedigree. The original version of the game, Vinci, was first released back in 1999 and still has a decent following today as players battled to seize control of Europe over the span of centuries. It wasn’t until 2009 that Days of Wonder released the streamlined, updated Small World and the game really hit the mainstream. Since the reissue, the franchise has grown with plenty of expansions and even two standalone big boxes that can work alongside the original. But what can you expect when you crack open the box for the first time?
Essentially, you’re looking at a quick playing game of domination and good timing. The fantasy setting allows for a wide variety of mysterious races with randomly allocated powers, and over the course of ten rounds you’ll take control of your armies and attempt to spread your influence over the land. Depending on what combination you choose you’ll get a different number of units to move about the board, worked out by adding the numbers shown on the race and power markers when you take them over. As the game progresses, there’ll be clashes aplenty between you and your opponents that will slowly eat into the limited amount of units at your disposal. Things don’t last long on the battlefield.
You’ll have to decide the right moment to put your part of civilization into decline, effectively rendering them useless but still letting them get you points. At this point you’ll them be allowed to take control of a second race (perhaps even a third if you feel lucky) and begin again, this time with the added stress of trying to protect your old army. As points are scored at the completion of each round, having as many areas of the board under your control is paramount; the more regions you rule, the more likely you are to be the winner when all is said and done.
Small World generally gives players one of two first impressions. Either they’ll be utterly terrified at the hundreds of cardboard tokens included in the box or the game will be dismissed as cutesy and light. However, it only takes a couple of rounds for the strategies of the game to come to light and for people to realize that Small World is both approachable and filled with plenty of opportunity for decision making. In no time at all your fellow gamers will turn into scheming, devious monsters – and you’ll be having a splendid time with it.
Days of Wonder has long been known for high quality production values and Small World continues this run. Everything in the box is printed on thick card meaning that it will easily stand up to repeated use and you even get different boards for games involving two to five players. This shows the amount of effort that has been put into the development of the game, the time that has been invested into balancing it, no matter how many are sat around your table. Yes, you’ll have to pay a decent amount for a copy but Days of Wonder games hold their value; when you look at how much care and attention the company put into each of their releases, that’s not a surprise.
Miguel Coimbra’s art manages to strike a balance between cartoonish and fantastical with each of the races looking great – whether you’re running swarms of Flying Ratmen or stomping across the Small World with a team of Hill Giants, everything in the game looks wonderful. While it’s true that the boards can get a bit busy especially in larger games, you’ll just need to pay a bit more attention. Believe me, it’ll be worth the effort as the interaction when there are more people involved is priceless; things just get much more mean. Not to say that it’s a poor game when only two or three people are involved, it’s just a lot more entertaining with more players.
Should you be taken with the base game, I’d heartily recommend investigating some of the expansion sets which add more races and special powers to the mix such as Leaders or Grand Dames of Small World. The Underground big box is a game in itself but is cross compatible with the original, while Realms allows you to build your maps however you please. Whatever version you decide to go for, you’ll discover a game that will keep you and your fellow players more than entertained for a long time to come.
You’ll have to decide the right moment to put your part of civilization into decline, effectively rendering them useless but still letting them get you points. At this point you’ll them be allowed to take control of a second race (perhaps even a third if you feel lucky) and begin again, this time with the added stress of trying to protect your old army. As points are scored at the completion of each round, having as many areas of the board under your control is paramount; the more regions you rule, the more likely you are to be the winner when all is said and done.
Small World generally gives players one of two first impressions. Either they’ll be utterly terrified at the hundreds of cardboard tokens included in the box or the game will be dismissed as cutesy and light. However, it only takes a couple of rounds for the strategies of the game to come to light and for people to realize that Small World is both approachable and filled with plenty of opportunity for decision making. In no time at all your fellow gamers will turn into scheming, devious monsters – and you’ll be having a splendid time with it.
Days of Wonder has long been known for high quality production values and Small World continues this run. Everything in the box is printed on thick card meaning that it will easily stand up to repeated use and you even get different boards for games involving two to five players. This shows the amount of effort that has been put into the development of the game, the time that has been invested into balancing it, no matter how many are sat around your table. Yes, you’ll have to pay a decent amount for a copy but Days of Wonder games hold their value; when you look at how much care and attention the company put into each of their releases, that’s not a surprise.
Miguel Coimbra’s art manages to strike a balance between cartoonish and fantastical with each of the races looking great – whether you’re running swarms of Flying Ratmen or stomping across the Small World with a team of Hill Giants, everything in the game looks wonderful. While it’s true that the boards can get a bit busy especially in larger games, you’ll just need to pay a bit more attention. Believe me, it’ll be worth the effort as the interaction when there are more people involved is priceless; things just get much more mean. Not to say that it’s a poor game when only two or three people are involved, it’s just a lot more entertaining with more players.
Should you be taken with the base game, I’d heartily recommend investigating some of the expansion sets which add more races and special powers to the mix such as Leaders or Grand Dames of Small World. The Underground big box is a game in itself but is cross compatible with the original, while Realms allows you to build your maps however you please. Whatever version you decide to go for, you’ll discover a game that will keep you and your fellow players more than entertained for a long time to come.
