Small World

by Days of Wonder

• High quality European components
• For 2-5 players
• Takes 45-60 minutes to play
• Vie for conquest and control
• Takles 45-60 minutes to play

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 11.6 x 3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Origin: China
• ASIN: B0024H7OF6
• Item model number: DOW 7901
• Manufacturer recommended age: 10 - 14 years
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #80 in Toys & Games > Games > Board Games
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (173 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Small World is a zany, light-hearted civilization game in which 2-5 players vie for conquest and control of a board that is simply too small to accommodate them all. Picking the right combination of fantasy races and unique special powers, players must rush to expand their empires - often at the expense of weaker neighbors. Yet they must also know when to push their own over-extended civilization into decline and ride a new one to victory. Designed by Philippe Keyaerts, as the fantasy follow-up to his award-winning Vinci, Small World is inhabited by a cast of characters such as dwarves, wizards, amazons, giants, orcs and even humans; who use their troops to occupy territory and conquer adjacent lands in order to push the other races off the face of the earth. Small World marks the return of the Days of Wonder line of heavily-themed, big-box sized games featuring evocative illustrations, high-quality European components and a compelling, fun theme. Game Contents: Two double-sided game boards (One for each of four possible player configurations), 14 Fantasy Races with matching banners & tokens, 20 Special Power badges, A variety of Troll Lairs, Mountains. Fortresses, Encampments, Holes-in-the-ground, 2 Heroes, A Dragon, Along with Victory Coins, 6 Player Summary Sheets, A Reinforcement Die, Rules Booklet and A Days of Wonder Online Access Number.

Product Description

Small World is a zany, light-hearted civilization game in which 2-5 players vie for conquest and control of a board that is simply too small to accommodate them all. Picking the right combination of fantasy races and unique special powers, players must rush to expand their empires - often at the expense of weaker neighbors. Yet they must also know when to push their own over-extended civilization into decline and ride a new one to victory. Designed by Philippe Keyaerts, as the fantasy follow-up to his award-winning Vinci, Small World is inhabited by a cast of characters such as dwarves, wizards, amazons, giants, orcs and even humans who use their troops to occupy territory and conquer adjacent lands in order to push the other races off the face of the earth. Small World marks the return of the Days of Wonder line of heavily-themed, big-box sized games featuring evocative illustrations, high-quality European components and a compelling, fun theme. Game Contents: Two double-sided game boards (One for each of four possible player configurations), 14 Fantasy Races with matching banners & tokens, 20 Special Power badges, A variety of Troll Lairs, Mountains. Fortresses, Encampments, Holes-in-the-ground, 2 Heroes, A Dragon, Along with Victory Coins, 6 Player Summary Sheets, A Reinforcement Die, Rules Booklet and A Days of Wonder Online Access Number. For 2-5 players Takes 45-60 minutes to play Ages 10+

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 82 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of fun! A twist on War Games. September 27, 2009

By Christina

Durability: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

My husband and I bought this on a whim - we'd gone to our local game store to pick up Settler's Of Catan because we'd played that recently with friends and liked it. However, this caught our eye, and we bought it instead! I was drawn the cover art, I'll admit!
We brought it to a friend's place to play after dinner. It took a while to get a hang of the way the game is supposed to work and the dynamics of each round, but after a few turns, we were able to get it all figured out.
I really liked all aspects of this game - the 'Risk' aspect of trying to take over the map, the fantasy aspect of the characters, and the unique way the game's races are developed. Every game you play will be different due to how things are set up!
My only complaint is with the tray the Race Tokens are stored in... it was pretty hard for me (who has small fingers, even) to get the tokens in and out of the little squares they are supposed to go in. Especially when some were in use and the remaining ones would fall forward.
Overall, I'm really happy that we got this game, I'm looking forward to sharing it with other people!

113 of 127 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Game Marred by Slow Turns May 24, 2009

By Joel Smith

Durability: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 3.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

My game group played this recently and although I enjoyed my experience with Small World, I'm not aching to replay it like I do with other board games. Overall, Small World is a fun game. A little action, a little randomness, some important decision making, excellent flavor, but also a little bit on the slow side.

The game itself isn't that long of a game. Our first game, even with all of the rules lookups took only about 2 hours (which is a little big long) but I think on future plays, an average game would take about 45-70 minutes.

The gameplay is fairly simple here, but be prepared to look up a lot of rules throughout the game on your first play. A series of races with special powers are placed on the table. Players choose a race and power, and then proceed to conquer various areas on the board. At the end of their turn, each area currently occupied by that player scores a point. That player may earn additional points based on his special ability. Then the next player goes and so on. At some point, a player decides that he can progress no further with his race (generaly either because it'd be hard/impossible to expand, or because it'd be hard to defend his position), and sets them in decline. The player now chooses a new race and special ability, and as a bonus, collects points on any territories that his race still controls at the end of his next turn.

After a set number of turns, the game ends and whoever has the highest point total wins. Simple enough.

The problem with this game comes in the fact that a turn is fairly long--about 1 to 2 minutes for each player, and when it's another player's turn, there's precisely nothing for you to do, but watch. You can't work on your strategy too much, because the board changes a lot in any given round, and players actions may affect your standing on the board, but you can't react to it at all. All of this makes small world feel a little longer than it needs to be. Still a fun game, but a bit on the boring side.

Average Game Length: 45-70 minutes
Turn length: about 1-2 minute per player, about 40-50 turns per game.
Minimum age: probably about 8. Some minor rules may require some assistance.

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great game to get non gamers into July 20, 2009

By Zedd Zorander

Durability: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

I am an avid gamer, mostly strategy and RPG, and this game was a great purchase. I was able to get some friends to play, that normally would not play this type of board game. It is light hearted and easy to get into. There is enough strategy, that a real gamer will appreciate, but also it is not too in depth that it will frustrate a non gamer. Overall, I would recommend this with 5 stars and will be purchasing multiple copies for friends and family members. Great job Days Of Wonder!!!