Small World is a wonderful light-hearted game. I’ve been playing it for years and enjoyed every single match, even the ones in which I was mercilessly defeated. In fact, I liked this game enough to even purchase some of its expansions.

At its core, Small World is a fairly simple game: conquer lands and thus earn points. However, through some clever game mechanics you’ll never play a match that’s similar to another. This, along with its relatively short playing time, makes it the perfect game for a lazy afternoon or evening.

The art of this game is appealing, but quirky enough that you’ll forget you’re actually slaughtering whole civilizations. Fun!

The premises is simple: pick a race and a special ability and conquer as many land as you can. Yet, this game mechanic is what makes it a different game each time you play it.

Small World is one of my absolute favourite board games. Whether playing it one-on-one against Jop, or on a bigger board with some friends, I enjoy trying to find the best strategy for the race/ability-combo lying in front of me. Especially in the beginning, after our first few games, I marvelled at the impact the races and special abilities have on the way your game is played.

With several expansions, you will have access to more races than you’ll ever need and extra playing boards to make your conquests even more interesting. Our latest addition, Small World Realms, even gives us the power to build our own worlds and tinker with the game mechanics. Although my collector’s heart wants it all (and we are well on our way, oops), just picking up the base game is enough to engage in some very fun battles.