- BGG rating
- 7.5
Small World: Cursed!
- 2–5 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2009
- BGG rank
- BGG #412
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Small World
2009
Rules assistance for Small World
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 40–80 min
- 8+
- Complexity 2.4/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Small World
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Small World is a board game released in 2009 for 2–5 players, 40–80 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Philippe Keyaerts and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Small World: Grand Dames of Small World
- 2–5 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2009
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Small World: Be Not Afraid...
- 2–5 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2010
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Small World: Necromancer Island
- 3–6 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2010
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Small World: Tales and Legends
- 2–5 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2010
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Small World: Tunnels
- 2–6 players
- 80 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2011
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Small World: Realms
- 2–6 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.4/5
- 2012
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Small World: 6 Player Board
- 6 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.4/5
- 2013
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Small World: Royal Bonus
- 2–5 players
- 80 min
- Complexity 2.1/5
- 2013
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Small World: A Spider's Web
- 2–5 players
- 80 min
- Complexity 2.1/5
- 2014
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Small World: River World
- 2–5 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2016
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Small World: Power Pack 1
- 2–5 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2017
- BGG rating
- 7.7
Small World: Power Pack 2
- 2–5 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2017
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Small World: Sky Islands
- 3–6 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2017
- BGG rating
- 7.7
Small World: The Lost Tribes' Crusade
- 1–2 players
- 30–40 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2021
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- 2–4 players
- 150–240 min
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- BGG #1,407
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Polis: Fight for the Hegemony
- 2 players
- 90–120 min
- Complexity 3.7/5
- 2012
About the game
In Small World, players vie for conquest and control of a world that is simply too small to accommodate them all. Designed by Philippe Keyaerts as a fantasy follow-up to his award-winning Vinci, Small World is inhabited by a zany 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. Picking the right combination from the 14 different fantasy races and 20 unique special powers, players 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! On each turn, you either use the multiple tiles of your chosen race (type of creatures) to occupy adjacent (normally) territories - possibly defeating weaker enemy races along the way, or you give up on your race letting it go "into decline". A race in decline is designated by flipping the tiles over to their black-and-white side. At the end of your turn, you score one point (coin) for each territory your races occupy. You may have one active race and one race in decline on the board at the same time. Your occupation total can vary depending on the special abilities of your race and the territories they occupy. After the final round, the player with the most coins wins. Clarifications: available in a pinned forum post.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Edge Entertainment
- Enigma (Bergsala Enigma)
- Galápagos Jogos
- Hobby World
- asmodee
- Hobby Japan
- Rebel Sp. z o.o.
- Gémklub
- Siam Board Games
- Asterion Press
- Stratelibri
- Days of Wonder
- Lord of Boards
- Compaya.hu: Gamer Café Kft.
Questions and answers
Small World supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Small World is 40–80 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Small World for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Small World has a complexity rating of 2.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Small World belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Fighting, and Territory Building. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Small World are: Philippe Keyaerts. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Small World as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.