Board Game Peer Review: Small World

This is my review of Rebecka N’s analysis of the board game Small World. You can read her post on the game here.

I’ll be going through each point of the review instructions one by one while addressing Rebecka’s analysis in this post.

Objectively worst parts of the game

Rebecka thought the worst parts of the game were the confusing instructions and poor balancing of certain race + power combinations. I agree that the instructions are far from perfect, and the game has some balance issues due to its reliance on randomness.

When our group sat down to play the game, we got help from a member of group 6 who explained the rules for us so we wouldn’t have to deal with the instruction book. However, even with the help we encountered some troubles with the instructions as well. The game has several copies of a small guide that each player can have and consult for instructions on turns and summaries of various races and abilities. These papers were incredibly useful, but certain descriptions were so unspecific they caused confusion.

We had the same problem as group 6 with the rules of the sorcerer race. The instructions on the sorcerers read:

“Once per turn per opponent, substitute an opponent’s single active token with a new sorcerer token taken from the tray, to conquer an adjacent region.”

We argued back and forth for about 10 minutes on whether this means you can substitute any opponent’s tokens as many times as there are opponents, or if you could just substitute once per opponent per turn. Finally, someone looked it up on the internet, and it turns out you can only substitute once per person.

I was also personally stumped on the description of the berserk ability, which reads:

“You may use the reinforcement die before each conquest.”

With the emphasis on each but not before in this sentence, it makes it seem like you’re always supposed to use the reinforcement die before you attack an area, and not after you’ve decided on how many units to use. If you check back on the turn instructions it does say the die should be rolled after you’ve decided on how many units you will attack an area with, so at least that’s made clear there. But given that the berserk ability is an exception both to the rule of when you roll the die and the rule of how many times you can roll the die, the description really should convey that better instead of taking the former exception for granted.

Keeping your instructions simple is always good, but you need to always make sure you’re as clear as possible on top of that. I think they really should’ve done more editing passes on the instructions of the different races and powers.

Objectively best parts of the game

Rebecka thought one of the best parts of the game was that with the ability to switch to a new race, you always have a fighting chance in the game. She also liked how the elements of randomness in the game’s design bring out variety in play between sessions. I agree fully on both points.

This is a game that relies so much on randomness, but since the only thing that matters towards winning the game in the end are your coins, you can always get yourself back in the game. Since you can never under any circumstance lose coins, other than when you’re choosing a new race, you’ll rarely feel like you’re completely set for failure. Even if you’re pushed up in the corner of the map, surrounded by opponents with huge territories, you can always just decline for a new race, start up somewhere completely different, and fight back.

Core system

Rebecka did not actually point out a specific system as the core system in her analysis, or if she did I have not been able to find it in my multiple readings of her text. This is understandable as I struggled with this point in my own analysis as well, and I will simply proceed as if I disagreed with her chosen system.

I personally think the core system of Small World is the race and power system. In this system, the two types of cards are the objects. Their properties and behaviors are their set amounts of race tokens and the special abilities of each card. And finally, the relationship these two randomly chosen cards has with each other creates a unique set of rules the player must follow.

The combination of race and power cards a player chooses completely dictates the strategy a player will have to rely on. They might get the ghoul race and decline as soon as possible, so they can choose a new race and have two races in play for maximum effectiveness. They might get a power card that nets them extra coins if they occupy forest areas, in which case the player will definitely aim towards conquering as many of those areas as possible.

Given how randomness is such a big part of the game, this system of having to choose between random combinations of race and power cards, and basing your strategy on that, is definitely the core component of this game in my opinion.

Interesting system

Rebecka chose the declining system as the most interesting system in the game, and once again I’m in agreement.

The decline system personally took me a while to understand while playing, but it plays an important part in the strategy of the game, along with the race and power system. The first time I played the game, I stuck to my starting race as long as possible, thinking I didn’t want to waste a turn declining, but it’s a huge part of the game. Sticking to one race too long will eventually leave you with nowhere near enough units to act, and choosing to decline late in the game won’t give you much time to use your new race to its full potential.

Knowing when in the game to decline depending on your circumstances is one of the most important factors to playing the game well. I feel like the combination of this system along with the race and power system forms the most essential elements of strategy in the game.

Target group

Rebecka’s section on target audience was quite brief, mainly stating that the target age of 8 and up stated on the box is fitting, and that the game really is suitable to a variety of people if the rules are explained well.

I agree that the biggest detriment to the game being suitable for a wider audience is its confusing instructions. With a better rulebook, and some editing on the wording of certain descriptions, it would be much easier to understand.

I think that, despite the game’s focus on strategy and conquest, its elements of randomness lends itself to being really suitable as a party game. Along with the game’s comical art style, I could really see this game being played in family game evenings and the like if only it had better instructions.

Summary

Small World, despite some issues with instructions, ended up being a tremendously fun game and I’d love to play it again. Despite some balancing issues, the combination of strategy and randomness made for a huge variety in play which made sure things always stayed interesting. I don’t think I would get bored of this game quickly, and from what I heard there’s an expansion which raises the amount of possible combinations of race and power cards to a ridiculous number.

Rebecka’s analysis of the game was very organized and concise. Her findings regarding the game’s systems and various positives and negatives were understandable and well presented. The only drawback to her analysis was that I could not find a clear verdict on what she thought the game’s core system was. Other than that, I’m in agreement with many of the points she brought up.