Small World

About

In Small World, players control fantasy races in a competitive, light-hearted conquest game. Your goal is to control as many regions as possible with your units, gaining points for each region and any special abilities your race possesses. As your current race's power wanes, you choose a new one to continue your territorial expansion, creating an ever-changing, engaging experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Local Multi-Player Play with friends in the same physical space using split-screen or multiple screens
2-Players Play with one other player, either online or locally, in a cooperative or competitive game mode
Multi-Player Compete or cooperate with other players online
Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo
PvP Player versus Player - Fight against other players in real-time, often in arena-style combat
Split Screen Play with multiple players on the same screen, often with divided or shared screen real estate

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,186 reviews

gameplay16 positive mentions

stability84 negative mentions

Great adaptation of the board game with fun gameplay and lots of replayability.
Fast-paced and easy to learn, making it accessible for both casual and experienced players.
Nice graphics and user interface that captures the spirit of the original board game.

Frequent crashes and bugs, especially in multiplayer mode, making it frustrating to play.
Lack of options for graphics settings and no full-screen mode, which detracts from the experience.
AI can be unpredictable and sometimes makes poor decisions, leading to an uneven challenge.

stability
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
2%
95%
The game is widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of frequent crashes, freezes, and technical glitches across various platforms, particularly on Windows and during multiplayer sessions. While some players find the gameplay enjoyable, the overwhelming consensus is that the game's bugs significantly detract from the overall experience, making it frustrating and unreliable. Many reviewers recommend avoiding the game until these stability issues are addressed.
- “It's a very playable, not buggy, faithful adaptation of the Small World board game.”
- “No glitches that I'm aware of, and the AI seems pretty smart (or I'm dumb)... so I'm guessing it's a good port.”
- “Buggy and unstable on Windows; won't even launch on Linux.”
- “Sadly over a couple of hours playing singleplayer I've encountered crashes to desktop, game-breaking glitches, and other similar issues.”
- “This is a fun board game, and I thought I would give it a go with some friends online, but playing online games with friends is extremely buggy with non-stop connection and 'authenticating' issues.”
gameplay
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
67%
9%
The gameplay is generally described as fun, tactical, and rewarding, with a strong emphasis on replayability due to the variety of races and mechanics. However, many users express frustration with technical issues such as lag and bugs, which can disrupt the experience. While the digital adaptation retains the core mechanics of the board game and simplifies certain aspects, some players find the overall implementation lacking in quality and depth.
- “The gameplay is fun, and the different combinations of races make it very replayable.”
- “Gameplay is speedier thanks to the computer handling the basic rules and accounting for you.”
- “Excellent game, smooth gameplay.”
- “18 minutes of gameplay and I am both frustrated and annoyed.”
- “The gameplay is a drudgerous exercise in arithmetic, the artwork is generic and uninspired, the UI/UX is below amateur level.”
- “If you are going over the race/power combos while your opponent is playing their turn, it literally pauses the gameplay, causing a lag for the other player.”
graphics
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
70%
7%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the colorful art style and smooth gameplay, while others criticize the lack of resolution options and the cluttered interface that can be confusing. Many users note that the visuals align well with the original board game, but the overall execution suffers from bugs and scaling issues on larger screens. Overall, while some find the graphics appealing, others feel they fall short of expectations, particularly in the PC port.
- “Amazing graphics and intuitive gameplay.”
- “The graphics are cool, the game plays smoothly.”
- “The art style is very colorful and high quality; the pictures for the abilities are quite topical, so they help you remember who can do what trick.”
- “The gameplay is a drudgerous exercise in arithmetic, the artwork is generic and uninspired, the UI/UX is below amateur level.”
- “But the port itself is dreadful; there is no full screen or resolution options, not to mention most of the graphic options are still meant for iPad.”
- “No graphics controls, meaning that the quality on larger screens suffers.”
replayability
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
85%
8%
8%
The game boasts exceptional replayability, primarily due to its diverse races and unique ability combinations that ensure no two playthroughs are alike. Players appreciate the fun and strategic depth, making it suitable for both quick sessions and more in-depth gameplay. Even without additional DLC, the game's mechanics provide ample variety and enjoyment, contributing to its high replay value.
- “This game is fun and endlessly replayable, even without any DLCs.”
- “Excellent replayability with randomized factions every playthrough.”
- “Strong replayability is built right in as no two games will ever play alike.”
- “A charming game that is much deeper than its whimsical appearance may suggest, with a lot of replayability despite the currently singular map.”
- “Strong replayability is built right in, as no two games will ever play alike.”
- “The race and power combinations create a lot of replay value.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
42%
42%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players finding it irritating, repetitive, and poorly implemented, often recommending to mute it entirely. Some users appreciate the light-hearted tone of the music, but overall, the soundtrack is criticized for being limited and not enhancing the gameplay experience. Additionally, the sound effects are described as outdated, further detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- “The music and sounds are enjoyable as well.”
- “The music is fun and matches the light-hearted tone set by the art style.”
- “The music volume has a slider.”
- “The music is horrible, the game freezes and shuts down on rare occasions, there's no good way to speed through each round (you can click a 'next' button, but it's still slow and kind of buggy), and I prefer computer board games to work quickly and smoothly instead of getting bogged down.”
- “As mentioned before, the soundtrack is very limited and repetitive.”
- “The music is obnoxious and bots occasionally stop for no apparent reason (as in, their turns don't end).”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding it cute, simple, and genuinely funny, particularly enjoying the amusing character combinations like flying ghouls and peace-loving barbarians. The game is described as both relaxing and laugh-out-loud funny, making it a delightful experience for friends playing together, whether online or locally. Overall, the humor adds a charming layer to the strategic gameplay, enhancing its appeal.
- “Small World is exactly what it promises to be: short, funny, and relaxing.”
- “Some of these combinations were laugh-out-loud funny (flying ghouls, peace-loving barbarians, etc.), so even more of these would enhance the game immensely.”
- “One of the best board game transpositions, funny, simple but strategic game playable with friends online or even on the same PC or against the PC. Three expansions are already available, each with new races and powers.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
38%
The story is set in a cramped world where multiple races vie for dominance, leading to a chaotic narrative that struggles to engage players. Reviewers find the plot underwhelming and difficult to follow, detracting from the overall experience.
- “The story takes place in a world that's way too small for all the races to live in at once... so what did they have to do?!?”
- “Who has time to remember to keep track of what turn we're on when you're trying to plot world domination?!”
- “Story - 0 replay - 1”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The game is criticized for being a poor port of a mobile title, lacking the expected optimizations and customization options for PC. However, it runs smoothly and offers endless replayability due to its randomness, indicating that while optimization is lacking, the gameplay experience remains enjoyable.
- “But, it runs smoothly and the randomness in the game makes the replay endless.”
- “Plays fine; it would be nice if they optimized for desktop.”
- “For all the fun I've had with it, it is actually a poor port of a mobile game, with none of the optimizations or customization options you would expect from a PC game.”
- “Plays fine, would be nice if they optimized for desktop.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate that the game alleviates the burden of tedious tasks, such as setting up and tracking gameplay, which enhances the overall experience. However, the pass-and-play mode is seen as cumbersome, requiring only one computer and one copy of the game, which may detract from the enjoyment for some users.
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as overly aggressive, with frequent ads for paid DLCs detracting from the user experience. Reviewers feel the game resembles abandonware, lacking necessary updates and improvements to its user interface and functionality. Overall, the monetization approach is seen as cheap and not well-integrated into the gameplay.
- “It's basically abandonware at this point, a cheap and cheerful digitization and monetization of the board game.”
- “The UI could use another patch or a few, and improved functionality, such as seamless switching, multiple instances running, not having the game overwrite your current action when something is happening in the game, more clarity on some functions and how to use them, less clunky, and for the dragon's sake stop plastering ads for paid DLCs everywhere.”