Small World is a fun territory claiming game, where players manage different races with special abilities over a number of rounds.  Usually holding more land means more points, however special abilities can also contribute to scoring.

Players start with a selection of 5 races and their corresponding special abilities.  These five options are randomly created and topped up when a player has selected a race to play with.  The combination of the race and ability will dictate how many tokens the player gets, with which to claim land.

To claim an area, the player (usually) has to have one more token committed to that area of land than the combination of things already on it - which may be made up of the land itself, any special terrain (e.g. mountains) and any occupying race.

Points are then calculated at the end of each turn based on how much land is owned by the player.

A neat mechanic of the game is how players can put their race into decline and start a new race.  Usually a race that is in decline can't continue claiming new land and is limited to one race token for each area claimed, making it easy for other races to conquer.

A large part of the fun in the game is the combination of race and abilities, giving such amusing combinations as:

• Flying Trolls (Trolls can have lairs, making them tougher to conquer, and Flying allows them to conquer any part of the board without being adjacent to it);
• Dragon Master Elves (Elves can regroup after a defeat, and having a Dragon means you can win any conquest!);
• Mounted Skeletons (Skeletons multiply when they kill other races, and having a Mount means they can sometime attack with one less token).

The game offers a fun mix of strategy and luck.  Strategy in choosing a race/ ability combination, knowing when to decline a race and knowing which areas to capture to gain points.  Luck comes in the options of races/ abilities you can choose from, the dice roll you get to make for some actions and how other players feel about having your races on the board.

The game is produced by Days of Wonder.