Small World Underground

[dyeyk2000]

"This world's not big enough for all of us, so it's time you step aside to make room for me."

That's the spirit of Philippe Keyaerts' award-winning Small World, and the 2011 release Small World Underground is a standalone game that keeps that spirit intact, while putting a new spin on the game play.

Philippe Keyaerts' Small World has a been a huge success, spawning a half-dozen expansions (so far) and selling more than 100,000 copies in ten languages since its debut in 2009.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise to see Keyaerts and publisher Days of Wonder put a new spin on the system to give players more of what they enjoy. Small World Underground is a standalone game that retains the feel and game play of Small World, while providing a wealth of new races and special powers for players to enjoy.

Small World Underground is set in the subterranean world below the one being fought over in Small World, with four separate game boards for the four possible player configurations. Players will once again be drafting race/power combinations to try to conquer areas in a land that's too small to fit everyone comfortably, but this time certain areas are occupied by monsters that are guarding relics and "places of power". In addition to having 15 new races and 21 new special powers, Small World Underground includes 9 Popular Places; 6 Righteous Relics; 9 Black Mountains; 1 Volcano; 106 Victory Coins; Armor, Hammer and Vengeance markers; a "Bag-o'-Many-Things"; and (according to the press release) "many other special items".

While Small World Underground is playable on its own, the game can be combined with other Small World releases, presumably by mixing races and powers as desired. The Days of Wonder press release notes that Small World Underground "is recommended for players who are already familiar with Small World".

Small World Underground will be released in June 2011 in Europe and in July 2011 in North America with a retail price of $50/€45.

[dyeyk2000]

I don't care. I'm getting this damnit.

Emptier of Wallets, please be advised.

[dyeyk2000]

Finally got this on the table last Friday. Played a 3-player game with my officemates Quinito and BJ.

This was my first play of the game even though it was my own copy (IKR). I’ve heard concerns on how this was not the best iteration of Small World. How there were plenty of good ideas but ultimately poor in execution. What I would say though was in terms of chaos, SWU definitely takes it up a notch compared to SW. There are plenty more swings in power and some power-race combinations may look more powerful than some. But did we have fun? Hell yes we did.

You have to play this game with the mindset that there are definitely going to be imbalances, more so than the original. But just like in the original, table politics (and that includes some king-making at certain points in the game) and not just your ability to play a euro efficiency game will determine who will have a chance to come up on top. I say “chance” because there really is no sure-fire way to win the game due to the uncontrollable variables discussed.

However, the game tends to have a more epic narrative and more “oh shit” moments than the original (oh and some hilarity too). Some noteworthy moments I remember from the game were:

1.   Stone Iron Dwarves opening up the Great Brass Pipe on the very first turn on a freakin mine. This allows them to jump to every mine on the map as if it was adjacent. Every time the Iron Dwarves end the turn on a mine, they gain a Hammer chit that acts as an extra attacking unit. He gained 4 Hammer chits on the first turn alone. #ohshit
2.   The Stone Iron Dwarves were eventually thwarted by Immortal Shadow Mimes. Seriously. Immortal Shadow Mimes? #hilarity
3.   In the mid-game warring civilizations fought tooth and nail to possess the powerful relic called the Sword of the Killer Rabbit. #epic
4.   Wise Ogres. Mystic Lizardmen. Flocking Will-o-Wisps. Seriously? #hilarity
5.   Magic Kraken swimming up the river to pop up out of the water ninja style to slice and dice the unsuspecting Royal Mummies with the.. yup.. you guessed it.. Sword of the Killer Rabbit pulled out from their Magic Bag. #hilarity

So yes folks. Good game. Haha. <3

[Gerald]

As a base set, I actually found this superior to the original Small World.  I like the addition of the river and I find the races to be quite balanced (albeit, some of 'em are more useful at certain junctures of the game as compared to others).  It also meshes well with the Be Not Afraid expansion.