As usual with
Days of Wonder this game is really designed, with lots of excellent quality components and different sized boards depending on the number of players.
Like its predecessor,
Smallworld, the game relatively easy to pick up and play as the core mechanic is very simple -
2 tokens to conquer an empty region and 1 extra token for each token in an occupied area. One of the new additions for this versions is the river, which costs only 1 token to occupy but has to be vacated before scoring (With some exceptions)
You choose from one of six race/ability combos stacked by the board, the first is free but each one you skip over to grab the one you want you have to place 1VP on. This combo determines how many tokens you get as well as what abilities and possibly bonuses you may have. Each turn you conquire areas then score VP's for each area you occupy plus any bonus VP's. Your VPS are kept hidden from other players. When you feel you have used up your combo you can put them into decline, they still score VP's but that is all you do that turn. All bar one of your tokens are removed from each area and the token turned over to the uncoloured side to show it is in decline, at the star of your next go you select a new combo. Play continues like this for several rounds, the number varies depending on player numbers.
At the end of the game the person with the most VP's wins. This game is just elegant in how it looks, plays and scales as the board size varies according to the number of players. There is a lot of humour in this game born out by some of the bizarre combos you can get. There are new landscape types and races though some of the powers are similar to previous ones but somehow more viscous
There is also now the addition of "Popular Places" and "Righteous Relics" which are gained when killing Monsters (the equivalent of the Lost Tribe Areas in
Smallworld), which appear in pairs!. Each one of these items gives the player an additional power they can use on their turn which ramps up the inter-player rivalry
There is a fair amount of carboard in this game and, I must say I think this is unique, no waste you use the carboard sheets left over from the punching to line the bottom of the box so when you place everythin back in the box it fits snugly stopping the tokens from moving around. They also supply a custom fit try to house all the race tokens which works really well.
This is an excellent addition to the series and adds a lot more fun into the game without adding too much more complexity. If you have played
Smallworld then you will be able to pick this up with ease, just getting used to the new races and powers as the rule changes are relatively minor. For new players this may be a little more involved than the original but still easy to pick up.
Excellent game and worthy of a place in my collection.
