Small World Comparison - with Tom Vasel

[@danielengel4593]

Now I own, Smallworld + a couple of expansions, Smallworld Underground and Smallworld of Warcraft, and haven't played any of them. I guess I have to ask my self a bunch of serious questions.

[@Sam-vk8xd]

You have a problem...

[@martinxvidxb]

I also own more boardgames than I am reasonably able to play. It got harder to get together with friends and play lately. I figured that I don't need that many games any more and I started to sell some of them. If you want to play the games you own, try to find some people to play them with. A boardgame club or something. Not sure where you live. Try some forum to search for a group (Reddit?). Sometimes libraries have some meetings like this. Or tea / coffee shop / pub with boardgames. I wish you best of luck with enjoying yourself with or without the boardgames!

[@danielengel4593]

@@martinxvidxb Nice answer, love it. I'm currently watering down as well. The goal is 200 games, it will be a whole lot of work and for sure I've to make some hurtful decisions, but it has to be done.

[@olanmills64]

Daniel Engel you guys are trimming down! "Watering down" makes it sound like you're trying to fill your collections with worse games 😆

[@danielengel4593]

@@olanmills64 Learned something.

[@ClockworkWyrm]

Got my pre-order in the mail yesterday and I have to say this game looks fantastic! No issues with any of the printing and no tearing with any of the punch boards. I personally love the island boards rather than the standard SW boards in the other versions. We didn't own a copy of Small World and we play WoW regularly so this version was an insta-buy for us. Yes the expansions aren't compatible without some serious house-ruling but that's OK with us.

[@c7hu1hu66]

Small world of Warcraft seems to have more in common with small world underground, with the artifacts and more similar races and abilities. How do you think they compare?

[@Radien]

It doesn't have unconquerable chasms, a river, or most of Underground's specific style of races and powers, though. I feel like the artifacts and special places were an idea the designer had later on, and he would have wanted to retroactively put it into the original Small World, but artifacts and places didn't catch on because SWU is a really unstable game that needed more playtesting before it got released. I guess we'll see whether they catch on this time.

[@joshjenson8111]

Underground is way better then Warcraft

[@JarradShaw]

I played WoW in college, and I play Hearthstone all the time. I always wanted Small World, but it never felt like enough in it to justify it. The iP of Blizzard, extras, maps, and teams variant instantly sold me during Gen Con Online and Pre ordered it.

[@Radien]

You, I believe, are definitely their Target Audience. :) I don't think you'll be disappointed, though. It looks like a great game, and I'm tempted to get it even though I already have far more Small World than I need.

[@robo3007]

How do these compare to Small World Underground?

[@TheDarkever]

I don't own any of versions, but if I had to choose I'd pick Underground. It has relics and places, relatively complex races, and last but not least costs 50 € against 75 € the Warcraft version (at least in my country).

[@HerotPM]

I was wondering the same.

[@joshjenson8111]

Underground is better then Warcraft The original is better then Underground

[@wroot_lt]

I guess another argument is do you want more expansions (at least for now), which original SW has.

[@CmotDribbler]

I already own everything else smallworld so I guess I will have to get this too.

[@xxSydneyFox]

I have two small worlds and it's so hard not to give in and get everything 🤣

[@giorgiofissore8416]

I would like to buy WoW version, but I often have 6 players. Do you think that adding Sky Islands would fit this WoW Version? Or would you recommend Vanilla for 6p? (or others??) Thank you ✌️

[@Organous]

4:17 makes me think Tom lost a finger.

[@AthexTube]

Good overview of small world of warcraft, seems like I would pickup small world of warcraft if I didnt have smallworld already.

[@robertdelfosse4039]

Good can you pass the link to buy the trays for the races? please) =

[@HerotPM]

How is the balance with merging them? Are the new races/powers OP or UP compared to the OG?

[@Oogly]

Was Blizzard just paid up front or will they also collect from sales?

[@ericfinley220]

I have the original and most of the expansions but as a former prolific WoW player, I had to have the new version. It's going to bring some of my friends to the table for board gaming. I'm really excited for this version even if it is very similar to the original.

[@XGmastersX]

So I have just about everything for smallworld, underground and realms included. I do not need this new one. However, I have a super sick and awesome carrying case for my smallworld and everything is in one box. That is great but it makes set up way more..... massive, and I am fine with that. But I am half tempted to get this game so if I wanted to bring a smallworld-ish game with me to a friends or quickly break one out, I could use this new one and not worry about my massive box

[@Radien]

Yeah, for being an excellent entry-level game, Small World sure can LOOK intimidating, what with its many expansions..... not unlike Catan, actually.

[@digitaloracle3079]

Anyone know if I can get my hands on those trays at and if so, where?

[@thegamethemovie9605]

I'd get the new one, because all expansions for the old one aren't available. Plus the board variety of the new one is awesome.

[@Radien]

Some of the expansions are out of print? Hmm. I'd think they wouldn't be hard to find online anyway.. but with so many of them, the price really adds up, so oh well. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@chrismusix5669]

Did they ever make an app to help players see the race and special powers quickly? Really needs it.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

Yes in paper form. No batteries required :)

[@TheShapingSickness]

Damn why is the box so deep! I don't see that much new stuff to make it so big

[@Radien]

Maybe they are planning for the future....

[@UmbreoNoctie]

Well, you have more races, so it need more spaces for them and also for their token, you have legendary places and artifacts, all these islands take some space too. That's how you need 1/2 cm more! :)

[@blissfullbunny_]

Can you use the expensions for small world on small world of warcraft?

[@Radien]

I'm reading the races and powers in the rules PDF, and I'm going to have to disagree with Tom: these are definitely more complicated than the original; they added more than just errata to the new text. The game's complexity has only increased to medium-light, and any tabletop hobbyist will have no trouble learning it. However, it may take a little more time to familiarize yourself with each race/power combo as it comes up, and SWoW is definitely less of an entry-level/“gateway” game than the original. That said, from what I've seen, I like it a lot. I just feel like finding people to play it with would be slightly harder. Just slightly.

[@devilp84]

I have bought Small World of Warcraft, haven't played original but it seems I would like it much more. Maybe I will make a switch. In SWOW regions are too small, generally islands are too small. Put your units, some tokens and you have a big mess. Only game I don't feel I would like to play again. One big mess and fog. Counting points is terrible. Made similar comment on SWOW review :D

[@fizzy965]

How long does it take to learn how to play this where you don't have to keep looking at the rules?

[@jlav9594]

Not very long because you only need to know about 1 special power and 1 race at a time. There is an app to play the game on your phone for like 5 bucks. Which is totally worth it for learning and quick mobile games alone or with friends.

[@jeremi84]

DoW used to be my instant buy game publisher, after Five tribes I have not seen one decent games from them sadly. Yes Tom you can’t really tell the different on the race token art work between the two version, it is because the original art work is already pretty perfect and it still look good in 2020 IMO.

[@olanmills64]

Jeremy yung I think Quadropolis was a solid game, if it's your type of thing. Of course the tile laying portion is pretty run-of-the-mill for city builders, but the tile selection mechanic is pretty cool.

[@jeremi84]

olanmills64 I have heard many good reviews about it, I haven’t played it yet. But their games from the recent years are really disappointing.

[@gabtrat9091]

My daughter has often been discouraged that there is only 1 girl race in Small World (even with an expansion). It looks like almost 1/2 of the races in SWoW show females in the art, so that made the decision for me! Also I felt like flying was OP in SW, so I like that it's easier to defend in SWoW

[@MTGEDH]

What about the expansions for original small world? Would they work with World of Warcraft?

[@Sam-vk8xd]

Nope

[@Radien]

Reading over the rules, I think some of the races/powers in the expansions would work, as long as you assign them Alliance/Horde/Neutral status.... but the situation would be very much like it was with Small World Underground, where certain race/power combinations clash or are redundant, and you'd have to judiciously select what to add in. In other words, unless everyone at the table REALLY wants to mix them, it'll be more trouble than it's worth. :/

[@oliviersoable]

orcs, humans, dwarfs and elfs feel similars to me 😊

[@josegodoy8461]

Nicely done!

[@stefan85ge]

The new one looks fine but I would still recomment new players to buy the original game. There are so many cool expansions and I don't think the WoW version will get those.

[@Radien]

I agree. I'm not sure whether the expansions will even *work* when added on to SWoW. You'd probably have to judiciously pick and choose elements to add on, much like Small World Underground but perhaps worse. SwoW looks more like it's meant to be its own standalone game. Kinda too bad, since some elements seem like they might be a solid improvement over the original Small World.

[@cityofbricks]

Thx for this!!!!!

[@tylermiller6532]

Tom is legit!

[@airsoftfreak11]

Dude as if they ddint use Gnolls as a faction :(((((((

[@TepiLizard]

As a die hard Vinci fan, I cannot stand Small World, so I've never purchased it. I feel the gameplay between the original Vinci and the revamp that is Small World loses something really key. However, I'm living somewhere new, near some old gamer friends, and none of them are boardgamers. All of us, however, are fans of WoW (and Blizzard in general). As something that ought to well accommodate us, whether it's just a pair of us or all four who are in town, SmallWoW will likely be a great way to introduce them to Eurogaming in a way they will be pre-disposed to enjoy. (Besides, my copy of Vinci is still being held hostage where I used to live by an evil rogue of a landlord who gutted my place [thanks, COVID!] and is resisting my attempts to reclaim my belongings. So, when finances become available, this will happen. Or if Santa is kind to me, or something.) Thanks for the review, and for giving really solid information for those of us who want to know how they compare!

[@joshjenson8111]

Warcraft sucks, so overrated Just play the original