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How to play
Grounded in Small World's rulebook — cite-checked answers, not guesses.
Get a straight answer with the exact rulebook passage to back it up.
The easy-to-forget bits, straight from the rulebook.
Starting money
Each player begins the game with five "1 VP" Victory coins.
Game end
The game ends at the end of the turn in which the Game Turn marker reaches the last position on the track (8th, 9th or 10th turn, depending on the map played), after all players have had a final turn.
Tie-breaker
In case of a tie for most Victory coins, the player with the most Race tokens (Active + In Decline) still on the board is the winner.
Wealthy power
Players with the Wealthy special power collect 7 VP bonus Victory coins, once only, at the end of their first turn.
Combos visible
There should always be 6 Race banner and Special Power badge combos visible to all players on the table.
First player
The player whose ears are the most pointed starts the game.
New Special Power limit
When creating a new Special Power, do not pick a number higher than 5 for associated Race tokens to avoid running out.
To set up Small World: * Punch out all game pieces if it's your first time playing, and sort them into their designated storage wells. * Select the map that matches your number of players and place it in the center of the table. * Place the Game Turn marker on the first spot of the map's Game Turn track. * Take the removable storage tray containing Race tokens out of the box and place it near the board. * Shuffle all Race banners and draw five, laying them face up in a column. Stack the remaining banners face up below them. * Shuffle all Special Power badges and place one to the left of each Race banner, with the rest stacked to the left of the banners. This creates 6 visible Race banner and Special Power badge combos. * Place a Lost Tribe token on each Region of the map that has a Lost Tribe symbol. * Put a Mountain token on each Region of the map featuring a Mountain. * Give each player five [1 VP] Victory coins. * Place all remaining Victory coins (including the [3 VP], [5 VP], and [10 VP] coins) in a Victory stash next to the board, accessible to all players.
On your turn, what you can do depends on whether it's the first turn of the game or a subsequent turn: **During the First Turn of the game:** 1. You pick a Race and Special Power combination. 2. You conquer some Regions. 3. You score Victory coins. **During Following Turns:** 1. The first player moves the Game Turn marker up one spot on the track, and the game continues clockwise. 2. You must then choose to either: * Expand the reach of your race through new conquests. * Put your race In Decline to select a new one. 3. You then score Victory coins again. **Regarding Conquering Regions (which can happen on the first turn or when expanding in following turns):** * You can conquer as many new Regions as you wish, provided you have enough Race tokens. * Newly conquered Regions must be adjacent to a Region already occupied by your active Race tokens, unless your Race and Special Power combo allows otherwise. * You must always have at least one Race token available to start a new Conquest. **Once your conquests for the turn have ended:** * You may freely redeploy the Race tokens you have on the board, moving them from one Region to any other Region occupied by your race. * At least one Race token must remain in each Region under your control after redeployment.
Rules summaries are AI-generated from the official rulebook and may contain mistakes — check the manual for anything critical.
To win the game of Small World: 1. The game ends once the Game Turn marker reaches its final spot on the Game Turn track and all players have taken their final turn. 2. At this point, all players reveal their Victory Points (VP) and they are tallied. 3. The player with the highest score wins. 4. In case of a tie, the player who has the most Race tokens (both active and In Decline) remaining on the board is the winner.
Scoring in Small World works as follows: * **During a Turn:** At the end of their turn, a player scores Victory coins. * Players receive 1 Victory coin for each Region their active Race tokens occupy on the map. * Players also receive 1 Victory coin for each Region occupied by their In Decline Race tokens. * Additional Victory coins may be collected from the active Race's banner and/or Special Power benefits. * Race banner and Special Power benefits for In Decline races do not contribute bonus coins, unless explicitly stated otherwise. * **Keeping Score:** Victory coins are kept stacked and hidden from other players throughout the game. Players can request change from the Victory stash at any time. * **End of the Game:** * Once the Game Turn marker reaches its final spot and all players have taken their last turn, all Victory coins ([VP]) are revealed and tallied. * The player with the highest score wins. * In the event of a tie, the player with the most Race tokens (both active and In Decline) remaining on the board wins.
The game ends when the Game Turn marker reaches its final spot on the Game Turn track, and all players have completed one final turn. The First Player moves the Game Turn marker forward one spot on the track at the beginning of each turn. To determine the winner: * All players reveal and tally their accumulated Victory coins. Players keep their Victory coins hidden until this point. * The player with the highest score wins. * In case of a tie, the player with the most Race tokens (both active and in decline) still on the board is the winner.