title image

Small World - The Board Game

Civilizations & Conquests

Ratings

Age

9+

Category

Strategy

Languages

English

In Small World, you control fantasy races like wizards, orcs, and giants to conquer regions and expand your empire. This digital adaptation of the Spiel des Jahres winner features nearly endless combinations of races and powers. Play solo, online, or locally via Wi-Fi with up to 5 players.

Dinsun Expert Review

Our Expert Score

91/100

Small World is a spectacular digital translation of the award-winning board game. The core loop of choosing a race and power combination (like 'Flying Orcs' or 'Heroic Giants') is just as addictive on the iPad as it is on the table. The digital version actually improves the experience by automating the tedious point-scoring and territory tracking that can slow down the physical game.

The tutorial is exceptionally well-done, making a complex strategy game accessible to newcomers in minutes. The humor of the 'whimsical fantasy' world is preserved perfectly, and the AI provides a robust challenge for solo play. With local Wi-Fi and online multiplayer support, it's one of the best strategy games on the platform, offering infinite replayability through its thousands of possible race/power combinations.

Dinsun reviewed on: Mon Feb 02 2026

Features

1

14 original Races and 20 Special Powers

2

Digital-exclusive boards for 3, 4, and 5 players

3

Asynchronous and real-time online multiplayer

4

Automatic point scoring and interactive tutorial

Tips & Walkthrough

Gameplays

Screenshot

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Q&A

Yes, expansions like 'Cursed!', 'Grand Dames', and 'Be Not Afraid' can be purchased to add more races and powers.

Ratings & Reviews

Everyone’s Favorite (Ages 10-87)
Sat Jul 03 2021 maineschooltech

We take this game camping with us with my in-laws and the only down side is that seven people can’t play. We ALL love it! Our youngest was 10 when he first played and he’s now 14 and still can’t get enough. Our other two kids, 17 and 20, my wife and I, and my mother- and father-in-law (87) can easily get playing and laughing long past bedtime. We love the board game, too, but the app makes it super easy to keep track and to go fast enough that no one is ever bored. The extensions are a MUST. Once you get the hang of it, definitely add them in one at a time to keep the fun going. Especially once you have them all, the power + creature combos are endless.

Sadly No Longer the Best Game Ever for iOS
Sun Aug 02 2020 availnaut

Updated review: With the July 2020 updates, I have to drop my rating. The game crashes 1 out of 10 times. It also freezes when the bots don’t know what to do, such as with heroic + halflings (not enough places to put heroic shields) or with sorcerers who run out of tiles. The game lags a lot too, which is sad because it used to run seamlessly. The bots are dumber than ever, sticking with a race for the entire game when they’re only scoring 3-4 points each round. It’s evident that Asmodee isn’t committed to making this a solid entry in their iOS gaming line. Other games by the developer are awesome and run very well. Please make the needed changes so the game returns to its former glory! I've played most of the Euro games available for the iPad. While many are good, I get bored of them too easily. Not with Small World. I can play it anytime and still enjoy it. Plus, the new update is amazing! Keep it up, Days of Wonder!

Absolute Delight
Sat Dec 15 2018 Friendlie

I never played the actual board game but if you want a polished board game that is entertaining and contains just enough strategy then this is highly recommended. The amount of sheer combos of and ever present ability to switch combo characters on the fly adds endless possibilities. Presentation is awesome and user friendly. A great gem of an app. With the fast forward button, games are a mere 10-15 min and if you exit it's saved. I picked up Be not Afraid and can't wait to play it. I have not tried online multiplayer though so I can't speak to that. But solo games can be with bots or bots + other pass and play people.

Great game, AI needs options
Mon Jul 29 2024 magic lamp

The current AI still as of July 2024 makes terrible choices in every way, from conquests to decline. The AI even somehow fails to attack with ghouls before going in decline with the active race, which the timing rules shouldn’t allow. On another session the AI went in decline in the bottom of the final round for no benefit. The AI leaves singleton units exposed to the Sorcerers, and the AI doesn’t properly redeploy to attack from a new area when cornered. Maybe it’s for the best that the AI doesn’t have a Smart Mode so that I don’t play more often. I download this from the cloud to remind myself why I only play with human opponents. Kudos to the design team for so many great features, though.

Over 200 online games in!
Sat Jul 08 2017 Matt's fatty

This is one of my favorite board games. The app is exactly what you want if you're a Small World fan. Little to no bugs - all races and classes work as expected. Expansions are reasonably priced, but you can have lots of fun without them. My only complaint is you can't add AI to a local network game. The reason this bugs me is my wife and I like to play each other on our own tablet. No AI means we can only play 2p, which if you've played the game you know is not ideal. They recently updated for 64-bit so the future of this app looks solid.

Just as fun as the boardgame!
Wed Dec 15 2021 envega1078

It has been years since my friends and I used to play Smallworld boardgame and had a blast. This mobile version is just as good maybe even better with how quick and easy it is to get into a game and how user friendly the whole UI is. Highly recommend to anyone who’s a fan of fantasy and world domination type game! Very satisfied✌️

Enjoying this and new to the game
Fri Nov 03 2023 Andiomano

I’m playing this on phone and it works good for the most part - it’s stable etc. One big flaw I’m running into is that there is no undo button. I have had most of my games ruined already because of little accidental bumps to end turn etc and no way to reverse that action. The buttons are extremely close to each other and it’s easy to hit the wrong button by mistake. That reverse decision feature would make it so much better. Other than that it’s fun.

Amazing game... One major problem
Sun Jul 01 2018 Todd 1

Updated: am I crazy ( don't answer that😉) or did the computer get way harder? I used to win games all the time. Now I haven't won in months and I play almost daily. Something change? Seems I get selective attacking on me or blue... Always blue, gets an unbeatable combination like sorcerer merchant or something. Old review still true: Why wouldn't there be a redo like something if you accidentally hit the done button before making any moves? No intent... Just a tablet touching error that tanks for entire game! Very annoying. Also annoying is not being able to set up log in even though you have contacted the developer. Wish this worked on iPhone and applet as well... But now I am getting picky. Don't miss this, smallworld 2 is the very best boardgame in the app store...period. Best variety in gameplay and highly captivating. But these gripes are legitimate.

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