Looking at Small World Expansions, Be Not Afraid and Necromancer Island
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Small World Expansions
I had actually forgotten I had ordered the two new Small World Expansions. Whenever I see them I tend to pick them up because the price range (10 bucks or less) is usually good. Small World seems to take a beating, but it’s an easy game to explain in a few minutes and get right into. I’ve been beaten the two times I’ve played against new players, as they tend to pick up the game that quickly. I think part of the problem might be that it’s listed as a wargame, which although it is in a loose way, it really doesn’t fit the category.
Be Not Afraid
Small World Be Not Afraid Unpacked
The first thing you’ll notice about Be Not Afraid is that it’s much larger then any of the previous expansions for Small World. Half hidden in the middle of the picture is the new counter tray which is included with Be Not Afraid. Not only does it fit all the new tokens from Be Not Afraid, but it also fits all previous expansions and the Catapult counter. This was a great move by Days of Wonder, but I wonder how it all fits into the original box.
Before I get into the new races and powers, just to remind people how the game works, you select a race with a special power. All Races also have a natural power. They are usually ways to gain VP or conquer land easier. To conquer a space you need more cardboard (your tokens) then cardboard on the space. Eventually you’ll extend too much and you can put the race into decline while you start again with a new race. You still gain VP for the in decline race, but you can only have one in decline at a time.
The Barbarians don’t get a redeployment phase, and if they fail their final conquests those tokens are held off. But you do get a lot of them.
The Leprechauns can drop a pot of gold onto any space they control. If the pot of gold is still there at the end of the turn they get an extra VP.
The Pygmies get to roll the reinforcement dice every time they would lose one. So they have a 50/50 chance of not losing a token and even maybe gaining two or three.
The Pixies you get a ton of, but can only leave 1 on conquered regions after the conquest phrase.
The Homunculi gain a VP and a Race Token when they are bypassed on the waiting list. But they have no racial ability.
The new Powers are
The Barricade allows you to gain 3 Extra VP a turn when you hold 4 or less lands.
The Catapult allows you to take land that is two spaces away at one less token
The Corrupt Power forces your opponent to give you one vp when they conquer one of your lands.
The Mercenary allows you to conquer a land at -2 tokens in payment of 1 VP
The Imperial Power gives you +1 VP for each land you control above 3.
Small World Necromancer Island
Small World’s Necromancer Island is actually described as a Scenario by them. It puts whoever plays as the Necromancer against the rest of the board. The Island is placed in the middle lake. As more tokens are killed, they are added to the Necromancer’s soul pool. Every number of tokens in the pool means the Necromancer can place ghosts on his Island and attempt conquests. If the Necromancer is able to get all his ghosts on the board, game over and he wins. He is also allowed to stack special powers, up to five. It’s a fun twist if you’ve gotten bored of regular games.
Necromancer Island
