# Small World: Realms ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2012 - **BGG Rating**: 7.3 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 2-6 (Best with: 4) - **Duration**: 40-80 min - **Weight**: 2.42 / 5 - **Designers**: Philippe Keyaerts - **Artists**: Miguel Coimbra - **Publishers**: Days of Wonder, Hobby World, Rebel Sp. z o.o. - **Categories**: Civilization, Expansion for Base-game, Fantasy, Fighting, Territory Building - **Mechanics**: Area Majority / Influence, Area Movement, Dice Rolling, Modular Board, Variable Player Powers ## Verdict If you love Small World and want more customizable maps, this expansion is a fantastic way to diversify your games!Super versatile modular boardWorks with base and UndergroundCreates unique maps every timeMore variety with new terrainsRequires base game to playStill Small World, with its ups and downsMap setup can be time-consumingHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description Get ready to expand your horizons in Small World with the Realms expansion! This gem brings dozens of geomorphic terrain pieces that fit together like a puzzle to create maps of various sizes and shapes. If you enjoy the idea of a constantly changing board, you'll love this. There are 12 pre-defined scenarios by master Philippe Keyaerts, but the fun doesn't stop there: you can also use your creativity and assemble your own maps and challenges. The coolest part is that Realms is super flexible and works with both the original Small World and Small World Underground. The tiles are double-sided, one for each version, ensuring the expansion integrates seamlessly. Additionally, the expansion adds 22 Mountains, Chasms, and Peaks, which are like level 2 mountains, adding extra spice and more variety to your battles for dominance. If you're already a fan of Small World and want more maps and ways to play, Realms is a fantastic addition that maintains the game's essence but with a fresh look each game. It's a chance to explore new territories, create unprecedented strategies, and watch your little world grow in surprising ways. ## How to Play Game Objective In Small World: Realms, players explore and conquer new Realms formed by hexagonal terrain tiles. The main objective is to accumulate the most Victory Coins over a series of turns. The game offers the flexibility to play predefined scenarios with specific objectives or build your own Realm and scenario. Victory is determined by the total count of Victory Coins at the end of the game. Setup The setup for Small World: Realms can vary depending on whether you choose to play a predefined scenario or build your own Realm. However, some steps are common: First, place the Game Turn Indicator on the table. Position the Game Turn Marker in its first spot. The total number of turns varies: 2-3 player games: 10 turns. 4 player games: 9 turns. 5-6 player games: 8 turns. The terrain tiles (mountains, chasms, and peaks) are used to form the map of the Realm. They are double-sided, allowing exploration of both the surface and the underworld, and can be combined using tunnels. Mountains are stacked on an underlying region, providing additional defense. Peaks can be placed on top of Mountains for an extra layer of protection. Chasms are impassable regions that must be circumvented. Tiles with water regions can represent rivers, seas, or lakes, depending on the scenario. White river border markers can be used for rivers. Building your own Realm: If you choose to build your own Realm, follow these guidelines: Decide whether you will play in Small World, Small World Underground, or a mix of both. Use an average of 9 Regions (not tiles) per player to ensure a contested Realm. Each terrain type and map symbol should be present in a ratio of about 1/5 of the total number of regions. For example, in a 4-player game (36 regions), aim for about 7 regions of each terrain type (farms, forests, hills, swamps, mountains) and 7 map symbols (caves, mines, magic sources). Start by setting up blocks with water regions, deciding the rules (rivers or seas/lakes). If there are rivers, use the river border markers. If there are seas, decide if new Races can enter the board through them. Consider where to place Mountains and/or Chasms. Use Lost Tribe tokens (or Monsters in Small World Underground) to divide large expanses of empty regions. If you own Small World Underground, add Popular Places or Relics (one more than the number of players is a good rule). Predefined scenarios: For predefined scenarios, follow the specific instructions for each. The standard rules of Small World and/or Small World Underground apply, unless otherwise specified. My Precious (World)! (Scenario 1): The rules of Small World Underground River apply. Rivers cost only 1 token to conquer during the player's redeployment phase, but must be emptied (unless a special power allows otherwise). Go East (Scenario 3): Place 1 Victory Coin Mine in each of the easternmost regions of the map. New Races can only enter through the western edges of the westernmost regions (unless a special power allows otherwise). I've Been to the Mountaintop (Scenario 4): Place 4 Victory Coins of value 1 on top of each Peak. The rules of Small World Underground River apply. The Rusty Throne (Scenario 5): Place the Rusty Throne on top of the Peak indicated on the map. Drifting (Scenario 6): Take the terrain tiles, mountains, chasms, and lost tribe tokens corresponding to the number of players. Assemble them to form a contiguous and approximately circular landmass. All water regions are treated as impassable seas. Power Cultures (Scenario 7): Place a randomly drawn Special Power, face up, in each empty Land space surrounded by 6 Terrain tiles. Discard specific Special Powers (Cursed, Historian, Spirit, Rich and Wise, and Reborn if playing with Small World Underground) and draw another. The rules of Small World Underground River apply. The Sword in the Cave (Scenario 8): Place the Sword of the Killer Rabbit face up in the Central Region of the map, defended by 2 Monster tokens. Discard other relics. Randomly draw Popular Places and place them face down, defended by 2 Monster tokens each, in the indicated regions. All water regions are impassable seas. A Game of Gods (Scenario 9): 3-6 players: Mix all desired Races and Special Powers. Deal 3 of each randomly to each player, keeping them secret. Decide if more difficult Races/Special Powers (Cursed, Dwarves, White Ladies, Shadow Mimics, Homunculi, Iron Dwarves) will be discarded or grant bonus Victory Coins. 2 players: Randomly draw 7 Races and 7 Special Powers, discarding Cursed, Homunculi, or Shadow Mimics. Place them face up. The 1st player chooses one item (Race or Special Power) until each player has 3 of each. The rules of Small World Underground River apply. Contiguous river regions form a single region. Players build the board throughout the game. At the start, spread all tiles. The 1st player chooses a tile, places it in the center, can add a Mountain and/or Chasm, and must place a Lost Tribe if the tile has at least two non-Mountain Regions. Other players place their tiles adjacent to a tile already in play. If the number of Regions on the board is less than 9x the number of players, at the start of the turn, the player adds a new tile. There are no predefined Race and Special Power combos. After the first turn and each Decline, the player creates their own combo from the items drawn at the start of the game. Each item can only be used once. If playing with Small World Underground or both, each player draws a Popular Place or Relic without looking and must place it on the first or second tile they place, with 2 Monster tokens. The 1st player also places a random Popular Place or Relic on the first tile during setup. Digging for Gold Veins (Scenario 10): Assemble 3 stacks of Victory Coins according to the chart. Randomly draw one Victory Coin from each stack and place it face down in each of the corresponding Golden Regions. Discard the remaining coins. Place 2 Popular Places, protected by 2 Monster tokens each, in the Northern Regions. Place a stack of all Relics face down near the Gold veins. The flames, skeletons, wizards, and mummies do not enter play as Races, but their tokens represent Monsters defending the Gold veins. Place 1 skeleton in each region of the leftmost vein, 1 wizard in the central vein, and 1 mummy in the rightmost vein. The rules of Small World Underground River apply. All Together Now (Scenario 11): Create separate stacks of Small World Race banners and Small World Underground Race banners, and a single stack of Special Powers. Arrange in 4 columns: 6 Small World Race banners, 6 special powers, an empty column for Victory Coins paid to skip combos, and 6 Small World Underground Race banners. Players in 1st and 4th position form a team (play with Small World Races, sum points). Players in 2nd and 5th position form another team (play with Small World Underground Races, sum points). Player #3 plays alone (doubles points, can choose any Race stack). The rules of Small World Underground River apply. Tunnels connect regions with the same number. Small World Races must enter above ground, Small World Underground Races underground. Monsters defend regions with popular places or relics. Night and Day (Scenario 12): Shuffle two separate stacks of Small World and Small World Underground, and the same for Special Powers. Place 6 Race & Special Power combos in a column, alternating Small World and Small World Underground. The rules of Small World Underground River apply. Game Flow The game progresses in a series of turns, as indicated by the Game Turn Marker on the Game Turn Track. The total number of turns is predetermined by the number of players (10 for 2-3 players, 9 for 4 players, 8 for 5-6 players). At the start of each turn, the Game Turn Marker advances one position. In some scenarios, specific actions occur at the start of the turn: In the "Drifting" scenario, at the start of each turn (including when in Decline), a player can move a single "drifting" tile. In the "Digging for Gold Veins" scenario, as soon as all players have finished a turn, before the Game Turn Marker advances, all Monsters attack, one Gold Vein at a time, from West to East. Refer to the manual for details on the standard turn structure of Small World and Small World Underground, which apply unless otherwise specified in the scenarios. Actions and How to Play The actions and gameplay in Small World: Realms follow the basic rules of Small World and/or Small World Underground, with scenario-specific modifications and additions. Here are some special actions and rules mentioned: Conquering Regions: Rivers (Scenario "My Precious (World)!"): Cost only 1 token to conquer during the player's redeployment phase, but must be emptied, unless a special power allows otherwise. Veins of Gold Regions (Scenario "Digging for Gold Veins"): Are conquered using standard combat rules (2 Tokens + 1 per Monster defending them). Upon conquering a Veins of Gold Region, the player takes the Victory Coin on it. If the value is 5 or 10, a Relic is added to the newly conquered Region. If multiple Monsters were defending the Region, 1 is discarded, and the others are repositioned in the next unconquered Region in the same Gold line. New Monsters are added to that Region in the amount of the value of the Victory Coins gained. Movement and Positioning: Entry of New Races: Scenario "Life is a Long River - But Not So Calm": New Races MUST enter the board through one of the 6 regions marked with an arrow on the map (the 2 ends of the River and the 4 Regions immediately adjacent to them), unless a special power allows otherwise. Scenario "Go East": New Races can only enter the board through the western edges of the westernmost regions of the map, unless they are equipped with a special power that allows them to enter anywhere. Scenario "Drifting": New Races cannot enter the board through water regions (seas), unless a Special Power allows. Scenario "All Together Now": Small World Races must first enter the board above ground, and Small World Underground Races must first enter underground. Scenario "Night and Day": Small World Races must enter the board through one of the Northern Regions, and Small World Underground Races through the Southern Regions. "Drifting" Tiles (Scenario "Drifting"): At the start of each turn, a player can move a single "drifting" tile. The tile can only be pushed (not lifted), so only tiles on the outer perimeter of the "continent" can be moved. A tile can be rotated and replaced in the same spot. All tiles must still form a single contiguous landmass. Abilities and Special Powers: Peaks (Scenario "I've Been to the Mountaintop"): Any player whose Active or In Decline race(s) occupy a Peak receives 1 Victory Coin from each occupied Peak at the end of their turn (until the Victory Coins run out). Each time any player goes into Decline, after scoring, they take 3 Victory Coins of value 1 from the Victory stock and place them on top of the Peaks of their choice, not being able to place all 3 on the same Peak. Rusty Throne (Scenario "The Rusty Throne"): It is a Popular Place. Its Special Power is granted to whoever occupies the Peak where it is located. The player whose race (active or in decline) occupies this Region receives a tribute of 1 Victory Coin for the race token stacks of each player (active or in decline) who occupies one of the 5 Regions that share a border with the Peak and its Rusty Throne. When a Lost Tribe occupies one of these Reg ## FAQ ### Do I need Small World or Small World Underground to play with Realms? Yes, absolutely! Realms is an expansion, so you need one of the base games (Small World or Small World Underground) to play. ### How many players can participate? Just like the base games, Realms supports 2 to 6 players. ### Is the board always the same? Not at all! The big deal with Realms is that the board is modular. You assemble it with different pieces each game, so every game has a new map. ### Are the new rules very complicated to learn? The core rules of Small World remain the same. The expansion focuses on map creation and adding some special terrains, which doesn't add much complexity, but rather replayability. ### How long does it take to set up the map? Setting up the board might take a few extra minutes depending on the chosen scenario or if you decide to create a completely new map. But the variety it brings is worth the extra time. ### Is it worth it for someone who already owns the original Small World? If you like varying the maps and want more scenario options and different layouts, yes! 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