Small World: Tunnels

Small World: Tunnels is the free mini‑expansion that debuted at Spiel 2011 and has since been stocked in European and US stores. Its main gimmick is linking the base Small World with its underground counterpart, Small World Underground, using twelve tunnel markers that act as teleport doors between the two boards. Each tunnel is numbered 1‑6; the markers point down on the surface board and up on the underground board, forming entry/exit pairs. The big win? Up to six players can now compete simultaneously, as the expansion provides setup rules for both boards across different player counts and defines terrain equivalences between the worlds above and below. The setup is straightforward: pick the tunnel pairs you’ll use, align the boards as instructed, and distribute civilizations as usual. The core mechanics of Small World – area majority, area movement, dice rolling, and variable player powers – remain unchanged, but now you can move armies through tunnels, crafting hybrid strategies between surface and subterranean realms. If you already enjoy the colorful fantasy, territorial conquest, and light‑hearted humor of Small World, Tunnels adds more space for play and interaction without over‑complicating the rules. Note that the tunnel pieces also appear in the Small World: Realms expansion, so owners of that set already have part of the components. In short, Tunnels is a simple, free upgrade that expands the fun to larger groups while keeping the same easy learning curve and brisk pace that made the original a hit.