SmallWorldApp
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Review: Gorgeous Small World app shows board games can be great on the iPad
Considering how good Small World (US$4.99) – the first big Euro board game of the iPad era – is, fans of these sorts of games are in for a really wonderful ride. While this app isn't perfect, we're here to tell you that it's well worth your time. Maybe you've seen Apple pushing this game in the App Store, with the motley crew pictured above staring out at you from the flash screen. Without a familiarity with the physical board game, though, it's kind of hard to know what to make of it. Here's what's going on: Underneath the pretty fantasy graphics, Small World is a clever area control game, an almost completely luck-free strategy game that gives players a lot of great in-game choices. Each turn, you have a small number of tokens representing one of about a dozen tribes (trolls, halflings, tritons, etc.) that all have a random bonus power (one of twenty) attached. You send these little minions out to take over some territory and score points based on where you are at the end of your turn. Spread yourself too thin and you won't have much to do next turn. Stay too bunched up and you won't score enough points to win. In short, the game is brilliant if you're looking for something a little more strategic than Risk and don't need a twitchy tapping experience to have fun. Read on to find out all just how big Small World can be. %Gallery-92357%
