We just got in our copies of Small World by Days of Wonder and I have to say, this is one of the best packages for a game I have seen in a long time.

There are a lot of cardboard pieces to punch out for this game, almost as many as Arkham Horror, but the big difference is the game box itself. When you first open it you'll see the typical cardboard sheets with pieces to punch out, then the rules and the game turn cheat sheets, then the game boards. After that is an empty tray with a single die in it.

That's right, after you punch out these cardboard piece they each have a designated space to go in the empty tray. No more stuffing them into sandwich bags or fiddling with rubber bands to get your pieces to stay organized, just follow the included packing instructions and everything will fit nice and easy. Punching out everything took maybe fifteen minutes. Packing it all took another five or ten and this is something you really only have to do once.

Then when putting the two game boards back into the box I noticed that they had also been designed to fit in very snugly. So if you follow their advice and put the empty punch out board under the plastic tray then this game, when stored, will be safe and well organized.

Then I went to read the rules. Unlike Arkham Horror, reading the rules takes only a few minutes and the game play is very simple. On your turn you have two main choices, either use your troops to try to conquer some territory or send your civilization into decline. If you send your civilization into decline then on your next turn you will start a new civilization and start conquering the world again.

The means of conquering lands is almost as simple as Diplomacy (major difference being that game play is not simultaneous). Simply count up the defense value of the place you want to conquer and make sure you have more troops than that. Special powers can augment your attack strength or your defensive position.

At the end of your turn you gain victory points based on the events of your turn and the spaces you occupy. You also gain victory points for your previous civilization if they are in decline and are still occupying some territory.

I look forward to playing this game at our Summer Game Day with you all!