Tips smallworld

The goal of the game isn’t to hold the most territory or even stay on the board the longest, it’s to make the most points. The usefulness of a pick depends on the state of the map and the stage of the game: a combination like pillaging and orcs isn’t going to be as effective in the final turns when your opponents have scored the majority of their points. Will your pick help you for the rest of the game?

It takes one unit to hold a territory but usually two or three to seize a new one. It’s better to try and retain what you have, especially above two players. Nevertheless, you might want to remove yourself from the board so you can start again somewhere else, especially if you’re playing aggressively and want to attack opponents from multiple angles.

When picking a race, consider sleeping on one you know others won’t pick, so you can collect the VP for picking it later.

Ghouls

When playing as the ghouls, consider declining on the turn after getting them. They can still conquest after declining so you could effectively have two races at once after gaining your next one. This is especially effective when combined with the "spirit" special power, since they will then remain on the board for the entire game unless another player takes the time to wipe them out.

Offense vs. Defense

Some races and special powers are exceptionally strong for attacking but weak for defending, and vice versa, and should be used accordingly. For example, heroic halflings can have 4-5 territories be immune to attack, but they will struggle to ever conquer more than 6 or so territories and they don't get any bonus coins. On the other hand, pillaging/berserk/commando orcs get bonus coins for conquering territories and can often do so at a discount, but an opponent can just as easily counterattack.