Smallfolk Preview
Advert: this game was loaned by Roc Nest Games, this has not affected our preview in any way.
When my eyes delighted on Smallfolk at the UKGE press evening, I was stopped in my tracks and lured in. The board gleamed amongst its surroundings calling to me like a siren at sea. Approaching closer, I saw the incredible card art and I had to find out more! A lovely introduction was delivered about the myths behind the game and the gameplay itself and I knew this would likely be a game for me. It immediately went onto the list of games to look out for at the UK Games Expo 2025.
I swung by the Roc Nest Games stand the next day and took a closer look. It was still extruding beauty! While chatting to the designers, I cheekily asked for a preview copy. They weren’t sure if they had one available but said they would check, and that if I came back in a bit they would let me know. Long story short, they found me a copy, which means I could play it and share my thoughts in this preview for you!
As a prototype, artwork, components and aspects of the game are likely to change, just bear that in mind when looking at the images!
Smallfolk Board and Market
Hound of Tartarus and Smallfolk Tokens
More about the game
Arabian, Celtic, Greek and Japanese mythology combine to create the backdrop of a loose story-telling theme. You will be creating a tale with people, animals, places and artifacts via seven cards in an attempt to score the most points at the end of the game. Points come from played cards as well as a shared central pool of points that you collect throughout the game.
On your turn you can do one of three actions: Play a card, paying for it with resource tokens or other cards with a matching symbol if required. Or, you can move a space around the board and claim a card from the market or use the exhaust ability of one of your cards to get a benefit. The final action is to use the ability of a Hero card, these are single use powerful cards and timing their action is vital.
Smallfolk Story of Cards
Detail of Smallfolk
The game continues until the draw deck runs out (likely at higher player counts) or all the point tokens are removed from the central pool (likely at lower player counts).
When chatting to the designers, they were saying how they really liked board games that played in about 30-40 minutes that still had something to think about. Board games that were great for mid-week play as they had busy day jobs. With this in mind, the duo set out to create this game. They were drawn towards a mythological theme that wasn’t pitting factions against one another, which is often the case in other tabletop games.
A selection of Smallfolk hero cards
A selection of Smallfolk story cards
Final thoughts on Smallfolk
This is one heck of a good looking board game and although this is only a prototype it already looks incredible. The good looks of Smallfolk are backed up with very satisfying gameplay. It focusses on the timing of your card management while forcing you to race for points. The strategy of the game builds on that, and games will be won or lost with well-timed hand management.
The game also grows with more plays, as you get to know the abilities on the cards that might become available. There are a few things that will need tweaking, such as the player aid, but I have been reassured by the publisher that these things will be ironed out by the time that the Kickstarter launches. I’m also hoping that a fifth player option might become available during the crowdfunding campaign as I can’t see it not working with an additional player.
Smallfolk Relic Hunter Card
Smallfolk Board and Prototype Box
I am very impressed with Smallfolk and I can’t wait to see the final version and how it progresses over the next few months! I was kindly loaned this copy and I’m sad to pass it on as I will miss it!
Check out the Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rocnest/smallfolk
