Developer Days of Wonder is releasing an iOS sequel to its early iPad hit Small World. The game is available on the iTunes App Store for $10, but it is a free update for anyone who purchased the first game.
Both Small World and Small World 2 are digital adaptations of the tabletop game of the same name. The difference between the two games is that Days of Wonder was able to include all of the features of the original board game into Small World 2.
Where Days of Wonder’s first Small World only had the head-to-head two-player map, Small World 2 has support for up to six simultaneous players. The studio rewrote the code from scratch to enable real-time or asynchronous multiplayer. It also features a pass-and-play local multiplayer and single-player modes.
Small World 2 is also the first Days of Wonder game that enables players to challenge their friends through GameCenter, Days of Wonder Online Buddies, or Facebook.
In addition to the new features, Small World 2 brings in a ton of new content. It features new races, special powers, and in-app purchases. Days of Wonder also designed Be Not Afraid, a digital-only expansion. If players purchase Be Not Afraid or the rest of the expansions, they can play it with their friends regardless if they own it or not.
Days of Wonder plans to release Small World 2 on Steam and Android later this year. The company held a $150,000 Kickstarter campaign to fund the ports, and it ended up raising around $394,000.
All versions of the game are compatible with each other. The multiplayer runs on a special dedicated server that Days of Wonder designed specifically for its board-game play. When the players are online simultaneously, the game takes place in real time. When a player drops out, the server automatically knows to switch the game to an asynchronous match.