Preview: Visit a Big World in Smallfolk – An Interview with Designers Gloria Lau and Alfie Wright

Smallfolk is a delightful game, currently on Kickstarter, that combines a cozy tableau with folk tales.

As players interact with a deck of cards leveraging folklore from Arabic, Celtic, Greek, and Japanese folklore, they will also move around a board visiting landmarks to gather resources and ultimately accumulate gems worth victory points. It’s an elegant blend of managing resources to play cards into one’s tableau to then leverage these folk legends and places of power to interact with the board. Players will also have a Hero, which will help mitigate or power these actions further when needed.

With so much focus on folklore and how Smallfolk does a great job demonstrating how shared and overlapping our histories are, Casual Game Revolution was grateful to get the opportunity from Roc Nest Games to speak with the game’s designers, Gloria Lau and Alfie Wright, to ask about the games inspirations and how it translates into a cozy, thematic game.

What was inspiring about folklore from around the world that encouraged the development of Smallfolk?

Alfie: Folklore has this incredible way of revealing what different cultures value, fear, and dream about. It can feel deeply human but also a little magical, and that duality was really inspiring. With Smallfolk, we wanted to make a game that felt cozy and grounded, but also rich with wonder, and drawing from world folklore allowed us to do just that.

Gloria: We were very mindful about treating those traditions with respect — researching carefully, honoring the tone and context of the folklore, and never turning culture into costume. The goal was to create something that felt like a tribute to these stories, not a remix of them. And in doing that, we've come up with a game that feels gentle and warm, but exciting and full of character.

How did those cultural stories and legends lend themselves to the game's mechanics?

Alfie: In Smallfolk, as you travel around the world of folklore, you'll collect and play story cards; each of these draws on a different Arabian, Greek, Japanese or Celtic story — both with respect to theme and mechanics. For example, the “Philosopher's Stone” card allows you to convert between different resources. Maintaining a tight connection between mechanics and theme was really important to us throughout the design process.

Was the art inspired by any of the four specific cultures or is there an effort to try and find a respectable, but playful art style that pays homage to all of them?

Gloria: The latter. With the art, we've gone for a charming watercolor storybook aesthetic, which has been a big hit at conventions and on social media. It's allowed us to be really expressive with card and board design, but also respectful of the cultures we're representing.

Similarly, how will the cards play or combo into each other, even if they represent folklore characters from different cultures?

Alfie: Smallfolk is essentially a cozy cultural melting pot, where stories and characters from across the world come together and interact. You aren't at all restricted to a single culture. Quite the opposite, in fact — the strongest combos often draw from multiple cultural spheres. For instance, a particularly powerful turn might involve Sinbad the Sailor (Arabian), a Kitsune (Japanese), an Otherworld Fortress (Celtic), and a jar of Ambrosia (Greek). Piecing together these spicy combos is probably my favorite part of the game.

If the game is successful, are there plans to introduce more cultures into the game in the future?

Gloria: Absolutely. We already have a sizeable expansion in the works which will introduce two new cultures, as well as some really cool new mechanics.

Alfie: I'm not sure how specific we can be on this for now, but the raven-eyed among you might be able to spot some clues as we progress with the launch!

Why the decision to market Smallfolk as a cozy game? What elements are in the game that you believe make it cozy to play?

Gloria: Alfie and I love playing games together, but as doctors we often find it a little tiring to play something gritty or beige after a long day at work. Talking to others at conventions and online, it's clear many others share this sentiment. And so we really wanted to make something comforting and cozy, while remaining engaging and tactical. I think we've achieved this with Smallfolk.

Alfie: The game is a breeze to set up and teach, and each turn is kept snappy while having just the right amount of decision space. There's always a positive action you can take, and players never find themselves without any good options. While playing, you'll feel interested in what your friends are doing on their turns, but never threatened by them — this is a big plus for us; a high-conflict game after a stressful day at work is a big no-no.

Gloria: The game's aesthetics also contribute to the cozy vibe. There's so much charm and warmth in each of the illustrations, and we're particularly in love with how the magical creatures turned out (Hound of Tartarus, Tanuki Teakettle, for instance).

Alfie: Thank you so much for asking us these thoughtful questions about Smallfolk! We're so excited to launch this game and can't wait for you all to get it to the table!