Yep, it’s almost here. Before everyone starts pouring over the new rule book , Games Workshop has been slipping us little pre-launch goodies.

Pre-order your rule book here

Ever wondered what the board game Small World was all about? Well I think I have found the greatest “Let’s Play” video of all time. Featuring the likes of Will Wheaton (Star Trek, Stand By Me, Big Bang Theory), Sean Plott (aka Day9 of Starcraft fame), Grant Imahara (host on Mythbusters), and Jenna Busch (geek blogger & host). It is a genuinely fun, charming and accessible look at the risk-like board game with a fantasy twist from designer Philippe Keyaerts. Check it out, its a solid 30 minute feature so get comfortable:

What I found interesting, whilst admiring the quality of this video, is that it also pricked the ears of a few of my non-gaming friends in passing, and held their interest. Perhaps it was the witty tones of Wheaton, or the accessible approach taken with the production to help explain the games rules in simple terms. Either way, I’ve made it my goal to get them over this Easter break for a few games of Small World ourselves to see how a group of dewy-eyed board game ‘newbies’ fair up.

I will detail my success, or failure, as and when it happens…Now to make sure I get to play as the trusty Dwarves.

You can buy Small World here from Spinning Dice Games and its expansions.

Probably one of the most important elements when choosing a game is its rules system. However, artwork plays an equally important part in immersing the player in to the game itself. Excellent artwork helps convey characters, situations and adds to the overall enjoyment of the game. I see it much like how decent special effects nowadays in films help with a dramatic and believable action scene.

The following artists are some of the best I’ve seen. Some of you may agree or disagree and I hope that you’ll pass on your thoughts in the comments section below.

Steve Argyle (www.steveargyle.com  / Deviant Art Profile: steveargyle.deviantart.com)

An artist I admire simply for his skill in creating some seductive fantasy females. You can find his artwork in WIzard of the Coasts products such as Magic the Gathering. This talented artist already has a growing following in amongst digital artists

 Innistrad – Magic The Gathering – Steve Arygle

Larry Elmore (larryelmore.com)

A name which goes hand-in-hand with classic Dungeons and Dragons. His artwork inspired generations of fantasy artists and his paintings for D&D are incredibly iconic such as the cover of the Red Box starter set back in the early 80s. Artist Ralph Horsle recently did the updated Redbox art in 2010 which was directly inspired by Larry’s original masterpiece.

 Classic Red Box Cover Art – Larry Elmore

Check out these other D&D artists:-

Keith Parkinson  - www.keithparkinson.com/main.php

Clyde Caldwell - www.clydecaldwell.com

 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons – Clyde Caldwell

Paul Bonner (www.paulbonner.net)

Paul works exclusively in water colour and has provided art for Rackham, Games Workshop and FASA in the past. Bonner’s paintings are incredibly detailed and contain rich narrative inspired from folklore and legends. He still works for GW on a freelance basis and creates illustrations for World of Warcraft.

Paul Bonner

Mario Wibisono ( www.mariowibisono.com Deviant ART Profile: raynkazuya.deviantart.com)

Oriental flavour to the proceedings with Mario’s exquisite fantasy art for AEGs Legend of the Five Rings CCG and RPGs. His digital artwork offers a dynamic realism which is quite unlike most artists in the industry I know of.

Honourable Mentions

Franz Frazeta (frankfrazetta.net)

The Grandfather of Fantasy Art and not necessarily table top games artwork . His excellent reputation for me comes from his work on Conan which supplied the template for most artists when approaching fantasy artists. Again, ‘pin up’ style women with equally buffed up strong men were the staple. Frazeta’s work portrayed the brutally and romanticism needed to bring Robert E Howard’s Conan world alive. Frazeta died in 2010 but left a huge legacy of work for future artists to admire.