When does the next player start their action?

Question

I played my first game of Small World recently with a group of people who also were just playing the game for the first time, so we were unclear on some of the rules.

One sticking point in particular that we had was when play would pass to the next player. The language in the rules isn't super clear, and we saw two possibilities:

1. Player 1 picks a race (if applicable), conquers some areas (or goes into decline), then scores victory points. Then, Player 2 does the same, and so on.
2. Player 1 picks a race (if applicable). Player 2 picks a race (if applicable). Other players pick races. Once everyone has a race, Player 1 conquers areas or goes into decline. Then Player 2 conquers areas or goes into decline, etc.

Which interpretation is correct? Does each player perform all 3 parts of the turn, and then play passes, or does each player perform a part of the turn, and only start the next part of the turn once everyone is done with that phase?

Answer 1

#1 is correct.

I can't find a place in the rulebook that makes this super-obvious/clear, but there's this:

The game then proceeds clockwise, from player to player. Once all players have had a turn, a new turn begins.

And:

During his turn, each player must now either:

• Expand the reach of his race through new conquests OR

• Put his race In Decline to select a new one.

Basically, all the parts of a turn that are described are what one player does on his own turn, before the game moves to the next player's turn.