arM cAnnons! rally the tRoops! COnquer the woRld! (Risk)

Member Name: L0BSTERQUADRILLE

Product:	Risk
Date:	31/08/04 (249 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: you caN rule the woRld !

Disadvantages: the ManuaL is sO damn compliCated!

PROLOGUE.
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A long time ago I purchased the game ?RISK? to add to my vast collection of board games. I read the manual which made absolutely no sense; therefore the game was left and forgotten about.
Then a few nights ago we had visitors who spotted the game, they dragged it out, dusted it off and taught my husband and I how to play.

RISK.
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You are about to embark on the ultimate game of military strategy!
You will be in charge of vast armies and your mission is ? ?to take over the world!!!?
Use the roll of the dice to battle against enemy armies ? In order to gain control of territories, then entire continents; in your campaign for world domination.
Rely on strategy to lead you army into victory!
Only one force can triumph ? plan cautiously or else a promising victory could turn into a devastating defeat !

There have been many versions of RISK published by ?the Parker Brothers?. The first was published in 1959; each time the game has been re published since: the rules have been slightly adapted to make it more comprehensive.
The latest was released 2004.

~~~I appreciate that the entirety of the rules and directions to play are not necessary to a review. However I shall try and summarise them ? my reason for this is that the ?manual? is incredibly intimidating. It was only after being taught the game and returning to the ?manual? it made any sense at all.
This game is a super game ? I hope having read my simple description of the game, it will seem more approachable and prompt you to go; buy and try it !!!
*** WARNING ? MODERATELY COMPLEX RULES IMPENDING ***
(feel free to skim as appropriate!!!)

There are two predominant ways to play this game.

The first being ??World Domination?.

The board is a colourful ?world map? consisting of 6 continents containing 42 territories. There are cards to represent these territories.
At th
e beginning of the game the cards are shared between the players and you are given your military units.
You take turns in placing your military units upon the board on the relevant territories, (these are little military playing pieces provided in the game) ready for play.
A turn consists of 4 phases.

PHASE 1; REINFORCEMENTS. (obtain more military units to defend and attack with.)
~Each turn you receive reinforcements (more military units). You divide the territories you own by three and that is the number of military units you receive (the minimum you can receive is three: irrelevant of how few territories you own).
~If you own entire continents you receive extra reinforcements, the number of military units you receive depends on which continent you own (there is a chart on the board to indicate this).
~?territory cards? are obtained if you conquer any enemy territory in your turn (a ?territory card? will have a picture of; infantry, cavalry or artillery upon it. There are also wild cards, which can be used as any.) If you have three of a kind or one of each ? you can exchange these for extra reinforcements (the number of military units you receive is indicated in the manual).

PHASE 2; COMBAT. (battle with opponents to conquer territories and continents.)
Once all reinforcements have been deployed you can prepare to launch your attack!
To do this you have to own a territory that borders an enemy territory and you have to have at least two military units on the territory from which the attack is to be launched (one unit has to be left to protect the territory).
You then have to announce; the territory from which you will attack; the territory in which you will be attacking and how many units you will use in the attack.
The battle ?
The attacker has 3 red dice and the defender 2 white dice (no matter how many units you attack with, you can only use 3 dice ? however if you have three or less units, the dice nu
mber reduces accordingly; as with the defence but the number of dice for the defender is 2).
~The attacker rolls their dice first, followed by the defender.
~The highest roll is compared ? the loser takes of a military unit. (If more than one dice has been rolled, the next highest roll is compared and the loser takes off one unit.)
Should the rolls be equal, the defender always wins.
~Whoever wipes out all there opponents units, owns the territory at the end of the battle.
You can launch as many attacks you want in a turn. However you cannot launch an attack from the same territory twice in one turn.

PHASE 3; MOVEMENT. (move military units to defend or ready for attack.)
Once you have completed all your attacks, you can make one move with your units to fortify your position; to protect your front line or in preparation for your next turn.
This is a movement from one of your territories to another; the territories can be adjacent or to any of your territories: as long as the territories in-between are controlled by you.

PHASE 4; COLLECTING A TERRITORY CARD.(collect a card with you can exchange for more military units when appropriate.)
If you conquered at least one enemy territory on your turn, you receive one ?territory card? (regardless of how many territories you took ? you can only receive one card!). A ?territory card? will have a picture of; infantry, cavalry or artillery upon it. There are also wild cards, which can be used as any. If you have three of a kind or one of each ? you can exchange these for extra reinforcements (the number of military units you receive is indicated in the manual).

The first player who eliminates all the enemy opponents and occupies all 42 territories is the winner.

*** COMPLEXITY OVER!!! *** (for those who managed to read and understand my attempt of interpretation ? well done you !!! )


~~~ This method of playing is so much fun, it can last hours and
hours and hours and hours (we played from 9pm until 5am, only then did we stop as everyone was struggling to function efficiently).
Its great as you can form allies and target particular players, then when it suits, stab your ally in the back and go in for the kill !!!
?keep your friends close and your enemies even closer !!!?

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The second is ? ?mission RISK?.

Play is conducted the same as ?world domination?, besides the following ?

Before you distribute your ?military units? initially, you will receive 4 mission cards (This is probably the biggest change in RISK on this release).

They are ranked in level of difficulty; Captain, Major, Colonel and General.
Some examples are; own twice as many territories as any one person on the board ? own one continent ? conquer 4 territories all on different continents.
You can only claim one mission as complete, each turn; once you have achieved the said mission.
After you have completed three missions, you are to turn the fourth and final ?mission card over? for all to see.
You win by being the first player to achieve all missions or eliminating all your opponents.

~~~ This method again is a lot of fun; it generally is a shorter more practical way to play than world domination. For me it isn?t as satisfying as ?conquering the world?, however in the ?rat race? that is today ? very few of us have hours and hours and hours to commit to a board game therefore it is a great alternative.

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Alternative ways to play are;
?2 player RISK? and ?Team RISK?. The rules vary slightly and should you know the general game of RISK ? it is easy to adapt accordingly. The directions to play are quite comprehensive in the manual and the ?turn sequence? remains the same.

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~~~Strategy is probably the most important element to this game; in any variation. You have a quest and you need to achieve
it; you need to stop people preventing you from doing so and prevent them from achieving the quest before you.
Do this as cunningly as you like ? make allies and don?t be afraid to stab them in the back! Play callous and sneaky ? get out your eye patch and napoleon hat ? prepare to dominate the world !!!
Place your ?military men? carefully and considered. It is good to own and keep at continent at all costs ? you will receive extra military men for this and be a stronger player. Defend your borders ? remember you have the upper hand when defending ? attack is not always advised. (ahhh ? but how many reinforcements will your enemies receive next turn ??? its risky business!!!)
Prepare your self for many arguments, tempers raging and greedy determination ? you will all want to dominate the world !!!
Your relationship with your opponents will be tested to their limits!!!

EPILOGUE;
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I love this game ? It completely feeds my competitiveness and it brings out the worst in people. It is such a long fight to win and the satisfaction of doing so can not be equalled by any other board game.
It can be so infuriating when the dice does not roll in your favour ? but there in lies the ?RISK? ? AND ? how downright annoying when an ally chooses to change allegiance (chose your allies cautiously).
The people who play make the game ? The first time I played it, all players were highly competitive: and this made a great, tense and fickle atmosphere.
For £19.99 ? at this moment I cannot think of any money better spent.
I initially owned the 2003 version, after playing that first time I went to find the 2004 version. The ?manual? is more comprehensive and the missions are more challenging and varied. I have only seen the latest release in one shop so far ?toys R us.
The 2003 version can be found in most toy shops, some super markets and a number of larger book stores.
The ?military units? in the 2004 version are a lo
t more durable than previous versions.

The game is said to be for 2 ? 6 players ? The game is not even close to being so enjoyable unless you have 3+ players. The more players there are usually means the longer the game.
It is said to be suitable for 10yrs + ? I haven?t played this with a 10 year old but: I can only assume that with all the strategic/tactical planning, forming of allies and such ? that a 10 year old playing with adults; would be at a disadvantage or used as a pawn (of course I could be very wrong and it would depend on the child playing!).
It would be my opinion that if a child does play seriously ? it should be against those of a similar age.

My reluctant complaints are that the ?manual? is very complex and can be a deterrent (but then it is a complex game and all efforts should be used to understand the manual ? persevere ?you will not be disappointed!).
Reading back ? even my directions still would appear confusing; to someone hoping to play it for the first time ? I truly don?t think the directions could be condensed further !!! I would advise that you throw yourselves in at the deep end ? begin to play and take it from there ? hopefully it will unfold itself and become obvious! (Then do as I did ? return to the manual, where it will all magically make sense!).
The other complaint I have is that with so many little ?military units? they are easily misplaced ?I think if little pots were provided to keep them in, it would be far easier not to lose the buggars !!!

This board game is incomparable ? It rules !!!

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