It's Called Risk for a Reason!

On September 2^nd, a group of designers and I did a game play session of Risk, developed by Hasbro. Risk is the game of global domination, where dice rolling and strategic battle strategies can lead to you to conquer or to be conquered. When you conquer territories, you collect risk cards, which you can turn in to recruit large amounts of troops. However, if you get wiped out, then your opponent turns in your cards. An average game can take upwards of two hours, so we played a revised version in order to finish on time.

Game Setup: To start the game, each player is allocated random territories on the map, until all territories are taken. Then, each player places troops on pre-conquered territories until everyone has twenty units on the board. The last part of setup requires the players to determine the turn order, so we rolled a dice to see who would go first. During our setup, Aldo turned out particularly lucky and secured 3 of the 4 territories in Australia. I had a few troops scattered around South America early, Nathan had spread countries throughout Europe and Asia, Andrew had a foothold in North America, and Michael had a spread through Asia.

Aldo won the dice roll and started off first. He used his turn to conquer Australia. He lost 3 forces to the one defender due to poor dice rolls, and then fortified his border with his whole force. I went next, and conquered Peru, Argentina, and Brazil. I only lost one troop, and fortified my borders. Nathan went on a blitzkrieg, attacking and conquering 4 territories, one from each player.  At the start of Andrews turn, he decided to try and conquer all of North America. He attacked me in Central America, Alaska, and Alberta. He then attacked Michael on eastern Canada conquered it, and turned his sights on the Michael in the Northwest Territory, conquering all of North America. Michael tried to attack Central Africa with 3 units, but lost those troops due to poor rolls.

He then took a big risk and attacked northern Africa, winning it by a hair. He tried then to take over Western Europe, but was defeated. After this sequence was over, 3 players controlled 3 different countries, while 2 were still struggling to control Asia, Africa, and Europe. Each player got a Risk card after their turn because they all conquered territories.

The game came back around to Aldo, who used his massive military force to conquer a single territory and end his turn. I then used a medium force to conquer Central America and disrupt Andrew’s country bonus. Nathan attacked a few European Countries to get his risk card. Andrew attacked me back in Central America, to regain his bonus. Michael fortified South Africa and attempted to take back central Africa, which he barely defeated. Each player earned a Risk card for his valiant attacks this turn.

On the next sequence Aldo took over India for a card. I put a huge force into Venezuela and took over Central America. Nathan fortified and ended turn. Andrew, who was scared of my forces, retreated from North America into Asia. Michael started to go for Africa, but was defeated by Nathan. Aldo took over one, got a card, and ended. I then started to creep into North America to secure a two-country foothold. Nathan and Andrew each took over one territory, got their card, and ended. Michael took over Africa. After these two quick turns, North America was in shambles, Aldo was pressing out of Australia, I was expanding into North America, and Michael, Nathan, and Andrew fought over the remaining territories. Everyone got 2 cards except Michael, who got 1.

Since we were running out of time, we declared this would be the last turn: The winner would be the player with the most troops.

Aldo took 2 countries over with his massive force, but could not press into Africa. I turned in my cards and took a risk, going on a huge chain of attacks. I wiped out Andrew in Asia and turned in his cards for 15 more troops. I then looked to fortify my borders and end my turn. Nathan in his last stand went for Europe, taking out many of Aldo's troops in the process. Andrew, sadly, was eliminated earlier so he had no turn. Michael in his last stand decided to take his frustration out on Aldo. Michael's risky maneuvers took out many of Aldo's troops and ended up securing Africa.

Final Troop standings:
Aldo: 25

Colt: 46
Nathan: 14
Andrew: 0

Michael: 8

I was declared the winner by default with the most troops. The strategy I used to win was to stay safe behind my fortified defenses and look to attack the weakest player in order to string together a large chain of attacks. Even though wars were fought and dice were rolled, everyone enjoyed their time playing. Risk is definitely a game I would play again.