Risk (game)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A typical game of Risk in play.
Players 2–6
Age range 10+
Setup time 5–40 minutes
Playing time 1–8 hours (player dependent)
Random chance Medium (dice, cards)
Skills required Tactics, Strategy, Luck, and Negotiation

Risk is a commercial strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers (now a division of Hasbro). It was invented by French movie director Albert Lamorisse. It was originally released in 1957, as La Conquête du Monde (The Conquest of the World), in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players, and is played on a board depicting a stylized Napoleonic-era political map of the Earth, divided into forty-two territories, which are grouped into six continents. Players control armies, with which they attempt to capture territories from other players. The goal of the game is to control all the territories—or "conquer the world"—through the elimination of the other players. Using area movement, Risk ignores realistic limitations, such as the vast size of the world, and the logistics of long campaigns.

Contents

[edit] Equipment and its evolution in design

The infantry, the basic unit of Risk, representing one army.
The infantry, the basic unit of Risk, representing one army.
The cavalry, representing five armies.
The cavalry, representing five armies.
The artillery, representing ten armies.
The artillery, representing ten armies.

Each Risk game comes with six sets of armies, each of a different color. Individual sets of armies are denoted by three different tokens. Infantry tokens represent a single army unit, cavalry represent five army units, and artillery ten units. The three token types are purely a convenience measure for ease of representing a specific army size. If a player runs out of armies during the game, another colour may be used to substitute, or slips of paper to help keep track of his or her armies. Standard equipment also comprises five dice: two for the defender and three for the attacker, both sets being colour-coded as well.

Also included is a total of fifty-six Risk cards. Forty-two of these depict territories, in addition to a symbol of an infantry, cavalry, or artillery piece. One of these cards is awarded to a player at the end of his or her turn, if he or she successfully conquers at least one territory during that turn. No more than one card may be awarded per turn. If a player collects three cards with the same diagram or one of each, he or she may trade them in, at the beginning of his or her turn, for reinforcements. These cards can also be used for game set-up (see below for details). Also included are two wild cards that depict an infantry, cavalry, and artillery piece, as opposed to one of the three and a territory. Because these cards have all three symbols, they are mainly used to complete a Risk card set, in order to receive reinforcements. Twelve Mission cards also come with the game, but are used only in Secret Mission Risk.

Originally, the playing pieces were wooden cubes representing one army each and a few rounded triangular prisms representing ten armies each but in later versions of the game these pieces were molded of plastic in order to reduce costs. In the 1980s, these were changed to pieces shaped like the Roman numerals for I, III, V, and X. The 1993 edition introduced infantry, cavalry, and artillery pieces, which were made of plastic. The 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition contained the same troop pieces, but made of metal rather than plastic. Additionally, the movement route between the territories of East Africa and Middle East was removed; this was later confirmed as a manufacturing error. Subsequent editions reverted to plastic pieces, and replaced the missing route.[1] While the European versions of Risk had included the variation "Secret Mission Risk" for some time, the U.S. version did not have this added until 1993.[2]

[edit] Standard setup

Setting up the Risk board for play is more involved than in many other games. Players take turns claiming territories by placing armies on them until all the territories are occupied. Remaining armies are placed onto strategic territories to strengthen them. Once armies have been placed the actual game begins. The two-player game differs in that the players use Risk cards to determine where armies are placed. Similarly, in Lamorisse's original version, all players claimed territories based on the Risk cards they were dealt. For example, if a player were to receive the Peru card, then that player would occupy Peru.

[edit] Player turn

[edit] Reinforcements

At the start of each player's turn, the player adds reinforcements to his or her armies. A player receives additional armies based on the number of territories he or she controls, the value of the continents he or she controls, and the value of any Risk card sets he or she turns in. The player receives one army for every three territories under his or her control (ignoring any remainder), with a minimum of three armies per turn. The number of reinforcements for holding a continent varies. For holding Asia, the player receives seven extra armies; for North America and Europe, five; for Africa, three are given; and for the continents of Australia and South America, two reinforcements are placed on the board.

In addition to reinforcements from holding territories, players also gain reinforcements by turning in Risk card sets. During the attacking phase of his or her turn, if a player conquers at least one territory, he or she may claim a Risk card, which is a card showing one of the forty-two territories, and a picture of an infantryman, a cavalryman, or a cannon. There are also two wild cards, which have a picture of all three Risk units, but no territory diagram; these may be used as either infantry, cavalry, or cannon, in order to finish a set of cards. A set of Risk cards is three cards showing the same unit (eg. all three cards have cavalry pictures), or three cards showing one of each type of Risk unit. The number of reinforcements awarded for a turned in set increases as sets of cards are turned in. Also, turning in a card with a pictured territory owned by the player awards two additional armies to be placed in that territory.

[edit] Attacking

Example of matching up attacking (left) and defending (right) dice
Example of matching up attacking (left) and defending (right) dice

After deploying reinforcements, the player may attack to gain territory and get a Risk card. Once an attacker occupies a defender's last territory, thus eliminating them from the game, the attacker is rewarded with all of the defender's Risk cards.

[edit] Fortifying

When a player has finished attacking, he or she has the option to move any number of armies from one, and only one, of their territories, into an adjacent territory that they occupy. The player must still leave at least one army in each territory. If the player captured at least one territory during the course of their turn, they may draw a single Risk card from the deck. A player may not hold more than five cards at any one time, therefore, after drawing their fifth Risk card, he or she will be required to turn in a Risk set (three matching cards) upon his or her next turn. Play then proceeds clockwise to the next player.

[edit] Strategy

Risiko (Italian version) in play
Risiko (Italian version) in play

[edit] Basic strategy

The official rulebook gives three basic strategic tips for the classic rules. First, players should control entire continents to get the bonus reinforcement armies. Second, players should watch their borders for buildups of armies that could imply an upcoming attack. Third, players should build up armies on their own borders for better defense.

[edit] Common strategies

Besides basic strategies listed in the official rulebook, there are several more strategies one can apply, many of which revolve around the tactics of fortification. For instance, players often attempt to gain control of Australia early in the game, since Australia is the only continent that can be successfully defended by heavily fortifying one country (either Siam or Indonesia).[3] Generally, continents with fewer borders are easier to defend as they possess fewer points that can be attacked by other players. A much riskier and more ambitious strategy involves attempting to hold North America, which provides a sizable five army bonus, but requires three different entry point territories to be defended.

Usually, it is best to hold territories within a compact area, in order to facilitate both defense and attack. Spreading one's territories across the globe is risky, since it usually leads to fighting on many fronts and the rapid depletion of one's forces.

Geography also plays a large role in strategy. For example, Australia offers better defense, while South America offers better offense. Australia can be easily defended, since it has the fewest borders, yet its only neighboring continent is Asia, which is the most difficult to maintain. By contrast, South America is more difficult to defend, since it has two borders and the same value of bonus reinforcements as Australia, yet its neighboring continents are North America and Africa, which are both easier to obtain and defend, compared to Asia.

Risk cards also play an important role in strategy. Generally, it is thought advisable to hold one's Risk cards until one can cash them in for maximum reinforcements.[3] This is especially true earlier on in gameplay, as extra armies make a greater difference in the beginning of the game.[3] Eliminating a weak player who holds a large number of Risk cards is also a good strategy,[3] as players who eliminate their opponents get possession of their opponents' Risk cards. Additionally, if a player has five or more Risk cards after taking the cards of another player, he or she must immediately turn the Risk cards in for reinforcements until the player has less than five cards and then may continue attacking.

Another common tactic is to simply control the most territories. This is especially effective when the game is deadlocked - or no player is able to attain a continent. Because more territories translates to more reinforcements, having the most land will prove an advantage. (For example, Player A has 22 territories, whereas Player B has obtained South America but only has 11 territories. Player B's income is five armies per turn, yet Player A receives seven armies per turn despite not holding a continent)

It is also common to control "choke points" in order to simultaneously defend a country and prevent another country from being captured. For example, if a player controls North America, he may choose to control Iceland as well in order to force players to conquer Iceland before attacking North America. Moreover, since the player is controlling Iceland, other players are unable to control Europe. Another example is controlling North Africa to defend South America, or Siam to defend Australia, or Kamchatka to defend the western side of North America.

A good strategy would be to attempt to control North and South America together. This eliminates the southern entry into North America as well as the northern entry into South America. The attacking points now become Greenland, Brazil, and Alaska. The player should then attempt to conquer Iceland, North Africa, and Kamchatka and then control them with heavily fortified armies to prevent or slow an attack on the Americas.

[edit] Alliances

No official alliances or truces exist in the game, although players often form unofficial treaties or "gentlemen's agreements" to safeguard themselves from attacks while they concentrate their forces elsewhere, or to eliminate a player who has grown too strong. Often, such agreements are broken. For example, one party will suddenly turn on the other by conquering a single territory on a continent controlled by his erstwhile ally, thus weakening the latter's chances of world domination.

[edit] Dice probabilities

The attacker can use up to three dice, and the defender can only use up to two dice. Since the defender wins the tie between two dice, it is to the advantage of the attacker to use more dice than the defender. The table below demonstrates the probabilities of the outcomes given different combinations of dice:

Probabilities of winning a dice roll in Risk
(various die combinations)[4]		 Attacker
one die two dice three dice
Defender one
die		 Attacker wins 15/36 = 41.67% 125/216 = 57.87% 855/1296 = 65.97%
Defender wins 21/36 = 58.33% 91/216 = 42.13% 441/1296 = 34.03%
two
dice		 Attacker wins 55/216 = 25.46% 295/1296 = 22.76% 2890/7776 = 37.17%
Defender wins 161/216 = 74.54% 581/1296 = 44.83% 2275/7776 = 29.26%
Both win one n/a 420/1296 = 32.41% 2611/7776 = 33.58%

[edit] Differences of rules

Over the years, Parker Brothers and Hasbro have published many different editions of rules for the game. In the most recent rulebook, three variations are given. Since playing Risk with two players is not always as engaging as games with more players, "World Domination Risk for 2 Players" recommends occupying some territories with neutral armies, to come close to the strategic value and fun of an actual three-way game. "Capital Risk" is recommended for a shorter world domination game in which each player has their "capital" in one of their initial territories, and the player to capture all capitals wins.[5]

The "Secret Mission Risk" variant, which has been the standard game in European editions for some decades,[2] gives each player four specific missions short of complete world domination. Missions include various tasks such as conquering two specific continents, e.g. Asia and South America, eliminating one specific other player, e.g. all the blue troops, conquering any twenty-four territories, or conquering any 18 territories, but maintaining at least 2 troops in each. Players do not reveal their missions to each other until the end of the game, which is after the first player to fulfil the condition of their missions displays his Secret Mission Cards and wins the game.

The official rulebook suggests variations to the gameplay mechanics for "Risk experts," any or all of which can be used depending on player preference. These suggestions include:

  • Reducing the rate at which Risk card sets increase in value so that they only go up by 1 each time
  • Allowing for faster redeployment of armies at the end of a turn
  • Disallowing more than twelve armies per territory, which can cause a loss of armies due to having nowhere to put them
  • Granting an attack advantage when attacking from or to a territory for which the attacker holds a Risk card
  • Simulating a "commander" in a battle by changing an attacking die to a 6 once per turn

In addition to these official variations, many computer and Internet versions have different rules, and gaming clubs often use house rules or competition-adjusted rules.

[edit] Territories

The following is a representation of the Risk game board, with a table of the corresponding continent and territory names. The territory and continent links refer to the general use of those terms, outside of the context of the Risk board game.

A representation of the Risk game board, showing the different territories, an approximation of their borders, and an approximation of their usual colouring.
A representation of the Risk game board, showing the different territories, an approximation of their borders, and an approximation of their usual colouring.

The territories of Risk [6]

Note: The numbers in parentheses represent the number of additional armies granted during the reinforcement stage of a player's turn who controls all of the territories in that continent.

† On some versions sold in Canada, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are known as Western Canada, Central Canada and Eastern Canada respectively.

[edit] Official Risk versions

Main article: List of licensed Risk game boards

In addition to the original version of 1959, and a 40th Anniversary Edition with metal pieces, a number of official variants of Risk have been released over the years. In recent years, Hasbro has predominantly based its Risk variants on popular films. The most recent example in this trend is the Transformers version, released in June 2007. In chronological order, the variations of Risk that have been released are:

[edit] Computer implementations and video games

Several computer and video game versions of Risk have been released, starting with the Commodore 64 edition in 1988 [7] and the Macintosh (Mac) edition in 1989. Since then, various other editions have been released for PC, Amiga, Sega Genesis, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and Game Boy Advance. The latest version is Risk II for PC and Mac, released in 2000. In addition, there are hundreds of unofficial Risk clones, many of which can be played online.

[edit] Popular culture

Risk's seminal influence on strategy conquest board games is reflected by its numerous references in popular culture. While individual references are too numerous to list, the board game Risk has appeared in various songs, movies, and television series; perhaps most notably in an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, Malcolm in the Middle and two episodes of Lost. The character of Arnold Rimmer from the TV series Red Dwarf is also an avid Risk enthusiast; he maintains a "Risk Campaign Diary" and enjoys recounting games turn-by-turn to his crewmates. The band R.E.M. mention a series of popular games, including Risk, in their song "Man on the Moon". The comedian Eddie Izzard comments that Adolf Hitler must never have played Risk as a child, due to his failings on the Eastern Front.

The April 2008 edition of Wired Magazine re-created an entirely new board that presented the globe in the future, when politics and environmental changes affected technology, land-mass, boundaries and country names.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Dave Shapiro (December 2002). Risk: The Evolution of a Game. The Games Journal. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  2. ^ a b Risk timeline at boardgames.about.com; last accessed May 12, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d Risk strategies at hasbro.com; last accessed March 12, 2007.
  4. ^ HTML version of the probability distribution of Risk battles URL accessed May 12, 2007.
  5. ^ Risk II
  6. ^ “Risk territories.” The Gaming Corner. Accessed 2006-05-12.
  7. ^ Commodore 64 edition information at Chronology of the Commodore 64 Computer; last accessed May 12, 2007.

[edit] External links

[edit] Official

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] Unofficial

  • Total Diplomacy Guides for beginners and advanced users on how to use diplomacy and cunning tactics to win the game.
  • Risk FAQ A long-standing and comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions about Risk with answers.