Risk
by Hasbro
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Our Price: $95.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $24.99 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Risk
Customer Review: Ah, the memories of conquering the world on college weekends
Summary: 5 Stars
First, let me say that I do not really consider myself a South American person. Certainly not in the way some people are Australian strategists, who always start off with as many of the four areas of down under as they can get in the initial set up of "Risk." From Australia you have to go for Asia, but from South America you can move to North America or Africa. My objective in the first stage of the game is to have big armies in Central America, North Africa, Southern Europe and the Middle East and control of South America and Africa. This gives me not only control of two continents but denies other control of three more as well.I have played a computer game version of Risk, but whipping a computer to conquer the world is no way near as much fun as sitting around a table playing with friends in college. Risk is a great game under such circumstances because you do not have to sit at the table the entire time; you can go off, make a sandwich, watching a game on the tube, or whatever, until it is either your turn or somebody yells out, Irkusk is under attack and you need to roll your defense dice. Then it comes down to how lucky you feel, for many an ego has been shot down by trying to take a country and seeing an army decimated by an opponent rolling fives and sixes.
This is also a great game for students of history and/or current events because there is an inherent tendency to provide the game with a narrative structure, especially when some undermanned army puts up a spirited defense. Then those gathered around the board will sing of the glory of the valiant defenders of Iceland, who were able to stave off the horde of "Green Meanies" attacking in three directions. My only complaint was having to pick up all the pieces every time you knocked the tray onto the floor...
Before there were computer games, before there was Dungeon & Dragons, there was Risk as the premier social game for college students. I am sure its rank in the world of competitive gamesmanship has been greatly reduced in the past couple of decades, but in its heyday Risk was the game of choice on weekends.
Customer Review: Classic Strategy Board Game!!
Summary: 5 Stars
RISK is a classic strategy board game and great for beginners. The rules aren't complicated and with a couple of friends you'll be spending a lot of time trying to conquer each others territories. The rules of RISK are simple. Every player controls territory on the map, meaning they have one of the plastic soldier figures in one of the spots on the board. At the beginning of a players turn they gather reinforcements in accordance to the number of troops they have, if they conquered an entire continent, etc. On the board there are places to keep track of these numbers so it is easy for the players to reference. Battles are decided by rolling dice, so there is an element of luck involved. But the number of attackers is different from the number of defenders so careful planning and positioning of troops is also important. The objective of the game is simple. Conquer all territories or be the sole player with troops on the board. There are also different types of rules you can follow, such as mission RISK, where players must complete certain number of missions given to them by mission cards to win the game.
My only complaint is that I think that the cavalry and artillery units are useless. They only exist to prevent over crowding or to replace a certain number of units that are in one territory. For example, a cavalry unit equals five soldiers, while an artillery equals ten soldiers or two cavalry units. But there are enough soldiers to occupy the whole map and various positions that players will rarely turn to replacing the soldiers with the cavalry or artillery pieces at all.
In general, RISK is a great game. If you're looking for a strategy game and haven't played one before, then pick this up! Even as a veteran strategy board game player, I find this game a great way to pass the time. This also makes for a great party game because the more players playing RISK, the more engaging the game becomes.
Customer Review: You DO need strategy to play this game.
Summary: 4 Stars
I have not much to add that previous 4- and 5-star reviews have not already said. Except this:
I hesitated getting this game because of the complaints that too much of the outcome turns on a random roll of the dice. Some reviewers complained that luck or chance was more important than strategy. (See the 1-star or 2-star reviews).
I found this NOT to be the case. It is true that the outcome of individual battles are governed by rolls of the dice. However, the overall success in this game does involve a significant amount of strategy. That is, there are plans and strategies you or the child can develop, which must be viewed in the grand scheme of the entire game, that can help you win. This is true, even if you do lose a good number of battles because of unlucky dice rolls.
In fact, a number of real-life military conflicts confirms that having the most soldiers does not necessarily guarantee a quick or clean victory. I don't mean to get political here, but check out world history during the past 50 or 60 years and current events, not just involving the U.S., but around the world.
My 8-year old and 10-year old children love this game. They recognize that pure luck determines the outcome of battles. But this only forces them to focus more on the bigger picture -- what countries to focus on, how to limit another player's ability to move from one continent to another, how many soldiers to put into one territory, when is it advisable to retreat and regroup somewhere else.
We have played two games of Risk so far. Each game took about 3 or 4 days to finish. I was surprised that my kids were not put off by this.
CONCLUSION: This is not a real-life battle simulator. But it is a good introduction for children to learn how to develop long-range planning.
Customer Review: Make Ready! Aim! FIRE!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ah yes, this game is a lot of fun! I recently picked up this game (item as described here) to play with my two teenage sons (12 and 14). It wasn't long before all my old memories of playing this game as a child/teenager game back. Including all those strategies I used to play by. Needless, my children have had some practice playing Risk on the Computer and Sega Genisis...but not on the game board itself!
We've played a few games to get back into the swing of it. And now our quest to rule the world can take several days (to complete a game)! There are some variations to the rules that must be taken into account. For one, I'll remark about turning in Risk Cards. There is a game piece that needs to be moved along after a player turns in a set of Risk cards, for reinforcements. Eventually in a long drawn out game, this game piece can get moved up to 60 Reinforcements!! But that's it, on the board it stops at 60. I find counting back down to 4 and then back up again works nicely. This is only one example, and to anyone reading this who hasn't played Risk will not know what I'm talking about. Those who have played Risk before will have an idea what I'm saying. Basically, there are a few variations to the rules that must be adhere to. Seek out some information on the game online and you'll learn more!
In addition, this new Risk game has a brillant style to it! The board colors and layout, the new Risk pieces (Infintry, Cannon and Calvery) are nice touches! It's a fun game to have laid out before you.
Basically, a game like Risk brings kids back to the table in a more hands on approach to "gaming". They wont mind turning off their Computer or Playstions to spend time with Risk, after all, if they win, they rule the world! Sit back, stand up, whichever you perfer and enjoy!
Customer Review: The Game Of World Domination!
Summary: 5 Stars
Risk is one of my favorite games of all time. Players start by using their armies to take possession of the many territories on the board which make up the continents North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Players then take turns using the dice to battle each other in an attempt to gain possession of each territory their opponents own. The game ends when a player has eliminated all of his opponents' armies and thus occupies all the territories in the world. The game can last many hours, especially when playing with 4, 5 or 6 players. There are different game variations if you don't want to play the traditional, and normally longer, game of World Domination, though in my personal opinion World Domination is the way to go.
There is some strategy involved in Risk as you decide things like which territories to place your armies on, who to attack, and how much fighting you'll do on each turn. At the same time, there is also a lot of luck involved since you're always rolling the dice and are sometimes drawing a card from a deck that can give you an opportunity to place more armies on the board. Overall, Risk can be a very fun and unpredictable game. You never know who's going to roll high numbers, and it's not always clear what territories your opponents are going to try invading in their quest for world domination. I was introduced to this game back in high school when I spent the night at a friends house, and I fell in love with it. Even if I'm not playing well, I still enjoy watching the action unfold between my opponents, and listening to their reactions when something good or bad happens can be entertaining as well.
There are so many things that make Risk a great game to play with your family and friends. It's an all time classic and it's one I never get tired of playing.