I'd like to reiterate the turtling up in australia or south america approach. I've found it's great for letting everyone else kill each other and then swarming out like some sort of australian horde.
This is a retardedly good strategy when you have the maximum number of people playing. Getting Siam, India, and China keeps your armies consolidated into basically 1 or 2 countries, and when people battling over Asia have worn themselves thin, you can sweep through and end up holding Kamchatka, Ukraine, and the Middle East in 1 or 2 rounds. After that, it is quite easy to take over anyone else, although North America is a safe bet.
With fewer people, Australia is a potential trap. The best bet in this case is North America, which has 3 points of entry which can prevent continent bonuses easily, and gives a decent continent bonus itself. South America ain't bad either.
Tangentially, has anyone had a chance to play the new version of risk which is basically black ops without the pretty board?
And thanks for the recomendation of lux touch
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DVGNo. 1 Honor StudentNether Institute, Evil AcademyRegistered Userregular
edited January 2009
I don't think I've ever seen someone turtle in Australia Successfully. Usually trying to let the others kill each other off results in them capping a bunch of cards and breaking through your front line. (Albeit after an hour of rolling attack dice)
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ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
I don't think I've ever seen someone turtle in Australia Successfully. Usually trying to let the others kill each other off results in them capping a bunch of cards and breaking through your front line. (Albeit after an hour of rolling attack dice)
If done right, everyone ignores you until you've managed to actually secure Asia.
When playing RISK, make sure that what happens in the game, stays in the game. My friends and I have been playing since high school and just now one of our friends quit it all together because the animosity from the game was seeping into the real world and into the next game we played instead of dying right there. Of course, she got tired of the game RIGHT AFTER I won my first game in 5 years.
We always looked at it as to not go after Asia because once you own it, it's hard to defend the fucking thing. Everyone always went after Australia but I think that was to piss off my Aussie friend.
Make sure to just have fun. Though not too much fun cause that's how I've been losing all this time. Instead of focusing on strategy I was focused on cracking jokes. Oh how many games I COULD have won had I just stopped making people laugh.
Also note that if you find yourself in a cold war like situation in which two players have an even edge...it's always better to be the guy who pulls the trigger. The attacker has a small advantage in dice rolls.
uhhh don't defenders get ties?
Defenders get ties, but the attacker gets a third dice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_(game)#Dice_probabilities has a breakdown of the win probabilities. In a situation in which both sides are rolling their maximum number of dice, the odds of the attacker getting two victories is ~4% higher then a one loss each. If the attacker only rolls two dice, then the defender gets the advantage.
the way we play it, the attacker rolls first and then the defender can choose how many dice he wants to roll after seeing what comes up. so if the attacker for example rolls a 6/4/1 you choose 1 di since you only have a 1/6 chance of going 1-1 and a 1/6 chance of beating both. so 2/3 times you will lose 2 armies, but if you only roll 1 di you have a 5/6 chance of losing 1 army and a 1/6 chance that he will lose one.
the difference is that you eliminate the possibility for a 1-1 but garuntee that you won't lose more than 1 and since its more likely that you will lose 2 (66%) than go 1-1 (16%) you roll 1 di. this gives the advantage to the defender.
but some people play with the both at the same time rule or the declare first rule.
South America is my preferred starting point. Its easy to defend, and you can usually get a most of the continent settled before anyone notices. It seems to be off the radar for most people.
Also, a friend and I maintain an unspoken alliance. We don't discuss it, but its standard procedure for all our games. After the initial set up, any of each-others pieces in the others territory are left for dead. We weaken enemies on common borders. It usually takes half the game before anyone figures it out, and by then its too late to stop us. We maintain the usual maneuvering with other people so no-one gets suspicious, and pretend to get upset in the beginning when we're 'trading territories'. When everyone else is dead (and pissed at us) we usually just end the game, as we're typically on even footing, and hell - half the world should be good enough for everyone.
I don't think I've ever seen someone turtle in Australia Successfully. Usually trying to let the others kill each other off results in them capping a bunch of cards and breaking through your front line. (Albeit after an hour of rolling attack dice)
If done right, everyone ignores you until you've managed to actually secure Asia.
I sometimes will secure australia, and then branch out from there, taking one territory per turn... Enough to get a card on each turn, but also not enough to warrant people attacking me. Then when I get a big army boost from cards, I usually make my move or solidify my borders, depending on what other people are doing.
What you need to do is play your friends against each other. Play conservatively in the beginning, small skirmishes, minor advances.
If you're a patient person playing with impatient people, it will happen rather quickly that they will get into it with each other and you can mop up the remainder.
There's more to it than that, but it's a strategy one of my friends tries to use ALL THE TIME and it worked for awhile. Now that we know how he plays though, we usually attack him first :P
EDIT: I just saw that comic posted above and that's pretty much how every game went with my friends and I. I don't think I've seen that comic before.
I assume that Robert Khoo is blue, and is back-stabbing everyone, just like my own french-frog of a "friend".
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ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
I don't think I've ever seen someone turtle in Australia Successfully. Usually trying to let the others kill each other off results in them capping a bunch of cards and breaking through your front line. (Albeit after an hour of rolling attack dice)
If done right, everyone ignores you until you've managed to actually secure Asia.
I sometimes will secure australia, and then branch out from there, taking one territory per turn... Enough to get a card on each turn, but also not enough to warrant people attacking me. Then when I get a big army boost from cards, I usually make my move or solidify my borders, depending on what other people are doing.
Right, it can work because everyone assumes that Asia can't be held. If you hold Australia, then you only need to secure Ukraine, Middle East and Alaska to cut your border to three points. Middle East is going to be your weakness but it's not much worse then North America.
I like to hold a lot of territories without ever actually securing a continent. Against the people I play with they focus on getting continents so I hold large sections of area and then just trade the odd place with them, they will burn up an army trying to secure a continent and then I just attack a weak point and prevent them from getting the bonus on it.
I think my ex almost broke up with me once because of Risk. I didnt waste enough units protecting her when she was playing like a dumbass. I ended up surrounding her one remaining territory and won the game to that point and then bowed out cause she looked mad she didnt win. thankfully it was against relatives of hers so they couldnt hate us afterwards.
Strategies in Risk also have a lot to do with the other players' personalities. For instance, I have a friend that is always aggressive and tries to manipulate the other players into attacking me, especially when he is in "2nd" place. At that point I usually turtle a bit to take a few losses from both me and the other conspirators (but not enough to drastically handicap one of us to be taken out, unless they pull off desperation attacks). At that point I convince these guys that while they were busy trying to take me out (and sacrificing their men for no rewards) the 2nd placer has been sitting back and laughing. Usually this can get 1 or 2 players to make that guy the enemy for the rest of the game.
In regards to countries, it seems North America is definitely the most prized continent to own, since its fairly easy to hold with the big bonus and chokepoints, but more people will eye you as a huge threat. If I end up taking Australia/Africa, I try to at least keep a couple other countries further away so I don't get trapped in the continent. If I notice someone else turtling in Australia it's best to get the group to turn on him if he's among the only people to have a complete continent. Again it's really all about manipulation I guess.
Another fun way to play is with Missions, at least with my group. Everyone has a secret mission that is given to them at the beginning, and some missions include eradicating other colors. This helps prevent people being randomly eliminated since you don't want to complete another guy's mission for him. In my opinion, this type or Risk is also good at not leaving people with a bitter taste in their mouth when they lose, since it's a mystery and anyone's game, but this type of game can also increase the length of time it takes to play.
Personally, we play with "set" card turn ins, to prevent the game from just being "turn in your cards=win". Also, this may be a house rule that only we play, but I'd like to know what others think: The attacker rolls his dice first, then the defender chooses to use either 1 or 2 dice to defend. If it's just 1, the defender loses only one guy instead of 2. It seems to balance out the attacker's advantage.
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This is a retardedly good strategy when you have the maximum number of people playing. Getting Siam, India, and China keeps your armies consolidated into basically 1 or 2 countries, and when people battling over Asia have worn themselves thin, you can sweep through and end up holding Kamchatka, Ukraine, and the Middle East in 1 or 2 rounds. After that, it is quite easy to take over anyone else, although North America is a safe bet.
With fewer people, Australia is a potential trap. The best bet in this case is North America, which has 3 points of entry which can prevent continent bonuses easily, and gives a decent continent bonus itself. South America ain't bad either.
And thanks for the recomendation of lux touch
If done right, everyone ignores you until you've managed to actually secure Asia.
We always looked at it as to not go after Asia because once you own it, it's hard to defend the fucking thing. Everyone always went after Australia but I think that was to piss off my Aussie friend.
Make sure to just have fun. Though not too much fun cause that's how I've been losing all this time. Instead of focusing on strategy I was focused on cracking jokes. Oh how many games I COULD have won had I just stopped making people laugh.
the way we play it, the attacker rolls first and then the defender can choose how many dice he wants to roll after seeing what comes up. so if the attacker for example rolls a 6/4/1 you choose 1 di since you only have a 1/6 chance of going 1-1 and a 1/6 chance of beating both. so 2/3 times you will lose 2 armies, but if you only roll 1 di you have a 5/6 chance of losing 1 army and a 1/6 chance that he will lose one.
the difference is that you eliminate the possibility for a 1-1 but garuntee that you won't lose more than 1 and since its more likely that you will lose 2 (66%) than go 1-1 (16%) you roll 1 di. this gives the advantage to the defender.
but some people play with the both at the same time rule or the declare first rule.
Also, a friend and I maintain an unspoken alliance. We don't discuss it, but its standard procedure for all our games. After the initial set up, any of each-others pieces in the others territory are left for dead. We weaken enemies on common borders. It usually takes half the game before anyone figures it out, and by then its too late to stop us. We maintain the usual maneuvering with other people so no-one gets suspicious, and pretend to get upset in the beginning when we're 'trading territories'. When everyone else is dead (and pissed at us) we usually just end the game, as we're typically on even footing, and hell - half the world should be good enough for everyone.
I sometimes will secure australia, and then branch out from there, taking one territory per turn... Enough to get a card on each turn, but also not enough to warrant people attacking me. Then when I get a big army boost from cards, I usually make my move or solidify my borders, depending on what other people are doing.
If you're a patient person playing with impatient people, it will happen rather quickly that they will get into it with each other and you can mop up the remainder.
There's more to it than that, but it's a strategy one of my friends tries to use ALL THE TIME and it worked for awhile. Now that we know how he plays though, we usually attack him first :P
EDIT: I just saw that comic posted above and that's pretty much how every game went with my friends and I. I don't think I've seen that comic before.
I assume that Robert Khoo is blue, and is back-stabbing everyone, just like my own french-frog of a "friend".
Right, it can work because everyone assumes that Asia can't be held. If you hold Australia, then you only need to secure Ukraine, Middle East and Alaska to cut your border to three points. Middle East is going to be your weakness but it's not much worse then North America.
I think my ex almost broke up with me once because of Risk. I didnt waste enough units protecting her when she was playing like a dumbass. I ended up surrounding her one remaining territory and won the game to that point and then bowed out cause she looked mad she didnt win. thankfully it was against relatives of hers so they couldnt hate us afterwards.
In regards to countries, it seems North America is definitely the most prized continent to own, since its fairly easy to hold with the big bonus and chokepoints, but more people will eye you as a huge threat. If I end up taking Australia/Africa, I try to at least keep a couple other countries further away so I don't get trapped in the continent. If I notice someone else turtling in Australia it's best to get the group to turn on him if he's among the only people to have a complete continent. Again it's really all about manipulation I guess.
Another fun way to play is with Missions, at least with my group. Everyone has a secret mission that is given to them at the beginning, and some missions include eradicating other colors. This helps prevent people being randomly eliminated since you don't want to complete another guy's mission for him. In my opinion, this type or Risk is also good at not leaving people with a bitter taste in their mouth when they lose, since it's a mystery and anyone's game, but this type of game can also increase the length of time it takes to play.
Personally, we play with "set" card turn ins, to prevent the game from just being "turn in your cards=win". Also, this may be a house rule that only we play, but I'd like to know what others think: The attacker rolls his dice first, then the defender chooses to use either 1 or 2 dice to defend. If it's just 1, the defender loses only one guy instead of 2. It seems to balance out the attacker's advantage.