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Risk is a board game which involves each player attempting to fight and win battles in order to conquer countries around the world, and ultimately rule the world. I suppose to many readers it will sound boring but personally I would say that it is anything but. Even if it is just played on a normal fun level it is entertaining. However as a popular strategy game it is played much more seriously by various players around the world.

Risk was developed along the lines of a slightly earlier game which was called 'Conquest of the World' This too was a board game. It was made by the Frenchman, Albert Lamorisse in the early 1950's and after a few slight alterations Risk was produced by the firm Miro in 1957. Lamorisse was a famous film director who, among other movies, directed 'The Red Balloon'. This film went on to win awards at Cannes and even in the United States. Lamorisse died in 1970 in a helicopter accident while directing a movie in Iran. The games company Parker Brothers went on to adapt his game again and introduce 'Risk The Continental Game' to America in 1959.

Over the years the game has usually been referred to quite simply as Risk. There have been subtle, periodic name changes, adaptations to the playing pieces and board, and various limited editions produced For example, in 1999 a French version, with Napoleon, retailed as a limited edition. I would imagine that there are also computer editions nowadays.

My history of Risk is from playing the original board game in the late nineteen seventies and early eighties. I loved this game for it's simple but satisfying game play. It's appeal is universal and can be played by many age groups and nationalities. It has a relatively plain board and pieces fit the game absolutely. The board has a large map of the world and ours, being a fairly old version, has countries with long lost and changed names. I think that it will have a place in home entertainment history as a strategic game, which does not require the player to be an Albert Einstein. However if you want to take it much more seriously as player that option is also possible.

Learn more about this author, Ethel Smith.
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