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The classic board game Risk feeds our need as human beings to fight to the death and conquer the world. Those seemingly innocent little plastic pieces turn into our regiments of destruction as we march all over the globe, forging our path to world domination. OK, perhaps that is a bit over-dramatic, but this is a war game and the goal IS global domination. Here are a few things to know about Risk.

Boys will be boys

I'm not saying that girls can't or don't play Risk. However, I have yet to meet one, and when I played Risk growing up, it was just with the fellas. I was a bit of a geek in high school so I spent many a late night on the weekends with my buddies, drinking root beer, and playing Risk. It was an innocent way for us to wage war on each other without any blood, guts, or international hatred. Just good clean fun.

The basics

Risk takes the world and breaks it up into countries, and pieces of countries. Each player is allotted a certain number of "armies" to start. The players take turn spreading their pieces around the board while trying to gain a placement advantage or fortify a defensive position. Depending on how many players are involved, a neutral player may be added to fill out the countries.

We are at war

The game commences with players invaded adjoining countries. Battles are fought by rolling dice, with the higher die winning the conflict. Battles end with the invader either conquering the country or deciding to stop the conflict due to unacceptable casualties. Players who win battles also get cards which they can eventually turn into more armies as the game progresses. The game ends when one player conquers the world.

Review

I enjoyed Risk thoroughly as a kid, but I have to admit it does have somewhat of a limited appeal in terms of age group and gender. As previously mentioned, it is the type of game which draws boys much more than girls. Also, the strategy of the game probably won't be grasped until somewhere in the 10-year-old to 12-year-old range, which limits the application to larger families. Still, it is a fun game of strategy, measured risk (no pun intended), and chance that can be a very fun father-to-son or brother-to-brother competition.

Learn more about this author, Todd Pheifer.
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