The Many Flavors of Risk: A Guide to the Many Risk Board Games

In 1957, French film director Albert Lamorisse came up with a board game about world conquest that he named La Conquête du Monde (meaning The Conquest of the World.) This game would be brought to the United States two years later under the name RISK. The game of global domination has since been republished half a dozen times and spawned many new versions especially in the last ten years. When I discovered it in the early 90s it was just a simple game of global domination that quickly became very addictive for me and my friends. I have made it a point to collect every new edition that has come out since then. Some have been great additions or tributes to the classic game. Others have been a waste of money and have collected dust. Here is my guide to the collection of games that now make up Risk. You can find most of these games as www.hasbro.com/risk

Risk: The Original Game

There have been countless versions of this original game. Some versions are in a big circular tin while others stick to the cardboard box. There is also a 40th edition that has cool metal pieces. The game is the same not matter what container you find it in. You have the classic board and pieces representing units. Any version made after 1993 has mission cards added to it that can add a nice twist to the game if you end up playing it a lot. If you are a board game collector at all you should have at least one version of this game. It is a classic and while eventually you will find a couple strategies will dominate the game every time, it is still one of the greatest board games of all time. Grade: A-

Castle Risk

This game can be hard to find now. It was released in 1986 and as far as I know has never had a republishing. The game is set only in Europe and the focus is in protecting your castles from the other players. I had a copy of this game but it really was not very good. A lot of the ideas were stellar but it was just a big old mess. It is most likely not worth the trouble of tracking down. Grade: C-

Risk 2210 AD

This is the Risk game that really changed it all. The board is set in a distant future with all new territories like the Confederate Biospheres and the Amazon Desert. Each game four of these territories were selected at random to be nuclear wastelands. There were also underwater colonies and the moon. New commander units and fortresses allows for lots of new strategy. The setting is really cool, the units are fun and I really think it opens up the game a lot. Grade: A

Risk Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition

Do not bother with the other two Lord of the Rings Risk games. They came out before this version and are not full representations of the game. For the full experience get this copy that has the whole board and allows your hoards to experience the entire adventure. This game takes place on Middle Earth of course and has a great game board. There are some nice rules here that make the game different each go around, but some of the rules seem like a waste of time. It is fun for fans of the movie but is not a perfect game. Grade: B

Risk Godstorm

This is another very solid rethinking of the Risk game. The board is set during ancient times and there are god units that have special abilities much like the commander units in 2210. The coolest feature is that when your units die they just go to the underworld where they can battle it out there. The game can get pretty complicated and it's not as well thought out as Risk 2210 but it is still a really solid game for those that like a more advance challenge. Grade: A-

Risk Star Wars Clone Wars Edition

I was really excited about this game but in the end it was kind of a let down. The board is not that great and the game really does not add anything new. If you're a fan of the new series of Star War movies you might want this game but I found that it was kind of a waste of time. Grade: C-

Risk Start Wars Original Trilogy Edition

This game came out about a year after the first Star Wars Risk. It is a great improvement over the first try but still not an amazing game. I like the board a lot more and the fact that each faction has different missions was a really nice twist. It allows for this game to stand alone as a different type of Risk game. This is still not a great game, but a great improvement. Grade: B-

Risk The Transformers Edition

I have to admit at this point I am kind of getting tired of the movie tie in board games. This game is not as silly as the Spiderman version of Sorry but it also does not offer much new to the game. I found the board to be really boring and the extra features did not wow me at all. I think I have played this game once. It is not a bad game but it is also pretty forgettable. Grade: C

Risk Junior: Narnia

Yet another movie tie in but this one has a twist. It's a Risk game for kids, something I have wanted to see on the market for a long time now. This game has a nice board and I think the rules work out well for smaller kids. It's not really a game meant for hardcore board gamers like myself but I still think its pretty cool. Grade: B+

There is also a new Risk game coming out soon that I will try and write a full review of. I have also heard rumors of a Risk game based on Halo that makes me cringe. In the end its best to stick with the original unless you want a more advance experience. Then I would buy Risk 2210 or Godstorm depending on your taste. Both are solid games that add a lot while not taking away the classic feel of a long epic Risk game.

Sources
www.hasbro.com/risk