Designed by: Albert Lamorisse,Michael I. Levin
Monopoly, Cluedo and Risk make up the triumvirate of old school family board games; and where Cluedo asked you to solve a single murder, and Monopoly to close your eyes to the evils of rampant capitalism, Risk invites you to indulge in a little bit of world war. As with the other two entries, it feels unnecessary to elucidate the rules – there are many more interesting modern games that dip toes into similar waters – if you don’t know Risk, we wouldn’t recommend it over a number of others. It feels old-fashioned, and not in a good way; very luck-dependent, unbalanced, and a little bit spiteful.
However if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Risk fan you may want to explore the highly-rated Risk Legacy. It takes the mechanics of the original game and mixes in something new: over multiple plays the parameters of the game change. You get to name cities and regions and open envelopes that give you certain benefits etc. Be warned; the game is designed to be played multiple times so don’t rush out and purchase on a whim.
Much too long for the amount of luck involved, and there are, simply, better games out there. I'd like to try Risk: Legacy though.
It's a war, so lots of direct confrontation and unpleasantness.
Lots of waiting around.
Not enough.
Only once the mental bruising subsides.
2-6
Players
12+
Years
120+
Mins
Sam says
I probably have a bit more time for Risk than Joe does, as I whiled away quite a few summer evenings playing it many moons ago. But take the nostalgia factor away and it does feel like it's now been superseded by many games that play a lot faster and don't hinge quite so heavily on the luck factor. If you really want to be able to fight for world (or galactic) domination, you are now very well catered for! As well as the related games on the right, you could try the historically-themed Memoir 44, the epic economic warfare of Colonial, the feisty space battles of Quantum, the cunning tactical challenge of Wallenstein or the verging-on-silliness strategy/flicking combo of Ascending Empires, all of which put Risk in the shade really. But if what you really want is Risk, then play Spheres of Influence, which has the same flavour and sense of ongoing bunfight, but with added intrigue - and about four hours shorter.