Regular commenter and contributor Frank who often fills in behind the scenes with Crossword Cove screenshots and Trivial Pursuit answers when the regulars are unavailable has written this strategy guide to alleviate some of the confusion about RISK and help prepare you all for any future badges in RISK. Moreover, if you have any questions about or additions to this guide, feel free to leave a comment below. Frank will be checking the comments regularly to provide further discussion. Thanks Frank!
RISK Strategy Scenario: North America
Many people are intimidated by Parker Brother’s board game, Risk. It’s not a difficult game if you possess the aptitude of determining odds and, as the game is appropriately named, take a Risk! Once you get the hang of the game, subsequent games become easier and easier. When engaged in a solitary game playing against bots, their behavior will become more and more predictable.
There’s a reason for this: Strategy! The bots are obviously artificial intelligence and don’t learn as the game progresses. Instead, they’re programmed with the basic skills of attempting to beat the odds. Human behavior, on the other hand, is unpredictable so, if played right, your moves and strategy will outsmart the bots.
The following screenshots and text provide one scenario to successfully winning a game of Risk. As a disclaimer, every game will be different and this is one of umpteen gazillion ways the game may be played. The deployment, order of elimination, attacks, reinforcements, territory cards, and other factors will alter in every game. It’s up to the player to adapt to these situations. This following game provides strategy against four bots if you were to use North America as a launching point for attacks. (Click any of the following screenshots to view the full-sized version.)
In the beginning of risk, you will be presented with a global map. Notice each continent is divided into territories. Next to each continent is a circular icon, which will illuminate to a player’s color if all territories on that continent is successfully secured. Territories that are more difficult to secure will award additional units. Here’s the breakdown:
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Australia = 2 Units
South America = 2 Units
Africa = 3 Units
Europe = 5 Units
North America = 5 Units
Asia = 7 Units
One has to consider the borders they will need to defend in order to maintain the extra unit allotment. The continents with more difficult borders to protect provide more extra units than the easily-defended continents. Here is the number of borders one must successfully protect to keep those extra units:
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Australia = 1 Border
South America = 2 Borders
Africa = 3 Borders
North America = 3 Borders
Europe = 4 Borders
Asia = 5 Borders
That ranking is almost the same as the number of extra units. However, there is one difference — a swap between North America and Europe. Ooh! An advantage for North America! Due to this, it is best to secure that continent. It takes less borders to secure in order to gain the maximum amount of additional units. During the deployment phase of the game, the human player should focus on that continent. Since deployment order is determined by the roll of a die, it is to your advantage to be the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd player. If you’re 4th or 5th, you’re virtually screwed. The bots will most likely choose Australia and South America to colonize first, since they require the least amount of territories to gain additional units. However, there will be complications for those bots, which will be addressed later.
For this game, I am the blue player. The rest are bots. In the deployment phase, ignore South America and Australia. Those continents (along with Africa) tend to become heavily-enforced war zones for the bots to fight out. Try to focus on North America by first securing the three vulnerable areas (Alaska, Greenland, and Central America). Once this is complete, deploy troops to the other areas. Sometimes you can successfully secure the entire continent without any interference with the bots. However, on most occasions, at least one enemy will claim a territory.
In preparation of this, let the bot take Alberta. This will be most useful during the fortification phase. During the fortification phase, you must place additional troops on your claimed territories. Reinforce your borders (Alaska, Greenland, and Central America). However, pay attention to that one enemy that is occupying your desired continent. If you place too many troops next to that enemy, there will be an arms race and the bot will attempt to fortify his foothold with additional troops. Let that bot fall into a false sense of security.
Notice how Australia is a hotbed of troop activity? The purple bot wants to secure the continent so it could gain additional units. However, the yellow bot wishes to foil that plan by placing a large amount of troops in Indonesia. This will typically happen with South America, Australia and Africa. In this game, it didn’t transpire on Africa, but one bot will usually try to take Madagascar or South Africa. [After playing the online version over 100 times, like I initially indicated, the bots become predictable.]
Notice how the screenshot shows that there are eight troops on the Eastern United States. This was done on purpose, since the red bot does don’t feel “threatened” by the massing of troops. The bots only pay attention to the amount of troops adjacent to the territory. With six on Alaska, the bot dedicated limited resources to North America because a majority of the troops were focused in Europe. Clearly the red bot wishes to gain the five units for securing that continent.
In this game, the roll of the die determined that I was the third player to attack. Keep in mind, the purpose of the game is to secure territories. As the yellow bot was first to go, he wanted to secure South America, which would allow him two additional units on his next turn.
After the yellow bot secured South America, the purple bot maintained its stronghold on Australia. Meanwhile, I successfully attacked the red bot in Alberta from adjacent Alaska, which will allow me to have five additional units on my next turn. Don’t be greedy when you’re attacking! Notice in this screenshot that I only have one troop on Alaska, but purple has four on the adjacent Kamchatka territory. This leaves me vulnerable. If the purple bot attacks me before my next turn and secures Alaska, I will not get those additional five units. How am I going to secure my borders?
This is where the troops I amassed in the Eastern United States comes into play. I moved all of those troops to Alaska. On purple’s turn, he will only have five additional troops to reinforce (the game’s default of three plus the bonus two units for securing Australia). I’m still vulnerable in Central America. However, the yellow bot in Brazil looks like it will be attacked from Africa. Always anticipate these moves! When a bot places a lot of troops in an area, it may be for offense or defense. That’s where the risk comes in. Would yellow want to attack North America, break my control, and risk getting attacked by the green bot? Or would yellow want to reinforce Brazil? Risk is a strategy game for a reason. You must anticipate these moves. After several games, it will become easier to predict the bots’ moves.
In this screenshot, I predicted the right call. Since the object of the game is to maintain an advantage, the green bot figured it would be best to break the yellow bot’s stronghold of South America. Otherwise, on the next turn, yellow would have had two additional units. If green could break that advantage, then yellow would be vulnerable. See the yellow troops in Asia and Europe? They’re cut off from South America. South America cannot be helped by those. So, there is no way to bring those reinforcements over. This is exactly why you should never randomly place troops on the map during the initial deployment phase in the beginning of the game. If your troops are cut off, there are more vulnerable borders and you lose the advantage of shifting troops to where they are most needed.
Now, look at Egypt. See how the green bot has a lot of troops there? It could be for defense or it could be for attack. Most likely green would attack southern Europe. The red bot almost has control of all of Europe, so green wants to eliminate that.
Notice the results now? The green bot did win Southern Europe. However, it suffered heavy losses (as did red). Both armies were weakened. On my turn, I poured all my troops into Central America. Since I still held North America, I was successfully rewarded five additional units. I want to attack South America so I could break the yellow bot’s hold on that continent. I have a high chance of success with 12 units versus yellow’s five.
Again, don’t be greedy! I could have gone for more territories, but it’d leave me vulnerable to attack. Brazil still has four troops occupied by the yellow bot. I might be able to defeat them, but could still be attacked from Africa by the green bot. Instead, I rested my troops in Venezula.
Now, it’s time to reinforce my borders. Remember my troops in Alberta? It’d be to my advantage to move them to Venezula for my next turn. Those troops are useless to me in Alberta, since Alaska is secure against the purple bot. It would be best for me to move them to a weaker border. Why not Greenland? Well, Europe is still disputed and nobody secures the entire continent. Besides, I feel “safe” with three units there, compared to the red bot’s single troop.
Doing the math, and knowing that the yellow bot doesn’t have any secured continents, the yellow bot could only put three troops on the map on its next turn. If yellow bot poured those troops in Brazil, the highest amount of troops it could have would be seven (4 + 3 = 7), which pales in comparison with my nine in Venezula. Bots generally do not attack territories if they are outnumbered. If they do, it only transpired when another player is going to be eliminated. The bot is willing to take that risk if it can acquire territory and fully neutralize an opponent.
You can see that the yellow bot didn’t attack me. Instead, the yellow bot focused on Asia and Africa where it had a better chance to secure a territory. Also, the purple bot declined to attack, since it had no direct advantage on the map. On my next turn, I poured more troops into Venezula. Since the yellow bot moved into Africa, it would be in my best interest to secure all of South America. The best method is to go from Venezuela to Peru, then Argentina, and finally Brazil. Keep in mind: DON’T BE GREEDY! Once I reached Brazil, I rested. Why? Now I have both North America and South America in my control. That would give me seven units on my next turn. With North and South America in my favor, I would only have to protect Greenland, Alaska, and Brazil. Had I moved to North Africa, I could be attacked from five different territories. In this scenario, this is exactly why I stopped at Brazil.
On my next turn, I decided to strengthen Alaska and Greenland. I could leave South America alone for now, since it was well-fortified and the yellow bot was exceptionally weakened. The purple bot was looking like a growing threat with six troops in Kamchatka. Meanwhile, the red bot was fighting a losing battle and soon doomed for elimination. Both the green bot and my troops eliminated red the red bot. I now have a stronghold in Europe, and made my way into Asia. Purple’s troops in northeast Asia do not compare to my 16 units in Kamchatka. Do I be greedy and eliminate them all? Or do I maintain reserve and slowly attack them? A slower attack would be better. In this case, I focused only on Japan. That way, I could divide my troops in half. I still hold an advantage.
Oh, what about those territory cards? If you successfully secure a territory, you win a territory card. [If you don’t secure any territory on your turn, you don’t get squat. Losers get no spoils of war!] Anyway, If you have three territory cards with the same matching symbol, you can turn them in for additional units. Also, you can turn them in if all three are different, such as the example in the image above. There is another symbol which contains all three (not pictured) and it is considered a “wild” card.
What determines the number of additional units you receive? Refer to the three cards pictured in the Indian Ocean between Africa and Australia. As players redeem territory cards for bonus units, the numbers on the cards increase. The first person to redeem territory cards will get four bonus units. The second person will get six bonus units. The third; eight. Fourth; 10. Fifth; 15. Sixth; 20. The number of units increases each time a player redeems three territory cards.
Likewise, pay attention to how many territory cards the opponent has. The maximum amount a player can hold in its hand is five. Be careful when these cards are redeemed. If you are at an advantage, don’t use them early on in the game. Why? The next person to redeem three territory cards will get additional troops and that may leave you vulnerable to attack. Heed caution and use your best judgment when redeeming territory cards.
In this screen, you may note that I did redeem three of my cards. On his last turn, the green bot ambushed Greenland and broke my hold of North America. Because of that, I lost five additional units on my next turn. However, once I redeemed my cards, I was able to deploy bonus troops in North America and re-secure my territories. I successfully eliminated the purple bot in northeast Asia. Finally, I halted my troops in Mongolia and Siberia, since that allowed only two borders to protect in Asia. Had I moved to Ural, I’d have to content with three borders — and the yellow bot’s five troops in Russia. I much rather stop where I’m at next to the yellow bot’s two units in Ural and China.
On my next turn, I deployed units to Siberia and Mongolia and spread myself through Asia. I stopped at Southeast Asia, since both yellow and purple were fighting in Australia. The purple bot is highly weakened with two territories left. However, the yellow bot is just as weak. Nevertheless, the yellow bot wants to eliminate purple because yellow could (a.) gain all of Australia and (b.) upon elimination, gain THREE territory cards. If the yellow bot does that, it could get 20 bonus troops assuming yellow has three matching territory cards.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Now, on my turn again, I held three continents. This gave me 14 additional units — two from South America, five from North America, and seven from Asia! Where should I attack? Strategy! The best move would be Australia. Notice there are more enemies in Africa and Europe. I don’t have the resources to attack those continents and defend my own territories. My best move would be to pour all my troops into the Southeast Asia territory. Between the yellow and purple bot, there are only eight troops there. Also, if I attack Australia, I could effectively neutralize the purple bot who has three territory cards. Since I have two territory cards, if I gained purple’s three, I’d be FORCED to redeem them. Remember, you can hold only five territory cards. If I succeed, I’d get 20 additional units.
With the purple eliminated and being forced to redeem territory cards, I placed a large number of troops in Brazil. Now it was my opportunity to make a move into Africa from South America. As this is strategy, moving through Africa would allow me to eliminate the yellow bot and cut off the green bot’s troops. Even though the green bot has most of Europe under its control, it cannot call for reinforcements from Africa. The six troops in Africa are effectively isolated and contained.
The green bot was becoming weaker and weaker. I secured Africa. This gave me 19 extra units (5 + 2 + 7 + 2 + 3 = 19). Troops I placed in the Middle East moved into Europe. My troops in Greenland invaded Iceland and the northern countries. Now the green bot was surrounded on all sides. Time to eliminate the green bot in Southern Europe and win the game.
Trish says
Jst happened to stumble on this……TYSSSSSSSSSSSVVVVVVVVMMMMM Frank in advance!!!! Never played the game, but in reading comments posted here on various threads had come to DREAD the thought of any upcoming weeklies in this game. You are a SAVIOR indeed. And, as always Lura, TY for posting. YOU’RE THE BESSSSSSSSST!!!!!
Genevieve says
Good Evening, this is very helpful. I did get the badge in the new album and it was easier than I thought. The game really isn’t bad and the above explanation and screenshots really help. Thank you so much for posting the information. By the way, do you happen to know what the upcoming badge will be? Thank You again.
Frank says
My Lord! Somebody had too much time on their hands! 😛
Yeah, like Lura said above, I’ll be happy to answer any questions folks have about this game. I just got to Rank 27 this evening. This game might look difficult, but it’s a lot of fun if you enjoy strategy. I’m looking forward to badges in the future.
mspatmac says
This is incredible Frank. What a wonderful gift to your BH friends who have struggled with Risk. You broke it down simply and it should alleviate major concerns when we get Risk as a challenge. I appreciate the time and effort you put into this guide and am almost looking forward to upcoming challenges!
Thanks again
Pat
Frank says
Genevive, I haven’t seen any specific date available for a RISK badge, but there was some information on Pogo’s site with the “Letters to the Editor” column:
http://www.pogo.com/news/us/letterstoeditor/letters-2010.jsp#2010-05-05
The response had the following:
“Editor: One of the purposes of having challenges is so that people will be compelled to try new games. RISK, believe or not, is a very popular game and we will be having challenges for it in the future.
But, don’t sweat it too much. We recognize the learning curve on this game, and the challenges will be designed so that those without the intricate knowledge of all the rules will still be able to earn the badge.
I would recommend that those unfamiliar with the game read the Beginner’s Guide to Risk to get the gist of the game.”
Obviously that doesn’t say when, but at least Pogo confirms that there will be upcoming badges. I’m glad this will provide some support for both you and Trish (and anybody else who stumbles upon this). As I told Lura, the Pogo rules with the game tend to be complicated. They make it more confusing than it really should be. That’s why I figured some sort of a visual would be appreciated by the audience.
Trish says
LOL Frank…that SOMEBODY was ME….and jst for making that statement and since you’re looking forward to badges in the future…YOU will do ALL RISK badges for me…..NO KIDDING!!! LOL. On a more serious note, I’m sure I’ll be seeking you out when the first badge rolls around…the only strategy I’m good at is plotting revenge against people I don’t like….so WATCH OUT!!! Thx again Frank.
redlion621 says
while you guys plot against each other i am still lost and do not understand risk at all – even the easy instructions are too deep for me and i dread the day a weekly badge shows up. i did not by the lastest album because of risk – still depressed and feel dumber each time someone says its so easy – well maybe for you
sog says
Gee. This is really quite amazing Frank. You deserve a Badge fot this. No BS. This will help many people. You clearly put a great deal of time and CARE into this.
(I have played Risk only a little on Pogo, but am a serious player of the boardgame.)
This is almost like sitting across the gameboard from you.
ratpeople_ says
My major beef with this game is that it takes FOREVER to play – maybe I am doing things wrong? I have been playing against the bots and it just seems to go back and forth – gain some, lose some. Eventually, one of the bots always seem to win. Game is fun, but very time consuming. If there is a challenge badge someday with this, I hope it won’t take this long to play!
ellen520 says
Well, I have yet to play RISK, but when I finally get to it, I’m sure I will have these wonderful instructions and screen shots close at hand. THANK YOU, FRANK for all your time and effort on behalf of all BH’ers…YOU ARE THE MAN!!! And thanks to Lura for encouraging you to share your knowledge and expertise with us!!
Takman2k says
I find the Aussie attacks help the most for me. I considered how many points i would have to fortify or reinforce during my turn. Today i was playing against the bots and one of them had 3/4 of the whole map, sitting in Siam, and i had 4 troops left, 1 on each of the Aussie continent. Long story, short, I won the game by getting Siam back and building troops on it. It was a very difficult game i got a card set at 25 then the next one at 60 new men. Frustrating that i couldnt do anything for 5 turns, no matches.
Takman2k says
PS… The bots love to attack you always, and any chance you get. They smell fresh meat for those who have the 5th most men/territories.
Joe says
Wow Frank! I can’t wait for the first weekly challenge badge to try out your strategy.
I’d like to add my little strategy for those interested in ranking up. (Risk strategists and purists, avert your eyes!) I’m at Rank 47, and in my experience, it has been one of the quickest Pogo games to rank out in. You earn rank progress by finishing a game. You get the same rank progress if you are the first army wiped out as you do if you achieve world domination. Needless to say, if you are focused on ranks, it is to your advantage to get wiped out quickly. If I get lucky, I can complete an entire game (get wiped out) only having taken one turn! On average, one game will take somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes.
In the territory selection phase, your goal is to spread your armies all over the place and make them as vulnerable as possible. The first two bots will go for Australia and South America because they only have four territories to secure a troop bonus. Your first territory should be one territory in one of those continents and your next turn should be one in the other continent. If you don’t get an army in each of those continents on your first two turns, the bots will eat them up. On your third and fourth turns, you should choose one territory in Africa and one in North America. After that, start selecting the remaining territories in Europe and Asia that have many bordering territories. Good choices are Kamchatka, Russia, Siberia, China and the Middle East. Try to avoid those that only have two or three bordering territories, and try to avoid grouping your armies together. (If you are first to pick, take Kamchatka, then you can pick up something in Australia and South America on your second and third turns.)
During the fortification phase, just press “AUTO”. You don’t want to take up needless time strategically building up your armies in the wrong territories. The AUTO fortification usually does it for you! As Frank says, it will usually result in an arms race. A bot will fortify a territory that is next to a territory of yours that has a large number of units in it. If you end up with a 7 or 8 in a particular territory, there’s a good chance that a bot will have a territory of at least that strength right next to you.
As the game begins, the bots will generally be attacking your armies! You should have at least one territory in each continent, so the bots that are trying to secure a continent will try to wipe you out of that area.
When it is your turn, you have to start by reinforcing your territories with three units. (Boo!) Ideally, you might have a territory with a 1-strength next to an enemy territory with an 8-strength. You would put all three of your units into that territory and attack the strong bot territory. Often, you wont get so lucky and have to spread your 3 units out. You will be attacking with every army that has larger than 1 unit in it, so place your units in territories that are bordering bot armies with bigger numbers in them.
Once you have reinforced, attack! Attack every possible stronger bot army you can. Your goal is to have every one of your armies with a number 1 in them by the end of your turn. Keep attacking even if appears you will take over a territory. Having three territories with a 1-strength army is much more vulnerable than having one territory with a 3-strength army. Also, you should plan ahead. You might have to conquer a territory of a bot that has a 1-strength to get to the border of a very strong bot territory.
Once your armies are weakened, the bots will focus more on trying to wipe you out so that they will snatch your cards, then the game is over! You get rank progress and a Jackpot Spin for finishing last. What a world!
One possible hang-up: Watch out in Australia! In a few games when I wasn’t paying attention, during my attacks, the Auto-fortification built up a strong army for me in Australia. During the attack phase, I conquered one of the other three territories in the continent to get all of my territories to 1-strength. By the next time my turn rolled around, the only territories I had left were in Australia, and I was forced to reinforce them and attack neighboring territories, which were likely weak. The other bots had their world domination plans in place, and none of them included trying to immediately occupy out-of-the-way Australia. I would have to keep reinforcing my Australian armies and attacking Asia until I was spread thin, then just hope a bot would set Australia in its sights. Sometimes it would take 9 or 10 turns for the game to end. Ugh! A couple of times, I actually finished the game in third place because I was still hanging on as two of the bots got wiped out completely!
Since Australia can easily become a problem, I often do not attack with that army on my first turn and instead wait for the surrounding bot armies to take that number down a few pegs, if not wipe it out completely. However, if another Australian territory greatly outnumbers your army, go ahead and attack it to get your territory to a 1-strength.
Lastly, you may often gain a card or two when you conquer a territory. Make sure that you do not turn your cards in if you get three. There’s usually an option to click the “X” button that will let you “save your cards for later”. You will have to reinforce your territories with three units every turn, which is bad enough. You certainly don’t want to add to that number.
Risk makes an excellent “multi-tasking” ranking game. Once you get the hang of it, you can easily play this game and rank up without paying too much attention to it. You can leave the computer for a couple of minutes between turns while the bots fiddle around. You do have to do something during each of your turns, though. If your turn timer expires on both the fortification and attack phases, you will automatically “stand up” and become a watcher, and the game will be over. (No rank progress!)
The first rank badge is awarded after completing 50 games, which is no problem at all if you’re not trying to win every game. I hope this helps those who think they’ll never get a rank badge in this game, and I hope this doesn’t anger the Risk fans on BH too much lol.
Frank says
ratpeople_ #8: You can limit the game by eliminating the dice rolling phase. Personally, I keep that turned off because I get bored watching five dice on the screen. That alone will cut game play in half. You can get rid of that through the setup menu by checking the “Disable Battle Screen” option.
Also, there are options to play the game which will allow games to be shorter. Select the “Game Condition” drop-down menu and change the criteria to “Control 24 Territories.” That means game play will continue until that many territories are held. Refer to the image below:
Game play will increase dramatically with 24 Territories. I never play it, since I want to play to the fighting end. Global domination takes about 20 – 30 minutes for me, so I could imagine 24 Territories would be much less. If there is a badge for this game, I do not foresee it as “win 5 games” or something ridiculous. I’d assume it’d be something like “capture 25 territories” (win 25 battles) or “secure one continent”. I wouldn’t see Pogo being sadists so early in the release of a new game.
redlion621 #7. The game depends on strategy and probability. You don’t have to be a math genius to play, thankfully. See, just think of it this way. If you had a 1 in 2 chance of winning the lottery or a 1 in 10 chance in winning a drawing — which would you choose? Obviously the lottery. Why? With 1 ticket, you have a 50% chance of winning. But with the drawing, one ticket gives you a 10% chance of winning. The lottery would give you a better chance. RISK is just like that.
So, when you play RISK, the odds are almost the same in the beginning (essentially 1 to 1). A 1:1 chance would result in a stalemate. That’s why I suggested throwing 3 pieces (or whatever number) into a specific area. Your odds of winning a battle increase.
If anybody ever wants to try to coordinate a time to play online, I’ll be happy to try and schedule some opportunity when we’re available (and that means you, too, Trish!). It just might start making some of those light bulbs go on.
ellen520 #10 and sog #8. And thank you! I loved this game ever since I was a child and still remember playing this for hours on end. Many people consider it a “boys’ game” but I don’t mind. It’s certainly a lot better than Makeover Madness (UGH!!!).
[And to Genevieve, apologies for spelling your name wrong above. My bad! First I did that to Lura last week and now you. Oops!]
MomsBassetHound says
Frank – Thanks for taking all that time to put that together. I never saw the game before Pogo, so it’s a real help. I did manage to do the premium badge in 1 game….as soon as I figured out how to start an attack 🙂 But I had printed out the 2 sets of directions from the Pogo help section and read them twice before I started.
Everyone has a favorite game, this will not be mine. But I can understand how some people will love it.
My game took a little over 2 hours b/c if I was going to play I was going to try to win. I outlasted 2 bots….and really did not understand all that was going on.
Thanks again Frank….great job!!!
Suz
wheatonmom44 says
Frank??? Are you a woman? I guess your “name” confused me.
OK…I am going to play this now. I love the board game Risk and have had marathon sessions with friends lasting 6 or 7 hours and believe me it does get quite intense. I have been a little afraid of playing it on Pogo because people have made it sound a bit overwhelming.
But now with Franks advice I feel confident. Wow, Frank, you put a lot of time into this. Thank you so very much. I think it will be very helpful to a lot of people.
Moms #15 has a good suggestion…print out the actual instructions for the game to have them in hand…never thought of that before.
WTG Frank…I am in awe of it all, the directions, the screenshots, etc. Thank you so very much.
Frank says
Takman2k #11. The problem with the smaller continents is that there tends to be an arms race – if you allow it to happen. You can prevent that by pretending to “ignore” the bots stockpiling troops at a specific location. That’s why I made the suggestion to amass a large number of troops in a neutral area that isn’t adjacent to an enemy.
Joe #13: Congratulations on being on rank 47. I will agree that this game ranks very quick. attribute it to how uniform progress transpires – each rank requires only five games. Even if you lose, you’re still one game closer to your next rank. Theoretically, somebody could purposely lose every game and be at rank 50 in a single weekend. It’s not like the other games on Pogo which require 10,000 wins and then alters to something else. I do want to try and rank out of this before the summer.
I like your idea about spreading the pieces around. So, your strategy is to play to lose? Heh. I just didn’t want to ruin my success rating. I haven’t tried that from the get-go but have purposely baited the bots to attack territories I don’t care about. I’ll move in with a large number of troops, rest them, and quickly relocate them to another territory I desire to get at the end of my next turn. Also, if I see a weak bot with 3 – 5 territory cards, I’ll try to pour all my troops in a single location and try to defeat him. Sometimes, you can knock out two bots in the same turn. On one game, I eliminated three bots on a single turn, thanks to constant reinforcements from gaining territory cards.
Suz #15: Very much appreciated. I was utterly excited when Pogo stated they were going to release RISK. I’m hoping they will consider doing the boardgame, Life. Remember that? Since RISK takes a long time, I’d like to see if they can adapt Life. I truly don’t mind playing these long games. They tend to go as long as a game of Scrabble or Monopoly.
#16 wheatonmom44: Nope, I’m a guy. My comment was phrased incorrectly, which left some ambiguity. I was citing that I don’t care that people consider RISK to be a boys’ game. I’ve read on forums and have gotten feedback from females that won’t touch the game because it’s male-oriented. Anyway, I’m glad the scenario helped provide some clarity (albeit being as long as a novel).
Bronze says
On stats theres “Fastest Win” … mine has a 1 and a friend has a 3 in lifetime. How did we get this?
beth says
wow how nice and awsome it was of you to take you time and knowledge of risk and do this for all of us here at badgehungry, really shows you care about your fellow bh-ers, thank you so very much frank!!!
and now just to say have never played risk the board game nor here on pogo lol, sad part probably NEVER will if i do happen to get the album that has the challenge in it will prolly try and bribe some one to get it for me….yea sad huh lmao, even with this great help of franks im lost, well maybe more overwhelmed…..
but thank-you ever so kindly frank!!
Sheljin says
Frank, I just want to add my thank you to everyone else’s! What a giant job you took on, but obviously out of love for the game. I haven’t had the time to even think about reading the instructions – which can be intimidating themselves. I mean, how often has Pogo actually done EXTRA instructions??? lol But knowing I have this thread to refer back to, I feel at peace. Whenever I do have the time, or have to for a badge, I’m sure you have me covered. Thanks again.
Joe – ty to you too! I’m sure there are a big contingent of folks looking for the quickest way to rank when you don’t care about your stats. A nice compliment to Frank’s instructions.
~Shel ;>
Takman2k says
Frank #17. This doesnt create an arms race. I put all of my men in Aussie somewhere, they get one territ and put 3 or 4 of them on it, so 20 v 4 isnt a problem, then fort up to Siam.
jaredph says
Nice post frank!
In case you are wondering what the “spoils of war” are, I have a small list of them as well as what they are worth (please correct me if one of them is wrong):
starting a turn in 1st place: 25 tokens
starting a turn in 2nd place: 20 tokens
starting a turn in 3rd place: 10 tokens
starting a turn in 4th place: 8 tokens
starting a turn in 5th place: 5 tokens
turning in cards to get reinforcements: 20 tokens
securing a territory: 10 tokens
winning 4 battles in a row: 15 tokens (instead of 10)
winning 5 battles in a row: 25 tokens
breaking another player’s hold on a continent: 50 tokens
securing a continent: 75 tokens
winning a battle on defense: 5 tokens
winning a battle against 2x or worse odds: 10 tokens
winning a battle against 3x or worse odds: 20 tokens
winning a battle against 4x or worse odds: 30 tokens (this pattern continues, as far as i can tell)
eliminating a player: 100 tokens
eliminating a 2nd player: 200 tokens
eliminating a 3rd player: 300 tokens
eliminating a 4th player: 500 tokens
Hope this helps!
jaredph
Richard K. says
FANTASTIC post Frank. You gave a GREAT guide for the 5 player game. I personally like using the “double browser” and UNCHECKING allow computer players to fill seats. This way you have yourself on say “internet explorer” another ID on second browser say “firefox” and your other person will be the ROBOT. You control yourself and the other ID and you gang up on the ROBOT and STOMP his butt and then you can decide which ID you want to win. Goes FAST this way. Only 3 players total. Game is really the same as you posted but a LOT faster if you use the “double browser”. Just a suggestion. I am already rank 37 and love playing this way. I use WORLD DOMINATION setting.
grace54 says
ratpeople #9 – if you want the game to go quicker you can opt for the number of turns in the set-up screen (see #24). I usually set the turn limit to 10 if I don’t have time to play the whole game out.
Lori says
Frank, you have been a great help but the problem I am having is the reinforcement stage. I can’t seem to get the people moved to where I need them. When I click on one to move across the board it goes from reinforcement to fortify and my turn ends. What am I doing wrong?? Thanks
Lori says
I found the answer to my question so thanks anyway..
Jan in Denver says
That is an awesome write up on RISK strategy, Frank. Reading the Letters to the Editor piece in Pogo helped me quite a bit, but your write up clarified many points. I had been reluctant to dive in, but now I am definitely going to give the game a try.
Jillian says
Frank,
Awesome guide! I’ve never played Risk before but managed to read Pogo’s ‘How to Play’ and understand enough to play a few games, even managing to win one or two, but your instructions helped immensly on why I won those (I had managed to secure South America early on).
The question I have is this… can you please go into a little detail on what is happening during the battle phase? Pogo’s ‘How to Play’ really doesn’t explain it, and I have no idea what I should be ‘praying’ for when I see the dice rolling. LOL I guess I could disable it, but I really would like to understand the game as much as possible before doing that… horror of horrors if I were ever asked to play it anywhere else but on Pogo! Thanks!
Flossie says
WOW, I was shocked to see all the info on playing RISK. I have never played in my life and figured I never would be able to understand it. I have a badge to go for and figured I would never get it, I still may not. I will be trying to understand the game from all this info, thanks Frank. This might give me a chance to get my badge.
I just wanted to say that I had a terrible time playing Clue, several city’s would not load. I had bought all of them and could only finish the one free on and another. I did all the things they advised and still nothing. I got drastic and restored my PC to its factory settings and started from scratch. It worked and I can now play the game with no problem.
Trish says
FRANK….IF YOU’RE READING….Now that the weeklies are out of the way….and…at the RISK of PROVING myself the village idiot…if/when you organize that group you talked about in your post (#14) ..I’LL BE THERE….WITH BELLS ON!!! lol….would LOVE to learn the game. Thx again Frank.
Indy says
Frank – this is absolutely nothing short of amazing. The fact that you took the time to help those of us so terribly intimidated by this game speaks volumes for you personally.
Thanks so much for your effort and plain, down to earth explanation of a game many don’t even want to try because sometimes the instructions are harder to understand than the game. I have tried the game, have gotten no where, decided to give up…but ya know what? I’m going in again, thanks to you.
Kudos also to Joe and all those other fine BH folks for adding additional tips.
MomsBassetHound says
Flossie # 29 – I had no clue about how to play, had just read the info on Pogo News and Letters to Editor. This was before Frank wrote this awesome article. I got that premium badge in 1 game. It’s actually not that hard to win a battle, and the game is long enough to give you all the wins you need for the badge. And there are plenty of people on BH who really know how to play the game and will help you if you can’t get the badge. Give it a try, it’s really not as bad as it looks 🙂
Frank – I’d also like to know about the dice (Jillian #28) and what I should yell for…LOL
Suz
Frank says
Sorry I wasn’t around yesterday. We had some severe thunderstorms here in the Midwest and my power was knocked out. The power wasn’t the reason but, rather, my hard drive becoming corrupted with fragmented files from the sudden disconnect by the blackout. UGH!
Bronze #18. I’m still trying to figure that out myself! I have been looking around on the Pogo rules and they mention nothing about that stat. I have a lifetime “Fastest Win” of four (4) and don’t know what it means. There was one in a game where I got a six (6), but I think the lower numbers are better. That’s because my lifetime “Fastest Win” remains a four (4).
As far as I’m concerned, it cannot possibly be knocking out an opponent. It isn’t a time measurement. It cannot be a quantity of troops, since you cannot attack with a one (1). Maybe it’s the amount of times you attacked an enemy before they were eliminated. I’ll check some scenarios and count the number of actions in a game.
Sheljin #20. I will admit I looked at the RISK help guide on Pogo and was absolutely boggled. Going through it, the FAQs makes assumptions that new players to the game would possibly not comprehend. I had no idea how to do the basics, such as moving troops or play the territory cards. After playing for a long while, I decided to do the write-up in hopes that people who never played the game (online or in person) would at least understand what was going on. Plus I felt bad that the game was getting all the negative press. I had to protect my baby! Heh.
Beth #19. I hope the game gets easier for you and others down the road. If you’re one of those people that “must” have every weekly badge in an annual album, you’ll be forced to play this game (or have somebody play it for you). It’s really not that difficult. I’m sure there are analogies with events we do with our daily life that would make it applicable but, for me, this game is more of a numbers game.
Takman2k #21. Many of the times, if you start building on a specific area where you are immediately next to a bot, they will try to reinforce their troops. RISK is about probability. The object is to not get eliminated but, rather, to eliminate the other player. A bot won’t pour multiple troops into an area unless it is either going to attack or defend. It’s not going to sacrifice troops just for the hell of it. If a specific bot is not trying to get another territory on the map, it will start an arms race with you should you place multiple troops adjacent to his territory.
jaredph #22. Thanks for posting the “Spoils of War.” I am always reading the ticker on the bottom of the screen whenever I secure a continent or break hold on somebody’s territory. I’m glad to see the breakdown, especially the amounts issued when winning with odds stacked against you.
Richard #23. I have yet to double-browse anything on Pogo. I’ve always wanted to, but my home computer would probably faint because it’s so old. It’s been on my “to do” list for replacement, but I still subscribe to that adage of not replacing something until it’s broke. Woe is me! Heh. But I’d really like to play games with less people (such as double-browsing) since I’d also like to try out the alliance feature. I’m always playing against bots since 99.99% of my friends don’t play Pogo.
Lori #25. Sorry I wasn’t able to answer the question sooner (see beginning of post), but am glad you were able to find the answer. The reinforcement phase at the end of the turn boggled me for the first several times since it wasn’t clear that people had to click on territories.
I should just place it here, just in case other people want to know in the future:
MOVING TROOPS TO ANOTHER TERRITORY: At the end of your attacks, you encounter the ‘reinforcement’ phase. In order to move your troops, you must have at least two troops on an adjacent territory. During the reinforcement phase, click on the territory where you want to move your troops from. After clicking on that one, click on the adjacent territory where you wish to move the troops to. A screen will pop up with a slider bar. It will allow you to choose the number of troops you wish to relocate to the selected territory. The minimum number of troops you may move is one.
Please remember, you may only fortify troops in areas where your troops share a border with. If you have a group of troops that are cut off from the area you wish to fortify, you will NOT be able to relocate those.
Jillian #28 and Suz #32. Ahh, the battle phase! Yes, that screen is essentially a game of probability. If you are attacking and have three or more troops in the area where you are attacking from, you are issued three dice. The defending territory (the person you are attacking) is issued two dice. As a result, the attacker has better odds per roll (3:2). With the roll of the dice, your objective is to beat the dice number of your opponent.
With your three dice, the two with the highest quantity are compared to the opponents two dice. If your number beats out the opponent on one die, then the opponent loses a unit. If your two highest dice are greater than the individual numbers on the opponent’s dice, then the opponent loses two units. If your opponent beats the quantity on one of your die, you will lose a unit. If your opponent beats the quantity on both of your highest dice, you will lose two units. Likewise, if the opponent’s quantity is equal to yours, you will lose a unit.
Confused? Let me make a couple of numeric scenarios below. The first number on each line will represent the attacker. The second number (after the colon) represents the defender:
6:4
5:2
1
In the scenario above, the attacker’s die with the one (1) is thrown out, since it is the lowest. Comparing the numbers, both of the attacker’s die are higher than the defender. As a result, the opponent loses two troops. Now this one:
5:6
5:5
1
In the scenario above, the one (1) is thrown out since it is the lowest. The attacker will lose two units. Why? The defender has a higher number on one die and the same number on two die.
Now, if the opponent has one (1) unit in a territory, s/he will have only one die to roll with. The odds are greatly in your favor. Here’s an example:
6:4
3
2
In the case above, your two lowest are thrown out. The opponent loses the one (1) unit because the attacker’s six (6) beats out the four (4). It is possible to lose in any of these scenarios if your quantity on all three die are less than or equal to that of the opponent.
If you have three (3) troops where you’re attack from, you will have the opportunity for two rolls. Why two? Well, if you’re occupying a territory, your objective is to NOT lose territory. So, when you get down to one (1) unit in a territory, you cannot attack with it. It’s a failsafe built into the game. A territory must always be occupied by at least one (1) troop.
See what I’m getting at? The game can be compared to a casino game. You’re gambling. The odds are in your favor if you meet two scenarios: the number of troops in a territory and the number of dice. However, in order to prevent slaughter, the opponent is granted a win if the die roll is equal to the attacker (e.g. 1:1, 2:2, 3:3, 4:4, etc.).
Confused? Heh. Once you start understanding that it’s about probability, you can disable the battle screen on the setup screen. Your game time will be much faster since you don’t have to sit through x-amount of rolls.
Trish #30. I just finished my weekly badges late last night after getting my computer back up and running again (see beginning of reply). I might have some time this weekend to play some games if you’re available. I’m in the Central time zone and work Mondays – Fridays, so either weekends or evenings are good for me. We can try to coordinate a time soon.
And thanks to everybody who gave kudos on this. You folks have been giving a lot of good tips on other games that people know how to play. Those have been quite helpful. I think the biggest help for anybody with RISK would be to actually EXPLAIN the strategy of the game, since comprehending the play seems to be the biggest difficulty. I mean, what good are tips for a game if the recipient doesn’t even understand the rules?
Sheljin says
Frank #33 — LOL You crack me up – you are a very good daddy to your “baby.” lol lol
Hope the storms weren’t too bad — I think you are sending them my way today! And hope your computer bounced back okay as well.
~Shel
Bronze says
Many thx for responding to my #18 question. I just wanna add that prior to the Pogo release, i had never seen or played a game of Risk b4. At first i was really pissed that pogo put out a game that i couldnt conquer. I read a little bout the game on an earlier thread here when the game was released. So, I tried out someones suggestion bout double browsing with 24 territories, 10 plays, and dont let bots replace empty seats. It didnt take long to figure out most of the game play .. at least enough to win games AND quickly rank up, and i even taught a couple friends how to play and win.
evanka11 says
TY so much for this!
I play it on the 24 territory option — it really makes it easier and faster.
gentlewinds says
Thanks so much Frank for the Risk information. It will help me a lot. I am only on Rank 2, so you see how well I can play. lol.
gentlewinds says
Thanks Joe, I appreciate the help that you provided us. I know I will be able to do better now with the instructions here.
usercook1033 says
hi frank
can you do my risk badge plz? lol
Frank says
Sheljin #34 We did have some flooding out here, but that was mainly with our underpasses and out in the suburbs. We’re getting more rain tonight and tomorrow. Fun! At least the computer still functions.
Bronze #35 You’re quite welcome, albeit I didn’t have the proper answer. I was playing a few games a while ago and *still* don’t get the ‘Fastest Win’ thing. On two games I had a six (6) for that line item and couldn’t pinpoint what it was for. I was able to knock out all four bots in one turn but I don’t think that has anything to do with it. I have yet to play a 24 territory game. I like the full game play. I know it’s still considered a “game” since it has a goal but I’m guessing I’m greedy.
Evanka11 #36 And you’re very welcome, kiddo. I noticed you posted some comments on the Pogo forums that were dated back to when it was first released. That seems like eons ago. I haven’t seen you on Pogo lately, since I’ve been plagued with this wonky sleep schedule. (Yeah, I’m *that* Frank. Ha ha.) Well, maybe I’ll catch up with you later.
Gentlewinds #37 Oh, no problem. Granted, Rank 2 only means you played at least ten games. The game ranking isn’t based on how many games you win — just how many games you play. That’s totally kosher in my book since the game can be very long. I’d be thoroughly annoyed if I had to play a 40-minute game and got absolutely no rank progress. Thankfully everybody gets a jackpot spin and an increase to their next rank goal.
Jillian says
Frank,
Thank you so much for answering my question about the battle phase. I may have to play at least one more game before disabling it in the options just to ‘see’ it in action, but at least I’ll be prepared if I’m ever asked to play a real game. 🙂
ts says
The weekly badge for this is scheduled for July 21st – July 27th…. It is a win 3 games this week bagde….
Joy says
The “fastest win” is how many turns it takes to win the game. I’ve only played 10 turns/24 territories, and my fastest win is 8. There were still 2 turns left on the board when the game was over.
Thank you so much for this guide. I opened up the game in April, didn’t know what I was supposed to do on my turn, and closed it. I saw there’s a weekly coming up and knew I’d have to figure it out. Your guide, along with one from another fansite, finally got it to click for me.
bbj2856 says
Hello This is one game I cant begin to understand. I have tried to read an play it so many time . I dont get anyplace with it. When it is my turn to move I dont understgand what i am suppose to do it makes so sense HELP…
justagramma says
Lol thanks for this but I’m still so totally confused.. guess it’s one badge I’ll not be getting.
okladyplayer says
I have the PBA badge to win 50 battles. Winning battles and/or tokens is fine. I have never won a game. This is a long, boring, tedious game for me. A very good friend is doing this badge for me and I am not ashamed to admit it. LOL
tana craig says
I am stuck on getting into Risk using a double browser. I can’t get myself in on a 5 day pass. I don’t know how to password protect a table if I ever do get in, and I can’r find a table number that is mentioned. Can you tell a rookie how to double browse w/out using a 5 or 14 day pass? Can you also tell me about the other two problems mentioned above? Thanks, Sooty2player
Lura says
tana craig: RISK is not a Club-only game so you won’t need a pass to Club Pogo, but you will need to have two Pogo accounts (usernames). If I recall correctly, “Play as a Guest” won’t work to set up or choose your own table. Instructions on how to double browse are here:
https://www.badgehungry.com/2009/08/11/how-to-double-browse/
To access the settings for a game, don’t use the big “Play Now” button, you will want to choose a room (the same room for both of your accounts) and when you choose a seat at an empty table, settings come up.
bbj2856 says
Help how in the world do you know what to play an how to play it I cant seem to get the hang of it. I have tried to play at least 50 times I dont get it. This is the only game I ever tried to play on pogo an not underwswtand nothing about it. HELP
MomsBassetHound says
Have you read the beginner’s guide to Risk that was posted on the Pogo News page when it was released? Did you read the article posted in the Letters to the Editor by Ollie when he was the substitute editor?
I read both articles, printed them out, and jumped in to play the game for the a badge. It was the first premium badge for the game where you had to win so many battles. I got my badge in 1 game and actually lasted to come in second.
The next premium badge that was released required you to win 5,000 tokens….took me 3 games and I won 2 of them. I had NEVER played the game before it was released on Pogo.
The 2nd time I played the game I changed the options to 10 turned so that it wasn’t so long.
Read the articles, print them out, read them again…then just jump in and play. That’s the only way.
Suz
Lura says
Here’s the bit of Oli’s LttE (linked above) that covers RISK.
Between this, Frank’s strategy guide and Moms’ post above, there’s more than enough to help even the most dazed and confused of RISK beginners.
rosariaca says
I finished about every game on Pogo and have no problem to understand “almost” all the games…but RISK is one game I really dislike and no matter how many times I tried to play I cannot get it.
If there is a nice person willing to let me have the games required for the badge next week? I will be forever in debt.
If you willing to help please leave me a message on pogo mail.
Thankyou >>>>>>>>>>>>>RosariaCa
Lura says
rosariaca: Pogo has already stated they’ll give you the badge if you try to get it and find it too difficult (see last week’s Letters to the Editor). Just contact their customer service during the week it’s active.
Because this is Frank’s thread and because it’s getting sidetracked by concerns over the upcoming weekly badge, I think I’m going to close the comments on this thread temporarily. If you have questions about RISK during the upcoming weekly badge, feel free to ask for help when it’s active. In the meantime, there are plenty of tools available to you in this post and thread that will help you practice ahead of time. Good luck! 🙂
Tom says
Thanks for reopening this topic, Lura. With the badge behind us now we can get back to some more RISK strategies.
Here’s a double-browsing method that I’ve used for generating alot of tokens by exploiting the Spoils of War points. This isn’t for levelling up or for winning (and so wouldn’t be for the badge). This method is only for Tokens.
If you’re double browsing or co-operating there’s no reason that the game has to end, it can continue for as long as everyone wants to keep it going and while doing so keep racking up the Spoils of War tokens.
For this strategy I specifically exploit these ones:
breaking another player’s hold on a continent: 25 tokens (it’s not 50 as jaredph #22 stated)
securing a continent: 75 tokens
winning a battle against 5x or worse odds: 50 tokens
That last one is the most exploitable because if the attacker chooses the RETREAT option after the first roll of the dice and the defender still has armies then the defender will get these points. It doesn’t matter if the attacker has 100 armies to 1 defender, if the attacker retreats the defender wins and gets the tokens. So use this option whenever possible (it’s easier to do this if you enable the battle screen but it can be done if you’re quick with the mouse when the RETREAT button shows up). The attacker can then repeat the attack and still take the territory with the same odds as if he hadn’t retreated so there’s no penalty at all.
Now the strategy I use follows these steps:
#1) beat the bot(s). By co-operating this shouldn’t be hard to do but even if one player has bad luck and get’s eliminated they can just stand up and replace the bot.
#2) This will probably already be the case but one player should already control North America but have the other player control Africa.
Europe, Asia & Australia are irrelevant for this stragegy but I usually have one player control Europe & Australia and the other control Asia so each gets 7 extra armies each turn, but it’s not necessary.
#3) Which brings us to South America, the player that does not control this continent [Player A] should reinforce all of his armies next to this continent (Central America or West Africa) while the other player [Player B] moves his armies to a territory 2 away from the continent (Western/Eastern US, or Egypt/Central Africa) and leave only 1 army in each of the South America territories.
#4) Player A attacks and takes South America (getting 75 tokens) and then the next territory breaking Player B’s hold on North America or Africa (getting 25 tokens). Player A then re-inforces all of the remaining troops to a territory 2 away from South America on his Continent leaving 1 troop in all the South America territories.
#5) Player B retakes his continent (75 tokens), takes South America (75 tokens & 25 for breaking A’s hold) and the next territory on A’s continent (25 tokens) and then re-inforces back to 2 territories away from South America.
#6) Repeat the process for as long as you can. For each turn the attacker will get 150 tokens for securing 2 continents, 50 tokens for breaking the other player’s hold on 2 continents and 60 tokens for winning 6 battles and if you use the retreat option I mentioned above the defending player will also usually get at least 100 tokens as well.
Since this can be repeated ad infinitum, you can get some MAJOR tokens as a result.
One warning, though. You do have to finish the game to get the tokens so I recommend setting a specific end time or state in the game to end it.
When I’ve decided to end it I have Player A instead of re-inforcing back to his continent let his armies attack Player B’s stronghold and then whoever wins that battle takes the rest of world to win it. (The attacker usually wins, BTW)
If anyone is interested in trying this I’ll be glad to play a game with you to demonstrate it, my Pogo ID is Tomdtaylor.
~Tom
Anita Ziegler says
I have been a member of pogo for a very long time and never asked for help ….but I tried so many times to do risk and I can’t get it … Is there anyway that I can get help…… Please let me know …Please, ty