So You Liked Risk… Now What?

Ah Risk, the grand old war game that leaves family happiness ground into the dust beneath thousands of tiny marching plastic men. Leaving my own dislike of the game aside, it is still generally considered within the board game community that what Risk does well…War! Dice! Betrayal!… are done better in other games. So depending on what you liked about Risk, here are some recommendations.

 

I like rolling dice to attack people

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]The sheer thrill of rolling dice and seeing your friends enemies’ faces fall in despair is present in King of Tokyo. No map, no fiddling with troops, just rolling dice to make your giant monsters kill each other. A short playtime and simple ruleset means that you get straight to the good stuff, and by good stuff I mean a Rabbit in a Mechsuit killing King Kong in Tokyo after picking up an “Extra Head”.[/two_third][/row]

 

I like fighting my friends on a map

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]If, like a geography teacher who’s been drinking wine straight from the bottle, you’ve realised the only thing you truly love in the world is maps, Small world may scratch that Risk-like itch for you. It features a beautifully illustrated map and lots of fighting. Whilst there is a die, it’s relatively unimportant compared to raw numbers of units and the terrain you fight on. The true selling point of this game is the ludicrous number of race and special power combinations that you can use, with each player having 2-3 different armies over the course of the game. Diplomatic Skeletons… Yes please![/two_third][/row]

 

I want Dice and a Map please! Don’t make me choose.

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]Nexus Ops is a great light combat game with a strong focus on frantic dice rolling and sprawling over territory. A variety of unit types, from Humans to Fungoids and Lava leapers, make the game more interesting, but its real selling points is the secret objectives. Everyone has their own secret objective cards to fulfil, which won’t necessarily just involve killing everyone else. Having to win a battle with only humans, or kill a specific enemy unit, keeps the gameplay loose and dynamic.[/two_third][/row]

 

Look, I really just like Risk and I want more Risk!

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]If you are going to play Risk you might as well go all in with a campaign of Risk Legacy. Due to having to complete objectives rather than dominate the whole world, each game is significantly shorter than the average game of Risk, but the real difference is the way the game changes over time. Each time you play the game effects linger from before, with previous winners modifying the board in their favour. A wide range of special compartments are unlocked when certain things happen and make the game change dramatically. Though what these are you’ll have to find out for yourself. It is an excellent game that we reviewed here. With the recent release of Pandemic Legacy, this might be the ideal time to play the original and see what the fuss is all about.[/two_third][/row]

 

When I play Risk, I dress up in red and try to reconquer America for the glory of the British Empire! Is there a game for me?

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]Why, yes there is! Try 1812: The Invasion of Canada. The dry historical theme hides an exceptional team based war game retelling the failed invasion of Canada by the US, and the British attempts to stop them. There is a big map of the border and faction specific dice for combat, and brilliantly straight forward gameplay. This is the war in which Britain burned down the White House, but the fervent imperialist in you might also want to re-write history with 1775: Rebellion, the prequel.[/two_third][/row]

 

Risk is great, but wouldn’t it be far better if I could destroy everyone else’s pieces by putting a 2 foot tall Cthulhu on the map?

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]Yes it would, play Cthulhu Wars.

 A map of the world, lots of plastic miniatures, rolling dice to decide combat, are all still there. But with a) A great theme b) Asymmetric armies that require their own strategies c) The clever power system that manipulates order of actions d) The Spellbook and Doom points that mean that combat victory isn’t the sole determinant of the winner and e) Using Cthulhu to smash up stuff. Check out our review.[/two_third][/row]

 

I am actually a drunk geography teacher who just really wants to own lots of maps.

The expansions to Power Grid may help, or a globe. Ticket to Ride has lots of maps too! Despite the name, do not buy Maponimoes, its not bad, but its tendency to make maps that are wildly inaccurate may upset you.