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Enhancing the Game "Risk"
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|| by ||
|| Redd Slaver ||
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A Presentation Of
\\ The Southwest Pirates' Guild // \\======================================================================// A RISK BACKGROUND: =================
The board game "Risk" has long been something of a classic among the hacker
intelligentsia (and of course, cool people in general). Everybody enjoys the notion of taking over the entire world, at no personal risk to themselves. Risk succesfully captures the conquer-the-world spirit of most modern wargames, while avoiding the use of hexagon-printed boards, hordes of ambiguous counters, and a ridiculously complex rule structure.
The battles Risk depicts seem to be set a long time ago. World War I would
seem to be the latest possible time that Risk would seem to be a realistic depiction of warfare.
Several computerized versions of Risk have also appeared, some as obvious
clones (such as "COMPUTER RISK"), others with major modifications (such as "GLOBAL THERMONUCLAR WAR"). Some have even expanded and improved upon the original game.
PROBLEMS WITH RISK: ==================
Risk does suffer from a few flaws. It is, if you will, TOO simple to play.
Therefore, I am outlining some simple rule changes that will mke the game more realistic, yet maintain its basic simplicity.
I have listed some of Risk's main weaknesses below:
1) TRANSPORTATION. In the world of modern warfare, troops and such
are shuttled around by plane, all over the world. As it stands, Risk
allows one "troop move" at the end of a player's turn -- moving
armies from one territory into one adjacent to it.
This is, of course, patently ludicrous. Perhaps during Napoleon's
reign, movement of armies was so restricted, but in a realistic,
modern troop battle, troops are deployed where they are needed most,
within hours.
2) SLOWNESS OF COMBAT. It is not uncommon, late in the game, to have
combats in which each side has 30 or more armies involved. Risk's
current limitation allows the attacker to roll up to three dice when
attacking. The defender may roll up to two. Late in the game, this
can mean fifteen minutes or more for a single combat. In a game with
four or more players, this can get very boring very quickly.
3) ARCHAIC SETTING. Risk does not reflect the reality of modern
warfare. Of course, if you WANT to conquer the world of the 1800's
that's fine, but how much fun can ancient warfare be after 10000
simulations by SSI?
4) THE "PROLONGED DEATH" FACTOR. It is all to easy for one player,
once he gains a slight advantage -- perhaps even just a single
continent held -- to use this overwhelmingly against the others, who
may be too busy bickering amongst themselves to mount an organized
attack against him. Thus, once one player gains this significant
advantage, the outcome of the game is largely a foregone conclusion.
This is especially aided by Risk's ridiculous "instant deployment"
feature: If you get, say, 15 armies on a particular term, it is
perfectly legal to put thee al in one territory.
Come ON! 150,000 soldiers don't just materialize out of Western
Australia's population of bushmen. They have to be recruited (or
shanghaied) out of a country's population, and trained, before they
can be relied upon in combat.
DEALING WITH THE PROBLEMS: =========================
So, once we've identified Risk's weak spots, what do we do about them? The transportation problem is perhaps the easiest to solve. There needs
to be some sort of system for moving troops around more easily. The one I've come up with is listed below in the "Rules Modifications" section. You are, of course, encouraged to experiment and come up with your own if you wish, but the system below seems to work pretty well.
The speed factor is a little more hairy. To get around it, I have divided
combat into two types: Normal and Overrun attacks. The Normal attack is the kind you're used to already, although sped up a bit. The Overrun attack is more on a blitzkrieg, lightning warfare sort of maneuver. The attacker basically hurls all his forces at the defender, guns blazing. He has the advantage of speed, and often, numbers. The defender has the advantage that the attacker is running right into his guns. Thus, Overrun combat is quick and bloody, and the rules I have proposed below should reflect this well.
The prolonged death factor is the trickiest of the problems. My solution
adds realism, perhaps at the expense of a little more game time. I also believe that the problem of instant deployment has been solved.
RULES MODIFICATIONS: ===================
I. Transport
Abolish the regular end-of-turn "troop move." Instead:
Count up the number of territories the player owns and divide by two,
rounding fractions up. This is how many armies the player may now move
from any of his territories on the board to any other of his territories.
The only limitation is he may not totally abandon a territory; he must
leae at least one army there.
Transport is done on an army-by-army basis. Each army moved may go
anywhere. (Just because you moved one army from Peru to Brazil doesn't
mean ALL the armies you move from Peru have to go to Brazil.)
Example: Player X owns 6 territories: Alaska with 5 armies, Kamchatka
with 3 armies, Greenland with 2 armies, and Iceland, Great Britain, and
Northern Europe with one each. Owning six territories allows him to
transport up to three of his armies. He can choose any three on the
board, except the ones from Iceland, Great Britain, or Northern Europe.
II. Deployment
The extra armies that a player receives for owning all of a particular
continent must originally be deployed IN THAT CONTINENT. They may, of
course, be subsequently Transported. Furthermore, not all the extra
armies may be deployed in the same territory of the continent. They must
be at least as spread out as the following table indicates. (They may,
of course, be even more spread out than this):
# of extra Maximum deployed in
armies received a single territory
Continent per turn per turn
--------- --------------- -------------------
Africa 3 2
Asia 7 3
Australia 2 1
Europe 5 2
North America 5 2
South America 2 1
This more accurately simulates the recruitment (and drafting) of armies
from the general populace.
III. Combat
A. Normal Attacks
Normal Attacks are identical to the original form of Risk attacks,
except that the attacker is no longer limited to thre dice, nor is
the defender limited to two. The attacker may use one less dice
than the number of attacking armies he has, and the defender may use
as many dice as he has defending armies. (This is just like the
original Risk, except that the limits of three dice for the attacer
and two for the defender have been removed). Neither attacker nor
defender are OBLIGATED to roll that many dice, of course. This
simply removes the limitations of the original game.
In large combats, of course, using this rule requires having a LOT
of dice. I personally recommend the "micro-dice" that are becoming
so common all over the country now. These little six-siders measure
between 1/8 and 1/4 inch on a side, and are usually available for the
price of about 2 for 25 cents, although I've seen them as cheap as
a nickel each and as expensive as three for a dollar. They're worth
the effort of finding, though. Their small size makes it easy to
drop 50 to 100 into a Risk box and think nothing of it. Don't forget
to get 2 different colors so you can tell the attacker and defender
apart.
B. Overrun Attacks
Overrun Attacks are quick ways to finish off an entrenched foe or
generally play havoc with the enemy. Statistically and historically
speaking, a large force will generally demolish a smaller force in
combat, all other factors being equal. This rule makes large-scale
attacks a bit more realistic, and allows a massively superior force
to wipe out a lesser enemy with minimal losses to itself.
When attacking, the attacker must specify whether he wishes to use
an overrun attack.
The attacker counts up the number of attacking armies and divides
by five. The defender does likewise with his defending armies. This
is the number of dice thy will roll. Round fractions up.
(i.e. 5 armies = 1 die, but 6 armies = 2 dice). The attacker and
defender roll their dice. The total of the attacker's dice is the
number of armies the defender LOSES, and vice versa. The only
exception is that the defender may never completely obliterate the
attacker. If the attacker has, for example, 8 armies, and the
defender rolls a total of 8 or more, the attacker loses only seven
armies, and of course may not attack any more.
EXAMPLE: Player A has 14 armies, attacking player B with 9. The
attacker announces an overrun attack. A has fourteen armies, so
is he rolls 3 dice. (14/5 = 2.8, round up to 3). The defender, with
nine armies, rolls 2 dice. (9/5 = 1.8, round up to 2). The
attacker's dice come up: 1, 4, 5; the defender's: 6, 3. Attacker's
dice total 10, the defender's 9. Thus the defender loses 10 armies
(all of them), and the attacker sustains a loss of 9. The attacker
wins, but at a cost.
EXCEPTION: In a rare case where the attacker destroys the defender
but has only one army left (i.e. he cannot move into the new
territory), then the defender gets one army back with which to occupy
the territory, and the attack ends in a draw.
And that's it. The preceding rule changes, if used, will make Risk a much
more realistic, and possibly even slightly faster game.
Enhanced Risk is not for everyone, of course. Many people will be perfectly
happy with the original version, which is after all a great game. But for those of you who want to help bring Risk up-to-date, and move it a bit faster, then Enhanced Risk may just be what you're looking for.
Enjoy!
- - Redd Slaver 10/10/85
SWPG
Terrapin Station AE (505) 865-0883 pw = CICADA 24 hrs. Call Spartus Station AE (505) 822-8551 pw = TECH 24 hrs. 'em Fourth Reich BBS (505) 298-1705 (individual) 24 hrs. today!
(C) 1985 -- Redd Slaver -- The Southwest Pirates' Guild
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