Risk

[Jean Valjean]

This is probably my favorite board game. Axis and Allies looks pretty good, but I lost my instruction booklet for that before I ever got the chance to play with other people (which means that my purchase was a big waste of money, or so it will be until I get off my butt and print off the rules from the internet). Oh, and then there's the addicting strategy game of Civilization IV (which is now obsolete due to the copy of Civ V that I won't buy). In any case, based off of my experience, Risk is the most awesome board game ever.

 

For people interested in playing this game online, there is a site called LandGrab, stocked with enough exotic maps to fill the Grand Canyon. My username is Kraggh. That shouldn't be too difficult for anyone here to remember. Mostly, I play games against the computer, and I have only participated in games with actual players twice. It lacks charm and fun when I don't know the players I'm up against. Ergo, I'm open to a change if a group of three or more BZPers would be open to playing a game sometime. If you haven't tried LandGrab yet, play a few games against computer players first. You'd be surprised at how well you can customize the rules.

 

Of the many maps on that site, I would like to list some of my favorites (other than, obviously, classic Earth):

A Pixelated Earth 166 Countries

Alpha Orion

Black Hole Research Facility

Burning Lands

Bush V Gore (politics have nothing to do with this - I find it cool that every territory is a continent)

Cube 2

Impossible Stairs

Jurassic 170mya

King of the Hill (there's a glitch when I try starting this game, though, so I can't recommend it)

LEGO 3D1A (Hey, this is perfect for BZPower!)

LEGO 3D1B The Escher Set

M Theory Classic

MAD

MarsBC (a favorite among favorites, considering that I play it often, and it's a good size for a casual game)

MarsNorthPole3D

Martian Chronicals (yes, it's misspelled)

Martian Chronicals v2

Mindwarp

monopoly (a favorite among favorites because of the unique flavor it creates and how it combines two of the best board games ever)

Moonbase 2 (there seems to be a similar glitch here as with King of the Hill)

Nerd Alert Pinball

Ocean Currents

One Way Mayhem 3D

One Way Mayhem MKII

PangaeaLG

planetary war (good for games of two or three players)

Protozoa

Sector 12 (another favorite among favorites)

Star Wars OT (A good standard sized game fit for five or six players, and with a subject matter most of us would like)

The Avatar World

The Extreme Americas

The Extreme Americas v2

The Moon

The Third Hive of the Swarm

TheNetherlands (a favorite among favorites because I'm Dutch)

Venus

 

I actually haven't played all of these, though I added them all to my favorites anyway because the concept stood out. In my mind, "favoriting" something on this site is more like bookmarking it. I will try testing them all out for bugs sometime, but it will take a while.

 

If any of us were to start an online game as a group of BZP Riskers, I suppose this topic could be used as a billboard to discuss game progress.

 

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[Vorahk1Panrahk2]

I've been wanting to play this game for a looong time. I've only ever gotten the opportunity once, but we could only play for ~an hour. Which might be a good thing because I was clearly losing.

 

Definitely going to check out that online site.

[Van Hohenheim]

I was just playing risk yesterday! my recommendation is to build up a huge force in alaska (if you're using a regular risk board), then go on a rampage throughout North and South america. I captured both in one turn.

[Chronicler06]

Among board games, Risk is definitely one of my favorites. I've got two versions of it sitting in my closet, though I've almost never actually played with anyone.

 

If you're looking for an online version of this game, there's actually a variety of them available, though I can't remember all of what's out there. (I did that Google search many years ago.) The one I play is called Lux Delux. Actions are done more quickly, so a typical game can take only minutes instead of potentially hours. However, this is one of those things you'll have to actually purchase (the free demo is only good for 20 games, I think), so if you're not willing to spend anything, you might be better off looking elsewhere.

 

In any case, I'm not interested in playing with anyone. I'm perfectly fine playing against computer opponents or simply against myself. (After all, you can't lose if you're the only player. )

Edited August 17, 2013 by Chronicler06

[avmatoran]

I might be willing to play against you, Jean. I gotta get some time to practice, though.

[Jean Valjean]

I'll remember that offer, Avmatoran. Definitely familiarize yourself with some strategy, though playing a person is way more challenging than playing a computer. When that happens, prepare yourself for the backstabbing, the secret alliances, and the negotiating that come with the game. When I play with my family, they tend to get mean. Just be glad that we're only playing online, because right now I'm even considering learning the art of conversational hypnosis to give myself an edge.

 

And Chronicler06, I've actually played Lux Delux with someone before, nine years ago. I believe it was how I first got started playing the game. It's definitely faster, and I played several games with a counselor in one recess brake (Wow, recess brakes were only nine years ago? It feel like it should have been at least over a decade since I had those.). But yeah, LandGrab is probably the next best option online, if not even better. Plus, it's free.

 

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[Vorahk1Panrahk2]

So I tried that site... and I deduced that I am really really bad at this game. But maybe everyone is on their first few playthroughs. Kind of fun, though, in spite of that fact.

[Jean Valjean]

I'll give you a little tip when it comes to playing against computer players: they always take the path of least resistance. They're still a bit unpredictable, especially since they don't have a strategy like humans would, and they're not getting all psychological with trying to manipulate the player, but I've learned the basic rules of their patterns.

 

Basically, they will never attack you unless they have more armies than you do. Furthermore, if you own a territory that borders two other territories with enemy forces, there's a chance that the computer player might have more armies than you overall but has them divided between the multiple connecting territories. The computer isn't smart enough to use that to its advantage team up on you with the two territories - it will wait until one of them on its own has enough armies to take on yours.

 

The other thing is that they might "check" you by building up armies around your continent to keep you contained, and after a while you have two large standing armies sharing a border that don't do anything while all the action goes on somewhere else on the board. In fact, the computer is more likely to check you if you have armies in a continent that it would otherwise own. The computer is more interested in getting continents of its own than it is in preventing you from getting continents. I've had it where I've left continents completely unguarded while I took the action elsewhere. Even though I was wide open, the opening wasn't in the computer's immediate path.

 

Another tip of advice is to hold off using your armies until after the first round is done, depending on aggression levels you set the computer players to. If they're 100% aggressive, they will fight amongst each other until they're all worn out, and go on a spree until they can't go on any longer. Once they have that out of their system, that leaves you to step in.

 

That's all I'm telling you, though. I have plenty of strategy, but I'm naturally not going to give those away to people I anticipate myself possibly playing with. I gave away what I did because it concerns computer players, which is a completely different experience from dealing with more three-dimensional human players.

 

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