RISK isa fascinating game of strategyin which aplayercanconquer theworlds Once you are familiar withthe rules, itisrot adi cult game to play, but there are a number of unusual features whic are unfamiliar to most game players, Thus, before you begin to play we suggest that you read through each section of this boo! i let; (a) The Rules of Risk, (b) Strategy Questions and Answers an (© Two Player Risk. The Rules of Risk Obie o i Theobject Of Risks to occupy every territory onthe board lim- ating all other players, thus conquering the world. A complete game with four players usually takes 2-4 hours. Equipment ‘Army Pieces ; Six sets of pieces, one set for each player, consist ofa large num. berof 4 shaped pieces (each representing onearmy) plusseveral 3 shaped pieces (equivalent to ten armies each). ing Board a Thepliying board isamap of six continents, each subdivided into several territories. The total number of territories is 42; each con- tinentis a unique base color and contains from 4 to 12 territories. The map is designed to facilitate play rather than tobe geographi- cally accurate. Risk Cards - ; The deck has 44 cards (plus a trademark card that is not used in the game). Of these, 42havea single tertory on them in addition toa figure of either a foot soldier, a horseman or a cannon. The remaining two cards are “wild cards” having all three figures but no territory. The deck is shuffled and placed face down in preparation forthe game. Dice There are six dice, 3 white and3 colored. ‘Summary of Play Risk is patterned after military campaign strategies. First, players inturn occupy ll territories. Then players take turns initiating battles. Each battle can have three parts: (1) deploying armies; (2) attacking the opposition; (8) fortifying the territories held. The detailed instructions following explain the rules of the game. Details of Play Fach player counts out a number of his armies for initial deploy- ment, according to the number of playersin the game. Ifthere are: Each player counts out: 3players 35 armies 4players 30 armies Splayers 25 armies 6players 20armies Players roll the dice to determine who goes first. That player places one of his armies on any of the 42 territories, claimingit ss his own. The second player (clockwise) places one of his armies on any remaining unoccupied territory. Each player takes his turn until all 42 territories are occupied. Players then continue in turn Placing their armies, one at a time, on territories they already occupy. (See question #1 on Page for strategy.) After all armies have been placed, the board is ready for the Eampaigns. From this point on, each territory must be occupied byat least one army for the rest of the game. Now the players in turn initiate batties. As already mentioned, the battles include up to three stages: (1) deploying armies; (2) attacking the opposition; (3) fortifying territories. During any turn, a player may decide to omit either (2) or (3) or both. Thefol. lowing section explains in detail each of the stages. Deploying Armies At the beginning of each turn a player is entitled to additional armies. The total number of armies a player may deploy at the tart of a turn is the sum of the armies earned for each of the fol. lowing: (1) the number of territories the player occupies; (2) the number of complete continents a player occupies; (3) the number of matched Risk card sets he can exchange for armies.The Number of Armies Earned Due to Territories a Player Occupies The player counts his territories, divides the number by 3, dis- carding any remaining fraction. The answer is the number of Examples: 17 territori ‘territories = 3 armies Oneach tuna playeris entitled toa minimum of 3armies even if he occupies fewer than 9 territories. ‘The Number of Armies Eamed Due to Complete Continents a Player Occupies Itaplayer occupies one or more entire continents, he earnsaddi- tional armies as indicated in the legend at the lower right of the board; for example, if he occupies all the territories in Asia (12 territories), he earns 7 additional armies. ‘The Number of Armies Earned Due toa Player's Matched Risk Card Sets As explained further in the following sections on attack, a player earns a maximum of one Risk card for every turn in which he suc- cessfully occupies anew territory. To exchange the Risk cards for armies, a player needs one of three combinations: (1) three of the same design (horseman, cannon, foot solider); (2) one of each design; (3) any two cards plusawild card. ‘Also, if any of the three cards in the match depicts a territory the player occupies, he earns another two armies, which must be placed immediately on that particular territory. Ifaplayeris lucky the first three Risk cards he earns may permit him a match as explained above. He may also gain a match after picking four cards. By the time a player has five cards, however, he can always complete a match. (Tryit!) As soon asa player accumulates FIVE cards he must exchange his three-card match for armies at the beginning of his nextturn. Ina typical military campaign, the risks and rewards increase over time; thus, the Risk cards will earn increasing numbers of armies as follows: The first set of cards turned in = 4 extra armies The second set of cards turned in= 6 extraarmies The third set of cards turned in = 8 extra armies The fourth set of cards turned in = 10 extra armies The fifth set of cards turned in = 12 extraarmies The sixth set of cards turned in = 15 extra armies After that, each additional set exchanged for armies is worth 5 additional armies; the seventh set, for example, gains a player armies; the eighth, 25 armies. “First” and second” set, etc., refer to sets tunedin by anyone during a game. Thus a player turning in the third set in the game would get 8 ar if it were only his first set. The armies can be placed in any territory or territories a player already occupies. Usually armies should be deployed ona player's front lines to mass for attack or prepare for defense. Attacking the Opposition ‘player may attack any opponent's territory adjacent to his own, from his own territory, so long as he has a minimum of two armies onit, regardless of the number of armies his opponent has. Territories connected by dashed lines are considered adjacent territories, and battles can occur between them. For example, a player occupying North Africa can attack not only his immediate neighbors but also Brazil, Western Europe or Southern Europe. ‘Alaska and Kamchatka are considered adjacent; Greenland can be attacked from Iceland, Quebec, Ontario or Northwest Territory, and so forth. Ina battle, the attacker announces (1) the territory being attacked and (2) his adjacent territory from which the attack ori- ginates. The victor of the battle is determined by the roll of the dice, detailed in the following paragraphs. The attacker can roll up to three dice but must always have at least one more army in the attacking territory than the number of dice herolls. The defender also rolls, to defend his territory. He can roll up to two dice, provided he has at least two armies on the territory; if he has only one army, he can roll only one diBefore each throw, each player, beginning with the attacker, must announce the number of dice he is using. The dice are then all rolled simultaneously. Todetermine whether an attack is successful, players compare the highest dice each has thrown. If the attacker's die is higher, the defender loses one of the armies from the territory under attack. If the defender’s die is higher, the attacker loses one of his armies. In case of a tie, the defender always wins. If both attacker and defender have thrown at least two dice, the above procedure is repeated for the second-ranking dice. (See examples 2 & 3.) Ifeitherplayer has thrown only onedie, only one of thatplayer’s armies can be lost. Under no circumstances can a player lose more armies on a given turn than the number of dice he has thrown. The following examples illustrate battle results: EXAMPLE 1 ; EXAMPLE 3 Attacker’s Dice Defender's Die Attacker’s Dice __Defender's Dice 7 3. i @ Highest Pair oy ~~. __ | ae i Qe Highest var as ay RESULT i RESULT Dotender Loses One Army Attacker Loses Two Armies suse eee, same EXAMPLE 2 i EXAMPLE 4 Atackers Dee Delenders Dice | Atacers Die Donde’ Dice of RESULT Detender Loses One Army and ‘Attacker Loses One Army RESULT Defender Loses One Army ‘impasse The attacker has complete flexibility within histurntoattackwhat- ever adjacent territories he wishes with the number of dice he chooses, subject to the limitations already outlined. He may attack one or more times from one territory, shift to another area, andreturnagaintoattack, solongas he hassufficientarmies. He may continue to attack even after he loses an army on any roll of thedice. A territory is considered captured when the defender’s last army has been eliminated. When a territory is captured, the attacker must occupy it immediately by moving some of his armies from his attacking territoryinto the captured territory. He must moveatleastas many armies as the number of dice he has just rolled. He must leave at least one army behind since no territory can be left unoccupied atany time. ‘When a player eliminates an opponent, taking his last piece off the board, the former opponent's Risk cards become the prop- erty of the attacker. If the total number of cards held by the attacker now equals six or more, he must turn in matched sets, claiming additional armies, placing them on his territories on the board, until he has four or fewer Risk cards remaining, This must be done immediately. fhe can make two or three sets, he may turn them in, receiving the regularincrease in the number of armies for each set. When a player has finished attacking he can take the top Risk card fom the pile, provided he has conquered one or more new ter- nitories. He can then use this card as part of a match in one of his subsequent turns. If he has not captured aterritory, even though he has attacked, he does not take a Risk card. Fortifying Territories Just before completing his turn, the player may want to fortify his defensive position to avoid imminent capture on the opponent's turn. After he has finished attacking, the player may fortify his frontlines by moving one ormore of his armies fromoneandonly one territory which he occupies to any one adjacent territory which he also occupies. He may not divide these armies by put- ting some into one territory, some into another, and must alwaysleave at least one army in his old territory. Tosignal the end of his turn, the player gives the dicetothenext player in rotation. Winning the Game The player who occupies every territory on the board by having inated his last opponent wins the game, Strategy Questions and Answers Q. In the beginning of the game, when I first occupy tet strategy should | use? A. Itis clearly to your advantage to occupy a complete continent since this automatically gives you additional armies at the begin- ning of each of your turns. However, unless your opponents are foolish they will certainly prevent this just as you would prevent their occupying a complete continent and gaining an early advantage. Amore realisticstrategy is to occupy severaladjacent territories in one or two continents. Then, after all 42 territories have heen Covered, you can place your additional armies in your border ter- ritories to defend your holdings and attack opponents. Of course you should also place armies in the continents your opponents are trying to occupy to prevent their acquiring acomplete continent. Q. At the beginning of each of my turns, I receive additional armies; where should I place them? A. Usually you will be attacking and therefore some or all of the armies should be placed on the territory or territories from which you plan toattack, The remainder of your territories shouldalsobe defended from future attacks and armies could be placed on border territories for this purpose, particularly if you do not plan to attack during your presentturn, An alternate defensive strategy is to place armies right behind your border territories asa second line of defense. ries, what Q. Hf do not have five Risk cards at the beginning of my turn, but do havea match with the three or four | hold, should I alwaysplay them? A. No. There are several reasons you might choose to play the cardsatalater time: 1. By waiting for additional matched sets to be turned in before yours, your set will be worth more armies, as the number of armies received increases each time another setis played. 2. You may be totally on the defensive and thus not need the additional armies. Saving them for later strategic moves is clearly anadvantage. 3. When you turn ina card depicting one of your own te tories, you gain an additional 2 armies to be placed on that terri- tory. Thus if you are planning to capture a territory for which you have the card, itis to your advantage to wait until that territory is yours before turning in the card. Q. Whats the advantageof not attacking during my turn? A. A series of attacks usually eliminates armies from both sides, sonotattackingis often necessary when you have tobuild up your defenses. If you avoid attacking but place armies in defensive positions only, you may create considerably stronger attacking forces for your next turn. Of course you yourself may be attacked in the meantime and lose some of the advantage. Also, if your opponents, in attacking each other, are eliminat- ing each other's armies, you usually gain the advantage by waiting before attacking either one, since their defenses will be depleted. Q, Since I can attack several times in any turn, when should I stop the attacks? A. The key disadvantage toattackingis thatyou usually losearmies as you gain territories; and even if you are lucky enough to not lose any armies in your battles, in a sense you become weaker with each territory you win since your armies are now dispersed overa larger number of territories. This gives the opponent more territories to attack with a greater chance of success. Itis a clear advantage to capture at least one territory per turn. This gives you a Risk card, usable in the future to gain additional armies.In general, the attack should stop when in your opinion your front line armies are still strong enough to repel attacks. Remember that your opponent will often mass his new armies on the border of your weakest territory. Q. During a battle, | usually have the option of throwing several dice instead of just one. What are the advantages and the disadvantages? A. You know that a greater number of dice givesa greater chance cof winning. Throwing fewer dice, however, will limit your losses since the number of armies you can loseis never greater than the number of dice you throw. For example, if you areattacking from a territory with only three armies, and do not want to lose more than one army, you would choose one die instead of the two you are entitled to use. This limits your loss but unfortunately lessens your chance of winning. On defense, the same logic holds. The attacker is the first to declare the number of dice hewill use; thus the defender cancon- sider whether to use one die, limiting his loss to one army, or to use two dice, gaining a better chance of winning. Q. When take over anopponent’sterritory, how many armies should Imove from my attacking territory into the newly acquired territory? A. Usually you would move all but the one army you must leave behind; typically this gives you the strongest front lines. There are situations, however, when you will havea large num- ber of armies left in the attacking territory and choose to move only part of your armies into the new territory, saving the remain- der to move into a defensively weaker adjacent border territory. Q. Atthe end of my turn I can move armies into an adjacent territory. What strategy should | use? A. Armies thatare far from your frontlines are not particularly use- ful for attack or defense. You should therefore try to move them towards your border territories, where they can enterintobattles. Q. How will | recognize a situation in which I can take a toeliminate every other player on the board? A. Thisis the element that gives Risk its name. If you decide totake over the world in oneturn, and ail, youwill usually be so scattered that it would be easy for the next player to eliminate you. and try 0 If, however, you see a weak player holding few territories but ‘owning several Risk cards you might easily eliminate him and receive all his Risk cards. Then if your Risk cards and his total six ‘or more, you can immediately put more armies on the board any- where you wish by turningin your matchedsets. This renewsyour strength to continue attacking. Usually, if you eliminate a’player in this fashion, you have a chance to win inasingleturn. Two Player Risk ration sion is played according to the traditional rules of, pied ter- by a force ritories. Thi called the Al pieces differen Allied Armies wil total of 28 armies. ThePlay Accumulation of Armies The Players: Each player manner. The Allied Army: When a pl ining 14 territories will be occ rmy. These armies are cor olor from those used by’ laced on each uno; players. Two ied territory for a S armies in the traditional gins his turn and determines titled to, the Allied Army is r. Fractions donotcount, mies, the Allied Army is layer places his armies og board according tional rules. jumber of Allied Armies (determined aboveN@ Allied occupied territories. nThe Attack sThe Players: Each playerattacks according to the tradj@gpnal rules. He may attack the other player or the Allied a player attacks the Allied Army, the other dice for the Army. ied Army: Immediately after the Allied e player who placed them may acta ack the other player’s armies. Hg ies are placed, Eccumulate in a ter- 7 the other player may fe gets the use of the manding Allied forces bries. Allied forces do not umulate armies only in the However, if they are not u m to his advantage why es. Whena player i attack his own te /er has decided to stopattacking fe first player takes his free move. Entitled toa free move. when one player loses all his terri- Army loses all its territor may al armies andthe game is played ules. The Allied Army i End of Game: The game tories. Once tha ‘Summary of Pro 1. Players place J ied Army is placed on the remaining tey : 2. Player 1 oby@iMs his armies, places Wm and attacks. Player 2, acting as t@@fllied Army, places the AM@ymulated Allied forces and may™fack player 1 with Allied ANWiss only. Player 1 then hasa frg@™ove. onthe boardand Armies, places ack territories Iccumulates his armies, places tha Player 1 then accumulates the Al in Allied occupied territories and maj Bpied by player 2. Player 2 takes his free md Weill be glad to answer inquiries conceming these ‘Address: Parker Brothers, Salem, Massachusetts 01 2