WHERE ARE ALL THE TOURNAMENTS?
RISK by Parker Brothers has been a family favorite for over 40 years but seems to lack any major exposure beyond the household games night. I set out to investigate why this great game has made very little tournament impact around the world.
FAMILY FUN
My armies are massed in Venezuela and Brazil protecting the continent of South America. I have been happily creaming off an extra 2 armies every turn since the first round. Splinter groups are postioned in the Middle East and across Northern Europe to Great Britain. I appraise my cards and relish the opportunity to cash in for 20 extra armies on my next turn.
The dice are with my mother. Suddenly I am far from satisfied with my position as she turns in her set of cards and receives a score of extra infantry men to reinforce with. There was already a worrying maternal presence in Mexico and Southern Europe and as the new troops are allocated to both these territories I see my fate unfold.
The family favorite |
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"Attacking Venezuela with all"
There is no nepotism showed as my mum destroys all my armies in one turn, putting me out of the game. The defeat was compounded by my pathetic defensive rolls - I took a total of 3 armies from her during the coup. My mum went on to win the game - her first ever RISK victory.
Happy memories of a family RISK game at Thanksgiving 2000 and I have many more of games every Christmas. RISK is a great family game but it has yet to make a pronounced mark on the national or international tournament scene. To get some idea of why RISK has not broken through one must first have a basic understanding of the rules.
RULES
RISK is a strategic territorial control boardgame for 2-6 players. The board consists of a world map split into 28 territories. Each player controls a team designated by color comprised of infantry pieces (one army), cavalry pieces (5 armies) and cannon pieces (10 armies).
Objectives depend on the game variant, with the most popular being global domination (capturing all 28 territories) or secret mission completion. Secret missions are given on a card at the outset of the game and consist of such tasks as "Destroy all Green armies" or "Conquer Africa and Asia".
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At the outset of the game each player receives a certain amount of infantry pieces depending on the total number of players. Initial territories are taken in turn or by dealing out the deck of "territory cards". From there play continues in a turn-based fashion.
At the start of each turn a player will receive a certain amount of bonus armies based on number of territories held, continents held and sets of cards turned in. The player will then attempt to capture further territories by attacking adjacent armies. At the end of a turn a player may relocate some armies and claim a "card" if he/she has managed to capture one territory in the turn.
The game
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"Cards" are either infantry, cavalry, cannon or wild. A set of three or one of each type can be turned in for bonus armies at the start of each turn. Each time someone turns in a set the amount of armies awarded for the set increases by 5.
The success of "attacking" and "defending" are determined by the roll of dice but suffice to say that if you are attacking with 20 armies and the defender has only one then the attacker has a near certain victory with minimal losses.
Some have commented that the random elements such as the "card" collection and dice rolling may set this game apart from such tournament classics as Stratego and Axis & Allies.
EXISTING TOURNAMENTS
There are RISK tournaments organized throughout the world's gaming clubs and on the internet. However, none are run on an official level like the Tournament Of Champions.
The Tournament of Champions prides itself on being the only officially sanctioned RISK® tournament in the world. It is an annual event which occurs in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania during early October. This year saw the 12th event, a double elimination tournament hosting 120 players. More information
Game in progress at TOC 2000 |
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The World Boardgames Championships have had a RISK tournament for the past two years. However, due to the low turnout in the 2000 event, Risk does not qualify as a Century event for WBC 2001. The WBG plan to run it as a trial event next year and will run three scheduled Swiss Elimination heats in an effort to ensure that Risk will return to the Century in 2002. More information
MSO Italy is reported to be having a RISK event this year. The Italian version, Risiko, is very popular and most of its charm is ascribed to the modern-day realism created by the use of tanks instead of the usual anonymous pieces that don't give you the same impression of conquering1.
In order to prove that there's relatively low impact of RISK interest in clubs and tournaments I would have to compile hundreds of surveys regarding gaming clubs throughout the US and UK alone. I do not have the statistics concerning game-playing clubs and the particular games involved, but I can assume RISK is an occasional weekend routine with a few dozen.
WHY SO FEW?
First you must realize the popularity of board games and the demand for them. The upsurge of independent game manufacturers in the last decade created more challenging strategic board games.
World War II buffs, for instance, searched for more complicated games (eg. Panzer Blitz and Axis & Allies) involving more than just a roll of the dice. I can't even begin to imagine the exact number of strategy games on the market today.
The US tournament impact from Parker Brothers and Hasbro has been tremendous. They are very supportive of the idea of promoting and representing their product. They endorse the Tournament of Champions and run it on a very professional level. Sportsmanship at these events is a top priority.
If a tournament director keeps that in mind, their event will flourish alongside their relationship with a game manufacturer. The Tournament of Champions is growing at a steady rate with the younger and older generation alike. The ages represented at TOC have ranged from 8 to 69 years old!
IN CONCLUSION
TOC proves that RISK tournament interest exists and with 12 successful events behind them they also set a fine example for anyone with aspirations to run a RISK tournament in the future.
However after 40 years on the market one would perhaps expect a bigger impact. It does seem that the randomness of the dice conquering and card collection bonus armies are a deterrant.
That being said there is a large element of strategy in RISK. From a game design point of view the random factors act as a levelling device which lends the game more to a family and friends environment than the wholesale serious competition and tournament scene.
From a marketing and a playing perspective RISK has stood the test of time. If boardgamers had something similar to a classic car cruise then I would choose the '57 Chevy of all games, RISK. There are undoubtedly legions of RISK enthusiasts around the world who would say the same.
Have your say.
Footnotes:
1 Many versions of RISK have traditionally employed plastic shapes to represent the infantry, cavalry and cannons (right). However some versions have employed accurately represented minatures, often at an inflated price.
RISK® is a Parker Brothers registered trademark for its world conquest game and game equipment.
Plastic pieces |
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EXTRA INFORMATION
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