This title to some gamers is like saying Monopoly. Risk? Why would I want to play that when there are so many better war games. Other games may offer a challenge and strategy that you like more, but I believe there is room for some of these classic games as well. Sometimes you may just want to chuck some dice and that is where Risk may fit just fine.
Risk Europe is what can be called Risk 2.0. It has some elements of Risk, but it cannot be said to be Risk. Risk Europe is a 2-4 player game from Hasbro where instead of global domination, the goal is to be the first to earn 7 crowns. This is done by controlling lands, taxing them, and winning battles for strategic areas on the board.
To start, place out the gameboard and give each player an army (consisting of footmen, archers, cavalry, and siege weapons) and the matching set of action cards in their chosen color, a castle, 5 coins, a crown, victory marker, and a reference card. Players will bid to be the first player by taking a chosen number of their starting coins and bid with them. The player with the highest bid will pay the bank their bid, and take the first player marker while everyone else will keep their coins. Each player will place their victory marker on the first space of the victory track.
The first player will choose a city they wish to start at, place a castle and crown there and collect the city marker. They then take 10 footmen and place them in any combination between their chosen city and adjacent territory. Play continues clockwise where each player will complete the same steps.
Once every player has chosen their starting city and adjacent territory, each player will choose two cards from their action cards and place them face down. The first player will reveal one of their cards and take the chosen action. The actions include moving to an adjacent territory, a split move into two territories, reinforcing, taxing, or spending. Some of the cards have a bonus action, like attaching with a siege engine, becoming the first player, or even extra moves.
Again, in clockwise order, each player will repeat until all have revealed their first card and taken that action. If any player moved into a territory occupied by an opponent, then a battle ensues and cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war!
Battles in Risk Europe are handled simultaneously with each player rolling dice; to attack or defend. Refer to the reference card for conducting battle as each unit type has a different role for success. Each player scores a hit when that unit has either rolled higher or succeeded compared to the number on the reference chart. Any ties go to the defender. When a hit is scored, the attacking player loses a unit of their choice. The battle continues until one side is defeated. The victor then leaves the remaining units in the territory. If the area contains a city, the victor immediately earns that area’s tax value and goes up on the victory track while the loser goes down.
Castles also help the defender, allowing them to reroll their dice one time for each tier of the unit shown on the reference card. Each city grants a crown to the occupier towards the 7 crowns needed to win. Some of the special cities will also give a city marker that provides a special ability.
A tax action lets the player collect coins from a city and 1 coin for each territory they control adjacent to it. A spend action allows a player to purchase new units, a castle, or even a crown. New units and castles are placed in any territory the player occupies.
The game continues until one player earns their 7th crown and immediately wins. Risk Europe differs from classic Risk, as there are no card sets to collect, the map is of Europe instead of the world, Each unit is different and the higher units are more than just replacements for the lower units quantity, and that global domination is not the goal. Where it is the same as that dice are used, and the better roll still achieves the victory, Traditional Risk actions are not determined by cards, just moving units to gather territory and to fight for control in contested areas. There are no cities, or special abilities in classic Risk either.
It would be safe to say that Risk Europe is a completely different game with its own unique experience and you would be right. Risk Europe to me is another step between classic Risk and say Conquest of the Empire or Axis and Allies, two more classic war games. It fits nicely in that niche of introductory war games that are easy to get into and still offer some challenge and strategy, I like that this game offers additional ways to win than just obliterate the other players. Controlling key areas that generate good income can allow a player enough coins to keep buying crowns instead of the risk of trying to win on several fronts. The card play is similar to Kemet, where choosing your actions in the correct order has major consequences. The main risk factor is dice rolling but the use of castles allows some risk mitigation with rerolls.
I have to say that I would choose Risk Europe over classic Risk. This will get a good amount of play, especially for a quick night of wargaming compared to a whole 3-hour experience. If you like wargames and are interested in one that offers some complexity, strategy, and plays faster than some other bigger wargames, then Risk Europe may be a great fit as I found that it is for me.
Written by Ed Carter
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