The game Risk has no strategy, right?

Question

Its all about luck am I right? I come up with great strategies yet I lose to gankers and suicide bombers. After I defeat an area, someone else comes form the back. Everyone purposely go for me and to each other. They give each other land by surrendering and concentrate on my weaker areas... I use to win when everyone was fair but now I keep losing when 3 to 4 people gank me and 1 person suicides with me all the time...

Is this game lame or what? Lame barbarians beat strategists with ganking and lucky dice rolls. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Risk is a game that requires strategy and luck. You have to have both to win. If everybody else is teaming up against, you, I have no real strategy except that they can't beat you any other way except to gang up upon you.

Answer 2

Wrong! It's a matter of knowing when to attack and when to stop. Starting in Australia (properly called Oceania) is fine unless someone else wants it too. It's not worth fighting for. I prefer North America because it worth five armies at the beginning of one's turn and  reasonable easy to defend.

Answer 3

There is luck and strategy.  The one thing I avoid in the game is setting cards early and then running through leaving small forces in defense.  In your situation I would fight fire with fire and challenge these opponents to single games.  IF they are serious about playing then they should respect the challenge.  Sounds like they know they can't beat you straight up.

Answer 4

If you can maneuver to have other people fight against each other, while you sit back, you'll find that winning is a lot easier.

Think of it this way: every time the dice hit the table in a battle you aren't part of, your relative position is improving.

There are SO MANY dice rolls in this game, that the luck factor is balanced out.  It is a highly strategic game.

Here are some strategy links (from most basic to most advanced):

http://www.hasbro.com/risk/default.cfm?p...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_(game)...

http://boardgames.about.com/gi/dynamic/o...

Answer 5

it is a strategy game!!

Answer 6

I always win

they cant attack austalia from the back and it gets u extra troops

take it in the beginning and then fortify the only entrance point  then go in

Answer 7

It sounds like people are using a lot of strategies against you, doesn't it? You may not like the game, but I enjoy it and I use a strategy that I can't say because my son is reading over my shoulder. You need to clear up the rules with others about not teaming up on one person in advance, and set up clear consequences if others are caught violating those rules. That's a strategy, too.

Answer 8

There is a tremendous amount of strategy in Risk, but of course there is a tremendous amount of luck as well.  However, over time, the chance aspect should balance itself out.  There seems to be two problems: 1) You are being ganged up on.  This does not mean there is no strategy.  It means your opponents are using a very powerful strategy (ie. forming an alliance) which is difficult to overcome.  Diplomacy is a very real strategy, even in real life.  2) You seem to have a 'sour grapes' attitude.  Just because you are losing does not mean the game is unfair.  It means you need to adjust your strategy.  Either use diplomacy, or play with people who don't gang up on you.

Answer 9

Yes, there is some strategy to risk:

1) Try to get Australia first -- there is only one way in and it is easy to defend.  Europe and Asia get you a lot of points, but they are hard to defend.  South America is also a good one.

2) As infered from above, go for continents.  Once you have a continent, find a way to defend it.  After Australia, I try to lock up Africa and South America.  They are easy to defend together and Africa is actually easier to defend by taking the Middle East and S/W Europe.

3) Don't spread yourself too thin!  Some players (especially new ones) tend to attack until they can't attack any more, which makes them easy pickings for other players.  You don't have to win the game early!

4) Try to get at least one country each turn for the card.

5) Turn your cards in when it suits you -- not as soon as you can.  For example, if all four players have a fistful of cards and you are well defended, why turn your cards in now?  Why not wait and maybe pick up an extra 10 armies?

6) Avoid attacking someone just because they attacked you.  When you attack it should be to (a) help conquer a continent or (b) prevent another player from collecting the continent bonus.

When I play, I play by continents -- conquering the world one continent at a time.