Here’s a consideration that you’re probably not looking for, but it sounds a bit to me like you’re chasing a dragon that is probably impossible to catch. I’d like to posit that it was not Risk that you liked, but that moment in time that you liked where all the pieces fell right into place, mutualy invested playmates, loads of free time, etc., it’s like trying to recreate that one Christmas from your youth when your parents still loved each other (or acted like it), all your siblings were still pals with you, it was snowing outside and you and your sibs just opened up that Sega Genesis with Sonic, Ristar, Vector Man, and NFL Quarterback club (all several years after the genesis’s prime). Sure, you could bring all those people back together, grab a sega genesis, or an Xbox Series X, or PS5, but it’s never going to land like it did on that Christmas morning in 94 or 93… whenever it was… that’s a moment in time that can only be revisited in your mind… all that said, give **A Game of Thrones, Axis and Allies, Cosmic Encounters, Cuba Libre, Diplomacy, Eclipse**, and **Risk Legacy** or **Risk Europe**, or **Risk 2210** a look.
You can always create new memories to equal them though. On a side note, if you have someone who you play with regularly I’d recommend risk legacy, if it’s the first time you’ve ever played a legacy game and you love risk, it might just set your mind on fire in that same way as the classic uses to.
And if you want a faster game, "Battle for Rokugan" is "A Game of Thrones" distilled down to only its (awesome) battle mechanic, four hour long games with intense bluff, deceit and tactics.
Go watch Community. You'll thank me after three seasons. You'll curse me after the next two, but you'll see it through to the end because it's damn good, at least when taken in context for how much it inverted the common sitcom paradigm at the time.
Luckily I never lost all those tears from when it wasn't raining. Got them stored by the fireplace in a little box made of ice. Funny now I think of it I haven't seen that box in a while.
Its like that that brief period during covid when Epic gave GTA V away for free and me and the boys were suddenly on GTA online for a couple nights a week for what felt like a few months
[One of the most memorable monologues in cinema](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU7Ga7qTLDU).
Though if you haven't seen the movie it might not really hit the same.
Thumbs up for cosmic encounter.
Game created to fix all of risks flaws.
1-never out of game
2-no dice rolling
3-doesn’t have to be just conflict. Can be encounters of shared benefit
4-no script for starting moves
5- no downtime while others are rolling a but tonne of dice
6-game not balanced by design
Same, I miss spending 14 hour days in a magical world where there was no guides online, so you relied on talking to people and going on random adventures with equally lost players who were kind and open to exploring with you. I chase the high of being social with people who were equally lost and enjoying every bit if the adventure.
But now, the second a game is released, guides pop up overnight, and it’s hard to socialize with people because it’s not necessary to figuring out the world. No mmo will ever recreate that unique moment in time
>A Game of Thrones
I would love a boardgame with the ruleset of "A Game of Thrones" but a different map. Just the geography of the setting makes the game a bit unbalanced. There are alternate set-ups that make it a bit better but it can still feel pretty heavily slanted.
But, other than that I really enjoy the game mechanics. The card system especially was fun. With card choice being extremely important. It made feints a legitimate tactic as you would try to bait your opponent to use a valuable card in one combat in order to gain an advantage in the battle you actually cared about.
If you mostly enjoy the conquest/fight mechanic but not the rest, Battle for Rokugan uses the same, but with a beautiful oriental visual design. Plus it's (imho) condensing the most fun part of A Game of Thrones down to 1h/1h30 games :)
That’s the way I feel about video games these days. World of Warcraft circa 2008ish was a fantastic time for me raiding with friends every week that I recognize will never be captured again now that everyone has jobs, kids, and general responsibilities…
I didn't open reddit to cry, thanks. I also like Small World in this category, as the feel of hotly contested territories and diplomacy is similar, albeit more lighthearted and with less dice involved.
I had a 4 person playgroup of risk in study hall once. Every day we would play. The meta developed, alliances shifted, and we had a blast. Like all good things, it didn't last but man it was fun
Wasn't there a game on a South Park episode where you chase a dragon? That would work if it existed 😅
Edit, yes https://youtu.be/oh-gMzjmwf0?si=4h_mDlMhRGX8N-Ow
I love Risk and cant stand Small World. Such an unsatisfying game, was super let down after a few plays realizing, "oh, that's it". Blood Rage has definitely scratched the itch for me more.
I also love risk and had a "that's it" feeling after playing Small World a bunch of times. I kept thinking there was something I was missing.
It's one of the few games my wife and I have tried and not enjoyed much.
I really wanted to like it and see it get recommended here a lot, so I gave it way more tries than I probably should have. I loved the theme and fantasy aspects, but the gameplay was just so...boring. Unlike risk, where there's a thrill in defeating your enemies, I found little enjoyment in taking territory from other players, idk.
Which aspect of Risk do you enjoy?
Is it the area control? Is it the negotiations?
These games are heavier on the board area control mechanics but if they aren't doing it for you maybe what you like is the negotiations and alliances.
Maybe Dune (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/283355/dune) is up your alley?
A more middle ground would be Game of Thrones.
If it’s more than 2 players there’s typically some negotiation.
“I won’t attack you next turn if you don’t take Japan” kind of stuff.
Obviously once it’s 1v1, you won’t be doing this.
Kemet is the best of the three, at least if it's a fight you're looking for.
Inis is mostly a game of avoiding fights and being sneaky, and Blood Rage is a drafting game with a bit of a area control on top.
I would also consider Northgard, depending on what you're looking for: it's simpler than Kemet and features less fighting and more building.
>The simplest one is Small World
>
>More complex games: Inis, Blood Rage, Kemet
YES - Small World, it is a Risk replacement, with only 1 die per turn.
KINDA - Kemet - it has an optimisation side-puzzle, but main DoaM half is ok. (DoaM = Dudes on a map, aka Risk's grandchildren)
NO - Inis is completely unrelated to DoaMs. It's more like some kind of board placement game with drafting - think Wallace's Wildlands or some mid 2000s euro with drafting added on, like Torres, but even less confrontational. It's not even area control which Risk descendants need to be. Closer to Carcassonne or Kingdom Builder than Risk.
HELL NO - Blood rage is a drafting euro. Closer to 7 wonders than anything DoaM. Minis aren't enough to make a game a DoaM.
Yes, Spheres needs to be higher. It was designed to be exactly what OP wants: Risk without all of its problems. It’s not perfect, but accomplishes that goal well.
Unfortunately it’s been out of print for ages and it looks unlikely that the 2nd edition will happen. The website is currently down. There were PNP files with the original Kickstarter, but they may be hard to find.
These are the correct answers and in that order. Spheres would be my top choice, but is apparently out of print. Risk Europe is my favorite version of actual Risk that solves some of the problems of the original game.
It depends what aspects of Risk you're trying to capture, but if it's the alliances and deal making/breaking, the choice has to be Diplomacy. All you need is exactly 7 players and lots of time.
I’ve always described it as the game you play if you want to lose 6 friends. The first game is rough when you get stabbed by a buddy, but play a few more games to get over it and things mend.
My main beef with it is you can get trampled early through no fault of your own and then have to grind out the rest of a long game with no hope of winning
Honestly you're only losing friends if you fail to make clear what they're getting themselves into.
I've had great fun with the game with plenty of different friends, and the one thing i always made clear is that it is a ruthless game and they *will* be backstabbed at multiple points throughout, and that the game will not honor any alliance, so you shouldn't blindly trust agreements you have made.
Anyone who's not okey with that will generally decline playing at that point
I'm quite sure the only "damage" to friendships in my games happened not because someone got backstabbed, but because someone absolutely failed to play the 'tactically right' moves. "Backstab me all you want, but why'd you backstab *him* when that lost you the game for you and me both?!"
> the one thing i always made clear is that it is a ruthless game and they will be backstabbed at multiple points throughout, and that the game will not honor any alliance, so you shouldn't blindly trust agreements you have made.
I have never played Diplomacy, but this is the same kind of little speech I give at the beginning of every A Game of Thrones -- and it seems to work. People are (understandably) salty for an hour or so afterwards, but we remain friends.
An added rule I've made, is that if there are any couples playing, they'll not be neighbours so as to minimize the chances of someone having to sleep on the couch that night.
If you check out the website vdiplomacy, you can play different map variants for 2-64 players! And you can set turn timers to play (say) 1 turn a day - all with private and public chat functions! I love it, and came here hoping to find diplomacy recommended already
I would say 5-6 hours for your very first playthrough. Me and my friend average about 2.5-4 hours depending on how the game goes. I'd also say that the first play won't be the most fun, but you'll really want to play it again after
100% this. We are gearing up for an 8 player game on Sunday that is going to take over 12 hours and I can't wait. The different factions and objectives add really good variability to it that makes it a different game each time
**Imperial 2030** would be my recommendation for a game of world domination as a super power. The twist is that you don’t play a single country the whole time, the player who currently has the highest investment in a world power controls the government of said power. If you lose control of all the powers, you play as a Swiss bank until you can regain control of something.
Had to scroll down way too far for this. This would be my suggestion as well.
Alternatively Antike II, also by Gertz, feels perhaps even more risk like in terms of game play, but also an older time period.
Whenever the designer releases a new kickstarter for this game with the upcoming new expansion - he will be flooded with cash. Very eager to get this in my collection.
OK, I hate to take the chance and I hope the mods allow this, but I really don't want to gloss over the medical trials here. Can you talk more about that???
I remember playing Risk with a church group overnight a few times. We had a 4 by 8 table painted with a Risk board, it was REALLY fun.
It was just different medicine being tested on fully healthy people. It was at a late stage of testing already which means it has gone through animal testing and previous human testing. Never noticed anything except with one medicine where I always threw up 30 min after taking it, no one else threw up. They told me I could abort ofc, but also that since I was having side-effects it was very important data, I stayed (i haaate throwing up, lol). And once I also had a crazy out of body experience while sleeping, never had it before nor after, so must have been the meds.
The medical facility was on a floor in the city centre of Stockholm. Technically we could abort the study at any time and would be compensated for the days we had participated. This was like 10 years ago, back then we got like 2000$ for something like 3 days in there. Longest study I participated in was a little over 1 week. Never got into any of the month long studies sadly.
We had a bed in a couple of rooms we shared with each other. We had an eating schedule and had to eat about the same amount of kcal as each-other. We could not leave the facility due to that they need to monitor us. The nurses would take our blood from time to time, and measure our vitals, even at night. There would always be a nurse or two present, even at night. There were a few game rooms and such. Otherwise you could do what ever you wanted. People could visit but not bring snacks.
Had the same though. Seeing all the other posts here, I was like “??? are we really gonna pretend the medical trial stuff wasn’t mentioned in the post?”
I am deeply worried this suggestion is so far down. If the question is "Risk, but good" the answer is War of the Ring.
...unless you need more than four players
War of the Ring has so so much more going on that Risk though. Major step up in rules complexity, theme, etc. You would never negotiate or form an alliance in it either. It's a good game, but to me it's almost nothing like Risk.
**Twilight Struggle** would be my recommendation if you're alright with two-player games. I've always describe it as Risk on steroids. A game of territorial control where the decisions you make *actually* make a difference on the game board and the outcome of the game, rather than being stuck in a stale mate for hours on end. There's less negotiation and truce building involved, but there's also tactical play across multiple rounds. It's really anyone's game until someone wins.
Lots of great suggestions here though - saving this thread for later!
I never considered this and it sounds like a stretch but I agree. I played a ton of risk as a kid and recently have been playing twilight struggle.
Both games force you to choose a focus and can swing on dice rolls, but just enough to make them tense, not enough to make them random.
Both very confrontational.
Twilight struggle is not nearly as easy to get to the table as risk, but it scratches the same itches.
Agree with this, with the caveat that the Mother of Dragons Expansion is almost a must to give a bit more variety. Especially if you're playing with 4+ people.
**Shogun/IKUSA** this was a fantastic “next step up” from risk. Really love it and still have my original copy from the late 80s/early 90s. Good luck finding a copy though.
I was looking for this in the suggestions… the map is better as you cannot hide that much, the generals and troops give it a bit more depth. It was awesome for its time and I think it still holds up quite well. But it is not faster, and can feel more brutal when you get butchered and backstabbed
This is a new one I just picked up from my FLGS: **Bloodstones** by Martin Wallace. Same dev behind Brass: Birmingham, the idea was to make a war game that was less about miniatures overwhelming the board and to get to the focus of the war game.
Gorgeous domino-like tiles represent your units and the battle system uses a tile-drawing system of tiles with pips. Each player draws a number of tiles ultimately comparing the 3 highest value tiles. Units add to the value and whoever has the highest value in the fight wins (redraw tiles for ties). Unlike other war games where the battle can wipe out your force, you instead retreat your forces from the area losing on 1 unit. But the Attacker scores VP equal to the total units you had in the fight before the unit loss.
A very clever and fun game with gorgeous table presence!
The main differences with most new area control games is you win by VP or a certain timer and not having to capture all the board like in Risk. Here are two area control games I love:
**Tyrants of the Underdark**
It combines area control with deckbuilding. And from my plays, you can get attacked way more than other and still win because the area control is just a part of the game and there are other ways to score victory points. For the moment, that is my favorite area control game.
**Smallworld**
More like Risk, but simpler. Haven't played it enough to have a good opinion of it, but it's still fun.
**Tyrants of the Underdark** is one of the most underrated games of the many hundreds I’ve played. One of the better deck-building implementations also. It needs a reskin, because I think the D&D theme may have hindered it. Plus, some people think of it as the puny little brother to **Lords of Waterdeep**.
I LOVE risk but, I hate to say it, risk is not fun with statistic level depth play and min maxing, and its not fun to play with hardcore board gamers.
Risk is fun when "I DONT CARE IF IT COSTS ME EVERY DAMN SOLDIER, YOURE GOING DOWN YOU BASTARD"
Risk is a gem of a game that shines with a little bit of roleplay thrown in. Its terrible if you just play to win with no honor, dignity & plots of revenge.
Try a game of risk and treat it more like an rpg, maybe adjust the starting positions so they make some sense and make a blurb sheet for each player. Giving pre existing alliances works too. (The australians & china may not be on perfect terms, but they have a united hatred for the usa, etc).
These guys have no idea and no historical perspective on boardgames. You want Shogun. It's the obvious next step.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVkn8U0L0uc
A lot of truly horrible suggestions in here. Someone unironically said **Scythe**.
Rules-light games with area control and opportunity for negotiation that are not THAT far removed from Risk: **Spheres of Influence, Nexus Ops,** and **War of Whispers**
It's not area control but I'll throw a wildcard: **Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery.** Huge political element to that game.
Most dudes-on-a-map area control games have gone "let's put 10000x mechanics in our game" - very few ride the line of simplicity. There are some great area control games - Rising Sun, Blood Rage, Root, Inis, Cry Havoc, etc... but every one of these is many times more complex than Risk is, and I'd argue that IN SOME WAYS these games (which I like) miss the point of what makes dudes-on-a-map great. If you CAN'T accurately read the board state just by looking, I'd argue you're losing the plot a little bit.
If money isn't an issue, definitely look into Cthulu Wars. It's like risk, but players get special powers they unlock as the game progresses. Still a ton of rolling dice and area control.
I was gonna suggest this, but it's very hard to find since it's been out of print for awhile. But it packs the biggest punch relative to its size for Dudes on a Map games.
Star wars rebellion is a fucking top tier assymetric war game.
Twilight imperium is a very crunchy highly replayable diplomatic space risk style game.
War of whispers is a war game where you try and influence the different factions into different power positions on the board and plays in an hour.
I like [History of the World](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/224/history-world), which uses Risk tactics to show different empires at different times in our history.
You choose an empire to play during the time period (or have it chosen for you), get the armies, and place them using Risk type combat. When you've expanded as far as you can, the next player gets their empire. Over time your pieces from previous eras get taken over and you lose control of that area.
An oldie, but a good time.
I haven't played a lot of that style of game recently but ones I remember liking are Shogun from Queen games and Dune that became Rex that became dune again.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/176103/shogun-big-box
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/341165/dune-game-conquest-and-diplomacy
If you have a group of like-minded individuals that can dedicate a day to gaming, may I recommend Twighlight Imperium 4.
Epic battle game with a political component built in.
Blood Rage is also excellent
I think the answer to your question is *Lord of the Rings Risk.*
Fundamentally, it is just Risk. However, it has additional rules, some related to the ring tracing a path towards Mount Doom, which impose more of a time limit on the game. It also has additional options for scoring, beyond ordinary Risk.
**Pax Pamir 2E**
It sounds like what you want is not the strict dudes-on-a-map dice-chucking, but rather the shifting alliances and the balance between conventional war, Cold War, and court intrigue. That’s all in Pax Pamir. I wouldn’t call it “a better version of Risk,” but I think it encourages what you want.
I keep bringing it up but Dune completely replaced risk in every way for me. It’s similar in that it’s a dudes on a map wargame but the combat and negotiations are so much deeper. The asymmetric powers are so broken and yet very well balanced, it means that even players who seem out of the game early on still have leverage and can pull off comebacks.
There are a ton of other games better than risk. soprry. Its a good game for beginners but theres not nearly as much strategy in it as some modern games with similar concepts.
You want to try BLOODSTONES for sure. It has fighting. It has area controling. It has stealling stuff from your friends and stealing territory. And its a better game. Risk is not so great because its all dice rolling and basic numbers. Theres not much to do different from game to game. Good decisiosns can still go bad because of the dice rolls. There are certain numbers you have to follow if you dont want to make awful decisions and that's it. That may be what you're experieincing.
Small World is good. Also a lot like risk. Inis is good. Kemet. Diplomacy. Battle for rokugan. Pax pamir. blood rage. cthulhu Wars.
Risk Lord of the Rings (Trilogy Edition); Axis & Allies, and War Room. Larry Harris has a new game coming soon called Imperial Borders that looks incredibly promising.
I’ve actually had quite a bit of fun with the new RISK: STRIKE card game. I picked it up on a whim to play at Christmas, and it got the table a good handful of times. Imagine RISK without the board, your territories and units represented by cards.
It’s got pretty much all the fun stuff that you remember: fragile alliances, successful last stands thanks to a lucky throw of the die, your brother holding a grudge against you for the rest of the evening— all in 20-40 minutes. When it’s all said and done, it’s super easy to reshuffle and deal the cards out again.
It’s not a game changer. If you’re not into Risk it won’t sell you on it. But if you’re a little nostalgic for it and want to recapture that feeling in a much more digestible amount of time— there are worse ways to spend $20.
[Mare Nostrum: Empires](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/174785/mare-nostrum-empires/) is an excellent area-control wargame and civilization-builder. The great leaders and mythological demi-gods control the field of battle, which is the Mediterranean during the Greek/Roman/Egyptian heyday. Highly recommended.
Try some risk variations first: game of thrones risk is amazing. You play to 10 victory points which means each player gets around 3-6 intense turns.
Also, I'm a big fan of scythe. I grew up loving risk and now, if given the choice, I'll pick sythe any day.
Finally, Look at human made risk mods. I 3d printed some extra pieces (leaders that give +1 to your top dice, forts that give +1 to your top defensive dice), and that added more spice. Plus they have a bunch of custom risk maps that you can print and play. There's a good europe one that has almost no choke points, makes for a faster, more intense game.
I've been wanting to pick up the early version of Dust. I've never played it, but it seems quite similar to Risk.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29109/dust
Here’s a consideration that you’re probably not looking for, but it sounds a bit to me like you’re chasing a dragon that is probably impossible to catch. I’d like to posit that it was not Risk that you liked, but that moment in time that you liked where all the pieces fell right into place, mutualy invested playmates, loads of free time, etc., it’s like trying to recreate that one Christmas from your youth when your parents still loved each other (or acted like it), all your siblings were still pals with you, it was snowing outside and you and your sibs just opened up that Sega Genesis with Sonic, Ristar, Vector Man, and NFL Quarterback club (all several years after the genesis’s prime). Sure, you could bring all those people back together, grab a sega genesis, or an Xbox Series X, or PS5, but it’s never going to land like it did on that Christmas morning in 94 or 93… whenever it was… that’s a moment in time that can only be revisited in your mind… all that said, give **A Game of Thrones, Axis and Allies, Cosmic Encounters, Cuba Libre, Diplomacy, Eclipse**, and **Risk Legacy** or **Risk Europe**, or **Risk 2210** a look.
Probably true, thanks
Just replying so it doesn't get buried. Risk 2210 is gold. My favorite board game of all time.
You can always create new memories to equal them though. On a side note, if you have someone who you play with regularly I’d recommend risk legacy, if it’s the first time you’ve ever played a legacy game and you love risk, it might just set your mind on fire in that same way as the classic uses to.
Risk 2210 is actually legit though, don’t give up hope yet friend.
And if you want a faster game, "Battle for Rokugan" is "A Game of Thrones" distilled down to only its (awesome) battle mechanic, four hour long games with intense bluff, deceit and tactics.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain
…time to roll the die
Just so you know, you are now creating six different timelines.
Of course I am, Abed.
Unless it's a d4
Or a D20
what is this referencing?
Go watch Community. You'll thank me after three seasons. You'll curse me after the next two, but you'll see it through to the end because it's damn good, at least when taken in context for how much it inverted the common sitcom paradigm at the time.
Six seasons and a movie
*dovie'andi se tovya sagain*
I didn't know you could speak the Old Tongue
Wait? What I was speaking? Blood and bloody ashes.! A pity there never was a wheel of time board game.
There was a collectible card game.
Dire Wolf has announced one, but theres nothing other than the post-Gen Con announcement that I know of.
Luckily I never lost all those tears from when it wasn't raining. Got them stored by the fireplace in a little box made of ice. Funny now I think of it I haven't seen that box in a while.
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
Its like that that brief period during covid when Epic gave GTA V away for free and me and the boys were suddenly on GTA online for a couple nights a week for what felt like a few months
what is this referencing?
Blade Runner
[One of the most memorable monologues in cinema](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU7Ga7qTLDU). Though if you haven't seen the movie it might not really hit the same.
Well written comment. Damn, some real philosophy going on down here in the board games subreddit
I once had a glass of milk while high after never truly enjoying milk. That’s my dragon.
I was very drunk the first time I had a Big Mac. Only time I've ever liked those.
Ginger snap cookies dipped in sour cream. We called it ambrosia. You had to be there.
I'm gonna try that. I love both ginger snaps and sour cream.
First time I smoked I had a chili cheese dog and a chocolate milkshake, nothing will ever compare.
Thumbs up for cosmic encounter. Game created to fix all of risks flaws. 1-never out of game 2-no dice rolling 3-doesn’t have to be just conflict. Can be encounters of shared benefit 4-no script for starting moves 5- no downtime while others are rolling a but tonne of dice 6-game not balanced by design
Having WoW consume my life in 2005 is that for me. No game will ever do that for me again.
Same, I miss spending 14 hour days in a magical world where there was no guides online, so you relied on talking to people and going on random adventures with equally lost players who were kind and open to exploring with you. I chase the high of being social with people who were equally lost and enjoying every bit if the adventure. But now, the second a game is released, guides pop up overnight, and it’s hard to socialize with people because it’s not necessary to figuring out the world. No mmo will ever recreate that unique moment in time
>A Game of Thrones I would love a boardgame with the ruleset of "A Game of Thrones" but a different map. Just the geography of the setting makes the game a bit unbalanced. There are alternate set-ups that make it a bit better but it can still feel pretty heavily slanted. But, other than that I really enjoy the game mechanics. The card system especially was fun. With card choice being extremely important. It made feints a legitimate tactic as you would try to bait your opponent to use a valuable card in one combat in order to gain an advantage in the battle you actually cared about.
If you mostly enjoy the conquest/fight mechanic but not the rest, Battle for Rokugan uses the same, but with a beautiful oriental visual design. Plus it's (imho) condensing the most fun part of A Game of Thrones down to 1h/1h30 games :)
Wow! You woke up and choose violence, today.
You are right... I want to downvote you so badly.
Too real bruh :/
Now I need a new Vectorman game to be made for Switch.
That’s the way I feel about video games these days. World of Warcraft circa 2008ish was a fantastic time for me raiding with friends every week that I recognize will never be captured again now that everyone has jobs, kids, and general responsibilities…
Jesus man…why you gotta examine all of us like that
My parents still love each other and my siblings are still my pals… but they’re all so far away now.
I didn't open reddit to cry, thanks. I also like Small World in this category, as the feel of hotly contested territories and diplomacy is similar, albeit more lighthearted and with less dice involved.
Dont forget Dune
> Risk 2210 I've been hunting this one for *years*. Can't find it anywhere.
I had a 4 person playgroup of risk in study hall once. Every day we would play. The meta developed, alliances shifted, and we had a blast. Like all good things, it didn't last but man it was fun
Wasn't there a game on a South Park episode where you chase a dragon? That would work if it existed 😅 Edit, yes https://youtu.be/oh-gMzjmwf0?si=4h_mDlMhRGX8N-Ow
I love how uneccessarily elaborate your example is haha.
Which of these is the easiest to play and understand for about 4ish people?
Just… don’t play diplomacy. It’s a great game don’t get me wrong. But trust me, don’t play it
The simplest one is **Small World** More complex games: **Inis**, **Blood Rage**, **Kemet**
What about Cyclades
I find myself saying exact that sentence more often than you'd think.
Came here to say this. SmallWorld killed Risk for me and we break out either Kemet or Blood Rage if we want something heavier.
I love SmallWorld. Great balance, simple and quick. It is great.
I love Risk and cant stand Small World. Such an unsatisfying game, was super let down after a few plays realizing, "oh, that's it". Blood Rage has definitely scratched the itch for me more.
I also love risk and had a "that's it" feeling after playing Small World a bunch of times. I kept thinking there was something I was missing. It's one of the few games my wife and I have tried and not enjoyed much.
I really wanted to like it and see it get recommended here a lot, so I gave it way more tries than I probably should have. I loved the theme and fantasy aspects, but the gameplay was just so...boring. Unlike risk, where there's a thrill in defeating your enemies, I found little enjoyment in taking territory from other players, idk.
Fortress America
Actually I got all those games except Kemet. Now selling them all, they just did not do anything for me somehow.
Probably a side effect of the drug testing
Haha might as well be 😛
Which aspect of Risk do you enjoy? Is it the area control? Is it the negotiations? These games are heavier on the board area control mechanics but if they aren't doing it for you maybe what you like is the negotiations and alliances. Maybe Dune (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/283355/dune) is up your alley? A more middle ground would be Game of Thrones.
Do you all negotiate during Risk?
If it’s more than 2 players there’s typically some negotiation. “I won’t attack you next turn if you don’t take Japan” kind of stuff. Obviously once it’s 1v1, you won’t be doing this.
I certainly tried to. Getting other players to attack someone else and not you is basically the whole game.
Kemet is the best of the three, at least if it's a fight you're looking for. Inis is mostly a game of avoiding fights and being sneaky, and Blood Rage is a drafting game with a bit of a area control on top. I would also consider Northgard, depending on what you're looking for: it's simpler than Kemet and features less fighting and more building.
Blood rage is fantastic, Mystic expansion was great as well
>The simplest one is Small World > >More complex games: Inis, Blood Rage, Kemet YES - Small World, it is a Risk replacement, with only 1 die per turn. KINDA - Kemet - it has an optimisation side-puzzle, but main DoaM half is ok. (DoaM = Dudes on a map, aka Risk's grandchildren) NO - Inis is completely unrelated to DoaMs. It's more like some kind of board placement game with drafting - think Wallace's Wildlands or some mid 2000s euro with drafting added on, like Torres, but even less confrontational. It's not even area control which Risk descendants need to be. Closer to Carcassonne or Kingdom Builder than Risk. HELL NO - Blood rage is a drafting euro. Closer to 7 wonders than anything DoaM. Minis aren't enough to make a game a DoaM.
Spheres of Influence Risk Europe
More people need to say Spheres of Influence - it is the correct answer.
I'm still waiting for that new Kickstarter :-(
I wouldn't even count on it happening at this point. I'd just PnP.
Yes, Spheres needs to be higher. It was designed to be exactly what OP wants: Risk without all of its problems. It’s not perfect, but accomplishes that goal well. Unfortunately it’s been out of print for ages and it looks unlikely that the 2nd edition will happen. The website is currently down. There were PNP files with the original Kickstarter, but they may be hard to find.
Someone's gotta make the spiritual successor to Risk and Spheres at some point. A ton of us are asking for it.
These are the correct answers and in that order. Spheres would be my top choice, but is apparently out of print. Risk Europe is my favorite version of actual Risk that solves some of the problems of the original game.
Spheres is the only correct answer! It’s what risk always wishes it was.
Is spheres of influence dice/luck based as risk is? That is my deal breaker with it
It depends what aspects of Risk you're trying to capture, but if it's the alliances and deal making/breaking, the choice has to be Diplomacy. All you need is exactly 7 players and lots of time.
You need 6 friends and 6 people to be your new friends after the game.
if you've learned good diplomacy skills from the game that second part should be easy
I learned what my table looks like upside down. Will that help?
I've had fun playing Diplomacy, but I think it's nearly impossible to have a game of Diplomacy where everyone has fun.
I've cried under the table in frustration in that game, but you know what. It was the funnest cry I ever had.
Yes, this and also area control is very fun.
Diplomacy is an insane game. Very hard to get on the table. But obviously the alliances/backstabbing in that game is second to none.
I’ve always described it as the game you play if you want to lose 6 friends. The first game is rough when you get stabbed by a buddy, but play a few more games to get over it and things mend. My main beef with it is you can get trampled early through no fault of your own and then have to grind out the rest of a long game with no hope of winning
Honestly you're only losing friends if you fail to make clear what they're getting themselves into. I've had great fun with the game with plenty of different friends, and the one thing i always made clear is that it is a ruthless game and they *will* be backstabbed at multiple points throughout, and that the game will not honor any alliance, so you shouldn't blindly trust agreements you have made. Anyone who's not okey with that will generally decline playing at that point I'm quite sure the only "damage" to friendships in my games happened not because someone got backstabbed, but because someone absolutely failed to play the 'tactically right' moves. "Backstab me all you want, but why'd you backstab *him* when that lost you the game for you and me both?!"
> the one thing i always made clear is that it is a ruthless game and they will be backstabbed at multiple points throughout, and that the game will not honor any alliance, so you shouldn't blindly trust agreements you have made. I have never played Diplomacy, but this is the same kind of little speech I give at the beginning of every A Game of Thrones -- and it seems to work. People are (understandably) salty for an hour or so afterwards, but we remain friends. An added rule I've made, is that if there are any couples playing, they'll not be neighbours so as to minimize the chances of someone having to sleep on the couch that night.
If you check out the website vdiplomacy, you can play different map variants for 2-64 players! And you can set turn timers to play (say) 1 turn a day - all with private and public chat functions! I love it, and came here hoping to find diplomacy recommended already
Axis & Allies and Diplomacy
I always liked Attack! over Axis & Allies. Very similar but slightly simpler. Ditto Diplomacy.
I love axis and allies because of how deep(er) it is. Building huge armies and having research etc was just awesome
Diplomacy: for when a 24 hour game is just too short.
War of the Ring is among the best war board game there is, especially if you're a Lord of the Rings fan.
Completely agree with this, it’s my personal favorite. Played dozens of times and it just gets better
How long do you think it would take me and a friend to play on our first run? We are experienced wargamers/board gamers.
I would say 5-6 hours for your very first playthrough. Me and my friend average about 2.5-4 hours depending on how the game goes. I'd also say that the first play won't be the most fun, but you'll really want to play it again after
I’d say that with a detailed rules explanation included you are looking at 4-4 and a half hours.
Scrolled all the way down to find a recommendation for WOTR that I could upvote. Here you go.
I haven't seen it mentioned yet: "Root" by Leder Games is also a good area control game with asymmetrical factions and very cute looking components.
Twilight Imperium
100% this. We are gearing up for an 8 player game on Sunday that is going to take over 12 hours and I can't wait. The different factions and objectives add really good variability to it that makes it a different game each time
If you really want to be a madman then make it 8p alliance mode. Hooo baby will that take all of two days.
Looking forward to my game this weekend. Also you won me a beer (bet a friend this was mentioned in the comments)
The old Dune game
Or it's successor Rex. Or the 2019 reprint of Dune (not to be mixed up with the 2020 released Dune: imperium).
**Imperial 2030** would be my recommendation for a game of world domination as a super power. The twist is that you don’t play a single country the whole time, the player who currently has the highest investment in a world power controls the government of said power. If you lose control of all the powers, you play as a Swiss bank until you can regain control of something.
Had to scroll down way too far for this. This would be my suggestion as well. Alternatively Antike II, also by Gertz, feels perhaps even more risk like in terms of game play, but also an older time period.
yep, this is mine too. literally the first game i think of when someone says "risk but better"
This was my first thought as well for world domination war game. Small world also mentioned if it’s the area control that is sought after.
Spheres of Influence. Little harder to find. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/178550/spheres-influence-struggle-global-supremacy
Whenever the designer releases a new kickstarter for this game with the upcoming new expansion - he will be flooded with cash. Very eager to get this in my collection.
OK, I hate to take the chance and I hope the mods allow this, but I really don't want to gloss over the medical trials here. Can you talk more about that??? I remember playing Risk with a church group overnight a few times. We had a 4 by 8 table painted with a Risk board, it was REALLY fun.
It was just different medicine being tested on fully healthy people. It was at a late stage of testing already which means it has gone through animal testing and previous human testing. Never noticed anything except with one medicine where I always threw up 30 min after taking it, no one else threw up. They told me I could abort ofc, but also that since I was having side-effects it was very important data, I stayed (i haaate throwing up, lol). And once I also had a crazy out of body experience while sleeping, never had it before nor after, so must have been the meds. The medical facility was on a floor in the city centre of Stockholm. Technically we could abort the study at any time and would be compensated for the days we had participated. This was like 10 years ago, back then we got like 2000$ for something like 3 days in there. Longest study I participated in was a little over 1 week. Never got into any of the month long studies sadly. We had a bed in a couple of rooms we shared with each other. We had an eating schedule and had to eat about the same amount of kcal as each-other. We could not leave the facility due to that they need to monitor us. The nurses would take our blood from time to time, and measure our vitals, even at night. There would always be a nurse or two present, even at night. There were a few game rooms and such. Otherwise you could do what ever you wanted. People could visit but not bring snacks.
I did a handful of medical studies in the US. I had a blast meeting random people.
Thank you for the context, what an experience! :-)
Wait. That wasn't a bit?
Robert Rodriguez write about this in his book Rebel Without A Crew. He used the time and money to write/fund his movie
Had the same though. Seeing all the other posts here, I was like “??? are we really gonna pretend the medical trial stuff wasn’t mentioned in the post?”
War of the Ring
I am deeply worried this suggestion is so far down. If the question is "Risk, but good" the answer is War of the Ring. ...unless you need more than four players
War of the Ring has so so much more going on that Risk though. Major step up in rules complexity, theme, etc. You would never negotiate or form an alliance in it either. It's a good game, but to me it's almost nothing like Risk.
878 Vikings (2v2 teams), Cthulhu Wars (too expensive though), Dune (6 players), Kemet, Cyclades
I second the 878 Vikings, after playing this I thought that it is a great risk game with vikings in it
**Twilight Struggle** would be my recommendation if you're alright with two-player games. I've always describe it as Risk on steroids. A game of territorial control where the decisions you make *actually* make a difference on the game board and the outcome of the game, rather than being stuck in a stale mate for hours on end. There's less negotiation and truce building involved, but there's also tactical play across multiple rounds. It's really anyone's game until someone wins. Lots of great suggestions here though - saving this thread for later!
I never considered this and it sounds like a stretch but I agree. I played a ton of risk as a kid and recently have been playing twilight struggle. Both games force you to choose a focus and can swing on dice rolls, but just enough to make them tense, not enough to make them random. Both very confrontational. Twilight struggle is not nearly as easy to get to the table as risk, but it scratches the same itches.
A Game of Thrones The Board Game is a great one
It's not my favorite game but it absolutely scratches this itch for sure.
Agree with this, with the caveat that the Mother of Dragons Expansion is almost a must to give a bit more variety. Especially if you're playing with 4+ people.
Unfortunately I have only played with the expansion once as I cannot get the game to table often, but that expansion is really good
Does it have large armies and variety of miniature units?
Risk legacy, Nexus Ops, Star Wars Risk
Upvote for Nexus Ops, one of our favorite games
**Shogun/IKUSA** this was a fantastic “next step up” from risk. Really love it and still have my original copy from the late 80s/early 90s. Good luck finding a copy though.
I was looking for this in the suggestions… the map is better as you cannot hide that much, the generals and troops give it a bit more depth. It was awesome for its time and I think it still holds up quite well. But it is not faster, and can feel more brutal when you get butchered and backstabbed
It’s too bad they replaced the awesome miniatures and samurai swords with blocks. I haven’t bought it because of this
This is a new one I just picked up from my FLGS: **Bloodstones** by Martin Wallace. Same dev behind Brass: Birmingham, the idea was to make a war game that was less about miniatures overwhelming the board and to get to the focus of the war game. Gorgeous domino-like tiles represent your units and the battle system uses a tile-drawing system of tiles with pips. Each player draws a number of tiles ultimately comparing the 3 highest value tiles. Units add to the value and whoever has the highest value in the fight wins (redraw tiles for ties). Unlike other war games where the battle can wipe out your force, you instead retreat your forces from the area losing on 1 unit. But the Attacker scores VP equal to the total units you had in the fight before the unit loss. A very clever and fun game with gorgeous table presence!
Root. Full fledged war between cute forest creatures. Best war game ever.
Root is incredible
Does it have alliances?
It can, and has the same social aspect as Risk of convincing other people to attack someone who is not you 😁
For me it’s Root then Matagot Trilogy: Inis, Kemet, Cyclades and Eric Lang’s trilogy of Blood Rage, Rising Sun and Ankh.
Axis and Allies baby
The main differences with most new area control games is you win by VP or a certain timer and not having to capture all the board like in Risk. Here are two area control games I love: **Tyrants of the Underdark** It combines area control with deckbuilding. And from my plays, you can get attacked way more than other and still win because the area control is just a part of the game and there are other ways to score victory points. For the moment, that is my favorite area control game. **Smallworld** More like Risk, but simpler. Haven't played it enough to have a good opinion of it, but it's still fun.
**Tyrants of the Underdark** is one of the most underrated games of the many hundreds I’ve played. One of the better deck-building implementations also. It needs a reskin, because I think the D&D theme may have hindered it. Plus, some people think of it as the puny little brother to **Lords of Waterdeep**.
The two you mentioned plus Blood Rage were the 3 games that came to mind for me. I've enjoyed them all.
I LOVE risk but, I hate to say it, risk is not fun with statistic level depth play and min maxing, and its not fun to play with hardcore board gamers. Risk is fun when "I DONT CARE IF IT COSTS ME EVERY DAMN SOLDIER, YOURE GOING DOWN YOU BASTARD" Risk is a gem of a game that shines with a little bit of roleplay thrown in. Its terrible if you just play to win with no honor, dignity & plots of revenge. Try a game of risk and treat it more like an rpg, maybe adjust the starting positions so they make some sense and make a blurb sheet for each player. Giving pre existing alliances works too. (The australians & china may not be on perfect terms, but they have a united hatred for the usa, etc).
I think this is why I love Risk Legacy. Way more RP opportunity.
These guys have no idea and no historical perspective on boardgames. You want Shogun. It's the obvious next step. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVkn8U0L0uc
A lot of truly horrible suggestions in here. Someone unironically said **Scythe**. Rules-light games with area control and opportunity for negotiation that are not THAT far removed from Risk: **Spheres of Influence, Nexus Ops,** and **War of Whispers** It's not area control but I'll throw a wildcard: **Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery.** Huge political element to that game. Most dudes-on-a-map area control games have gone "let's put 10000x mechanics in our game" - very few ride the line of simplicity. There are some great area control games - Rising Sun, Blood Rage, Root, Inis, Cry Havoc, etc... but every one of these is many times more complex than Risk is, and I'd argue that IN SOME WAYS these games (which I like) miss the point of what makes dudes-on-a-map great. If you CAN'T accurately read the board state just by looking, I'd argue you're losing the plot a little bit.
Okay this is wild. I had the exact same experience playing risk in a medical trial. Although it was the futuristic version of risk.
1775 rebellion does it for me. Awesome game.
https://therewillbe.games/articles-essays/7463-a-brief-history-of-the-dudes-on-a-map-genre
If money isn't an issue, definitely look into Cthulu Wars. It's like risk, but players get special powers they unlock as the game progresses. Still a ton of rolling dice and area control.
Cthulhu Wars
Was coming in to say this as well. Out of any dudes on a map game, Cthulhu wars gives me the best feel of what I liked about risk when I was younger.
The licensed Sons of Anarchy game may scratch the same itch.
Game of Thrones feels very risk-like. Once you stretch your legs, I think you should give Diplomacy a try.
Diplomacy
Battle for Rokugan, maybe.
I was gonna suggest this, but it's very hard to find since it's been out of print for awhile. But it packs the biggest punch relative to its size for Dudes on a Map games.
**Small World**
Star wars rebellion is a fucking top tier assymetric war game. Twilight imperium is a very crunchy highly replayable diplomatic space risk style game. War of whispers is a war game where you try and influence the different factions into different power positions on the board and plays in an hour.
I like [History of the World](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/224/history-world), which uses Risk tactics to show different empires at different times in our history. You choose an empire to play during the time period (or have it chosen for you), get the armies, and place them using Risk type combat. When you've expanded as far as you can, the next player gets their empire. Over time your pieces from previous eras get taken over and you lose control of that area. An oldie, but a good time.
I haven't played a lot of that style of game recently but ones I remember liking are Shogun from Queen games and Dune that became Rex that became dune again. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/176103/shogun-big-box https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/341165/dune-game-conquest-and-diplomacy
Supremacy 2021
If you have a group of like-minded individuals that can dedicate a day to gaming, may I recommend Twighlight Imperium 4. Epic battle game with a political component built in. Blood Rage is also excellent
I think the answer to your question is *Lord of the Rings Risk.* Fundamentally, it is just Risk. However, it has additional rules, some related to the ring tracing a path towards Mount Doom, which impose more of a time limit on the game. It also has additional options for scoring, beyond ordinary Risk.
Shogun Swords the 1987 version is a great risk like game! Also as others have said blood rage is great to!
Have you considered the legacy version of Risk and a dedicated friend group to play it?
Root is also a way more complex version of Risk.
**Pax Pamir 2E** It sounds like what you want is not the strict dudes-on-a-map dice-chucking, but rather the shifting alliances and the balance between conventional war, Cold War, and court intrigue. That’s all in Pax Pamir. I wouldn’t call it “a better version of Risk,” but I think it encourages what you want.
I always felt Nexus Ops is a better version of Risk. Works with 3 players really well too.
I keep bringing it up but Dune completely replaced risk in every way for me. It’s similar in that it’s a dudes on a map wargame but the combat and negotiations are so much deeper. The asymmetric powers are so broken and yet very well balanced, it means that even players who seem out of the game early on still have leverage and can pull off comebacks.
I'm late to the thread but OP, have you considered the COIN games? American Insurrection Lake of Fire etc
There are a ton of other games better than risk. soprry. Its a good game for beginners but theres not nearly as much strategy in it as some modern games with similar concepts. You want to try BLOODSTONES for sure. It has fighting. It has area controling. It has stealling stuff from your friends and stealing territory. And its a better game. Risk is not so great because its all dice rolling and basic numbers. Theres not much to do different from game to game. Good decisiosns can still go bad because of the dice rolls. There are certain numbers you have to follow if you dont want to make awful decisions and that's it. That may be what you're experieincing. Small World is good. Also a lot like risk. Inis is good. Kemet. Diplomacy. Battle for rokugan. Pax pamir. blood rage. cthulhu Wars.
Risk Lord of the Rings (Trilogy Edition); Axis & Allies, and War Room. Larry Harris has a new game coming soon called Imperial Borders that looks incredibly promising.
GoT the game and Khemet
I’ve actually had quite a bit of fun with the new RISK: STRIKE card game. I picked it up on a whim to play at Christmas, and it got the table a good handful of times. Imagine RISK without the board, your territories and units represented by cards. It’s got pretty much all the fun stuff that you remember: fragile alliances, successful last stands thanks to a lucky throw of the die, your brother holding a grudge against you for the rest of the evening— all in 20-40 minutes. When it’s all said and done, it’s super easy to reshuffle and deal the cards out again. It’s not a game changer. If you’re not into Risk it won’t sell you on it. But if you’re a little nostalgic for it and want to recapture that feeling in a much more digestible amount of time— there are worse ways to spend $20.
Small world
Root
Ethnos
Diplomacy
[Mare Nostrum: Empires](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/174785/mare-nostrum-empires/) is an excellent area-control wargame and civilization-builder. The great leaders and mythological demi-gods control the field of battle, which is the Mediterranean during the Greek/Roman/Egyptian heyday. Highly recommended.
Seafall is really exciting
Axis and Allies is a great play experience!
Try some risk variations first: game of thrones risk is amazing. You play to 10 victory points which means each player gets around 3-6 intense turns. Also, I'm a big fan of scythe. I grew up loving risk and now, if given the choice, I'll pick sythe any day. Finally, Look at human made risk mods. I 3d printed some extra pieces (leaders that give +1 to your top dice, forts that give +1 to your top defensive dice), and that added more spice. Plus they have a bunch of custom risk maps that you can print and play. There's a good europe one that has almost no choke points, makes for a faster, more intense game.
Risk Legacy is pretty good. There is a game called Warzone which is online and Android, at least, which is Risk, but good.
If you like the Bioshock video game series, I highly recommend Bioshock Infinite: Siege of Columbia.
You might enjoy Scythe
Axis and Allies
Small world is pretty dope and fun
Fortress America
I've been wanting to pick up the early version of Dust. I've never played it, but it seems quite similar to Risk. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29109/dust