Take a RISK

November 8, 2005 7:30 AM

Play RISK using Google Maps. From the FAQ: For some reason I decided a bit after the API for Google Maps came out that it would be awesome to be able to play Risk on it... I've always been a gamer and thought this was the perfect step.
posted by KevinSkomsvold (36 comments total)

Entirely gratuitous. But also cool. A cool history of Risk, and the newest Risk Godstorm.
posted by blahblahblah at 7:40 AM on November 8, 2005

Is Al Qaeda hiding in the mountains of the "Northwest Terrortories?"
posted by Saucy Intruder at 7:51 AM on November 8, 2005

I am not the only one who thought of Risk either, nice to know he had some follow through on a good idea. The next thing this needs to be able to do is play over the internet.

What color are the fascists? What color are the fundies?
posted by fenriq at 7:52 AM on November 8, 2005

Poor. Extremely poor. My imaginary friend said it was boring and ran away.
posted by malusmoriendumest at 8:03 AM on November 8, 2005

It's pretty, but I couldn't really tell how to play and I don't have time right now to read the docs (or really to play Risk.) I'll have to go back.
posted by OmieWise at 8:18 AM on November 8, 2005

Yeah, the interface really sucks. Cool idea, though.
posted by Tlogmer at 9:14 AM on November 8, 2005

There is a much better designed version online here . Careful though, it will reak havok on your productivity if you set up a game with your old risk friends
posted by gravelshoes at 9:22 AM on November 8, 2005

I'm still just going to hole up in Australia and you are going to have to pry me out and it's going to take hours and that is all. It's fine to win at Risk, but it takes a real Artist to lose, slowly and tediously, ever hoping that the cat will take notice and hit the board off with a World War III style nuclear spazzout, bringing about the whole Einstein "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:23 AM on November 8, 2005

Divine_Wino: Don't sell yourself short. Holing up in Australia is a damned good way to win the game. Just win one battle every turn, get your cards, and sit back. Let everyone else beat each other up, wait until their armies are depleted, then storm through and vanquish them all...

God I love Risk.
posted by billysumday at 9:29 AM on November 8, 2005

Billy:
Don't give away the secret, I just wanted Australia.
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:31 AM on November 8, 2005

It takes a real man to hold Kamchatka!

Never make the mistake of playing Risk on a get-away weekend in a cabin somewhere and thinking what happens on the Risk Board stays on the Risk Board.

Risk kills friendships.
posted by tkchrist at 9:34 AM on November 8, 2005

tkchrist: same thing goes for playing Risk in the barracks. Nothing like a hard-fought game to feed inter-squad friction amongst a bunch of professional military tacticians (albeit enlisted personnel who are not supposed to concern themselves with the why or how, but merely the do).

and more topically, this is pretty cool and a few interface improvements would move it into the [this is beyond good] category.
posted by Suck Poppet at 9:43 AM on November 8, 2005

Risk strains friendships. Diplomacy kills friendships and dances on the graves whilst micturating.
posted by Wolfdog at 9:45 AM on November 8, 2005 [1 favorite]

Risk II got rid of that Australia fortress bullshit - every continent now has 3+ attack points from at least 2 other continents.
posted by fourstar at 9:48 AM on November 8, 2005

When we were kids, we used to play Treaty after a game of Risk. It really kills a friendship when you demand all of Mexico's tacos as a line item in the treaty.

That said, Axis & Allies is a much more superior game than Risk and I would love to see a Google Maps-enabled version of that.
posted by Captaintripps at 9:52 AM on November 8, 2005

World Conquest goes pretty quickly.

The idea of Google Maps and Risk is a good one, but man, maybe this'll work better in Firefox because it sucks on my school's IE.

That review of Risk Godstorm was hilarious though, what with his "This is a MACHO boardgame!" posturing. C'mon. It's a fuckin' board game, geekazoid. If it were really macho, it'd involve going outside.

And Gravelshoes, that looked like a fantastic game. Too bad I don't know the email addresses of most of my old Risk buddies...
posted by klangklangston at 9:52 AM on November 8, 2005

Real men play axis and allies.

i still remember the day I won as the axis by taking moscow and england on the first turn. good times.
posted by Stynxno at 9:55 AM on November 8, 2005

Slightly related: Yahoo Maps + API = Pirate and Radar Maps.
posted by gwint at 10:04 AM on November 8, 2005

A&A.

Moscow and London on the 1st turn? you must have gone through a lot of quickly lost games to luck out that good
posted by edgeways at 10:04 AM on November 8, 2005

Wolfdog: "Risk strains friendships. Diplomacy kills friendships and dances on the graves whilst micturating."

Seconded.
posted by Plutor at 10:11 AM on November 8, 2005

Against skilled Risk players, holing up in Austrialia is the worst possible strategy. You can easily bottle that player up and force him or her to sustain unacceptable losses to get out.

Best is to have three or four directions out, preferably with two of those directions aimed at the same player. The indirect approach. Stop me here, I hit you there.

I learned from a master, Allen Groenwald, winner of the U.S. Army West German Risk tournament two years in a row. Unbeatable.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:22 AM on November 8, 2005

Also attack with overwhelming numbers when you do move forward--the dice play no role in a well-played Risk game.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:23 AM on November 8, 2005

So how to I zoom in to see the army guys on my roof?
posted by mrgrimm at 10:31 AM on November 8, 2005

How am I supposed to flip the board over in disgust? That's how the game ends, right?
posted by cmfletcher at 10:33 AM on November 8, 2005

I always loved South America. My friends would always tussle over Australia and whatnot while I'd quickly gank S.A. Only one extra point of defense and an extra army per turn.

Then, tunnel north one province and you prevent anyone from owning N.A. And suddenly they've got three provinces to reinforce against your one defensive outpost. The same goes for Africa.

Usually everyone just gives up when they realise that they're still squabbling over Europe/Asia when I have all of North and South America and can only be attacked by three places, all heavily fortified.
posted by Imperfect at 10:35 AM on November 8, 2005

Real men play axis and allies.

Real, real men play World in Flames.
World in Flames contains 1400 counters.
!

Masochists play Machiavelli. It's like Diplomacy, but with plague!
posted by meehawl at 10:45 AM on November 8, 2005

Real (crazy) men play World in Flames, put magnetic stickers on the back of each of the 1400 counters, then mount the map on a steel plate attached to their living room wall.

No, really
posted by jlub at 10:54 AM on November 8, 2005

It's been so long since I played the original version of Axis & Allies (my best friend and I got really dorky and created our own WWIII version complete with board) that I can barely figure out how he would have done that. But that sounds about right.
posted by Captaintripps at 11:34 AM on November 8, 2005

put magnetic stickers on the back of each of the 1400 counters

That is extreme. Absolutely extreme.

I spent four months playing WiF once upon a time as the Chinese (I got in late to the game and it was the only thing left to play). Extremely depressing. My entire time was spent fruitlessly trying to get the Reds and Nationalists to cooperate, being obliterated by the Japanese every time I ventured out of the mountains, and begging the US player for supplies. Which kind of replicates WW2 very closely...

I had much more fun playing Japan in a later game. Managing to take a big chunk of both the USSR and Australia was personally very satisfying.
posted by meehawl at 11:36 AM on November 8, 2005

Oh, and a nice part of India as well. But even with all that territory the US still squashes Japan like a bug. The difference in industrial production is just *so* vast that after a year or two of Pacific War there can be no real Japanese fleet left.
posted by meehawl at 11:40 AM on November 8, 2005

TurboRisk. It's freeware. And it's got AI opponents.
posted by dhartung at 11:42 AM on November 8, 2005

The wall-based game is awesome. I'm shocked that there aren't games like that in production. Such an efficient use of space -- and time.
posted by o2b at 11:57 AM on November 8, 2005

jlub writes "Real (crazy) men play World in Flames, put magnetic stickers on the back of each of the 1400 counters, then mount the map on a steel plate attached to their living room wall."

Hol-EE SHIT!
posted by OmieWise at 12:02 PM on November 8, 2005

I recently introduced a friends young son (10 years old - hardcore PS2) to the game. As we were playing the other day he said "who would have thought that you could have so much fun moving little plastic soldiers around on a board?"
posted by tellurian at 2:23 PM on November 8, 2005

As we were playing the other day he said "who would have thought that you could have so much fun moving little plastic soldiers around on a board?"

Introduce this kid to Warhammer 40,000, and his folks will rue the day forever.
posted by JHarris at 7:23 PM on November 8, 2005

Real men play axis and allies

Real Elves play War of the Ring.
posted by fFish at 10:19 PM on November 8, 2005