Part Two:
Basic SetupNow, if memory serves, I think the idea with the starting forces was to use only the number of infantry for each country, and sort of rounding those numbers off.
Since the starting territories are pre-set, there isn’t the “claiming territories” phase from the original game. But to simulate something similar, the placement is done in a “you go-I go” fashion.
After putting 1 army onto each of your starting territories, count out 60 red armies for the USSR, 30 green armies for the US, 25 yellow armies for the UK, and 20 blue armies for WE. Then, take turns placing those armies, over 5 rounds, as follows:
3 Soviet 4 WE 3 Soviet 5 UK 3 Soviet 6 US 3 Soviet Starting TerritoriesSome of the names are changed from earlier versions of RISK, but for the sake of uniformity, I have used the territory names as they appear in the Reinvention version.
USSR: Northern Europe, Russia, Urals, Afghanistan, Siberia, Yakutsk, Irkutsk, Kamchatka
WE: Western Europe, Scandinavia, Southern Europe, North Africa, Central Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia, New Guinea
UK: Great Britain, Northwest Territory, Alberta, Ontario, Eastern Canada, East Africa, South Africa, India, Western Australia, Eastern Australia
US: Eastern United States, Western United States, Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Japan
Balancing / RationaleThere’s an argument to be made that Northern Europe could be given to WE. The problem is that it leads to kind of a boring opener for the USSR, because the obvious thing is to just heavily stack in Russia (aka Ukraine). Giving the USSR control of Northern Europe gives them more options for how they can position their start… but also this gives NATO a bit more information as to their intentions than the situation of just, “I stack everything in Russia; you’ll find out which of the 3 lanes I’ll attack when it’s my turn.”
Not counting capitols, here’s what everyone would start with (before any attacks)
WE: starts with 8 territories and 1 city, so that makes for 3 armies
UK: starts with 10 territories and 2 cities, so that makes for 4 armies
US: starts with 6 territories and 2 cities + 5 territories and 1 city (for the OAS contribution) = 12 / 3 = 4 armies; adding in one continent bonus means either 5 armies for North America, or 2 for South America
USSR: 8 territories and 3 cities + 2 territories and 1 city (for China’s contributions) = 14 armies
Once you add in capitols, that makes for 19 for NATO vs. 15 for USSR – however, keep in mind that the USSR can break North America to cut NATO’s number down by 3; losing any 1 territory will reduce any of the 3 NATO powers’ production by 1 infantry. Barring some extreme results from influence rolls, the opening of the game has the potential to be pretty balanced.
Nuclear WeaponsThe OAS contribution to the US feels out of place w/r/t how it typically plays out in E&W. However, to balance off the massive number of territories the UK has, with how few the US should have…? I’m not sure there’s a better solution, within the RISK framework. Even the possibility of OAS territories counting for double at a +2 contribution doesn’t make for a huge swing, since this bonus is works out to only 4 armies.
I mentioned before that the blank cards in the deck are used as nuclear weapons. Each side can only use 1 nuclear weapon per round. Basically if you have one of these cards in your hand, you can target any space on the map; if you succeed at the complication roll, you remove 10 armies from the targeted territory. If this leaves no armies on that territory, it effectively is not owned by anyone and cannot be counted for the purposes of drafting troops. It can be claimed by anyone, by “attacking” an adjacent army into the territory.
The complication roll is a simplification of the 2d6 roll in E&W, using 1d6 instead:
1: No Attack - the basically accounts for detonation, malfunction, and campus protest complications. Return the card to the deck if you get this result.
2 or 3: Outrage - works like a normal attack, with the following drawback:
4, 5, or 6: Normal Attack - remove the 10 armies, no other effects.
