Brian's Dad 2008-07-26
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
I have not much to add that previous 4- and 5-star reviews have not already said. Except this:
I hesitated getting this game because of the complaints that too much of the outcome turns on a random roll of the dice. Some reviewers complained that luck or chance was more important than strategy. (See the 1-star or 2-star reviews).
I found this NOT to be the case. It is true that the outcome of individual battles are governed by rolls of the dice. However, the overall success in this game does involve a significant amount of strategy. That is, there are plans and strategies you or the child can develop, which must be viewed in the grand scheme of the entire game, that can help you win. This is true, even if you do lose a good number of battles because of unlucky dice rolls.
In fact, a number of real-life military conflicts confirms that having the most soldiers does not necessarily guarantee a quick or clean victory. I don't mean to get political here, but check out world history during the past 50 or 60 years and current events, not just involving the U.S., but around the world.
My 8-year old and 10-year old children love this game. They recognize that pure luck determines the outcome of battles. But this only forces them to focus more on the bigger picture -- what countries to focus on, how to limit another player's ability to move from one continent to another, how many soldiers to put into one territory, when is it advisable to retreat and regroup somewhere else.
We have played two games of Risk so far. Each game took about 3 or 4 days to finish. I was surprised that my kids were not put off by this.
CONCLUSION: This is not a real-life battle simulator. But it is a good introduction for children to learn how to develop long-range planning.