Saturday night Schizo, Larry, and I met for a good round of Risk 2210. This was the first time I remember playing with only three people (we had a last minute cancellation), and the lower number of players made for an interesting dynamic.
We also played using fan-made simulations of two of the Hasbro Frontline expansions, these being add-ons for R-2210 that were distributed as tournament prizes but never officially marketed or produced.
The first Frontline expansion presented a new playing board of Mars and two moons, to be used in place of the regular Earth and Moon playing boards. The second Frontline expansion added a new commander—the Tech commander— to the mix. The Tech commander adds a variety of new, weird cards to the pool, with new cards that allow energy investment (with a random payoff), the ability to move through an area with a devastation marker, and similar rule-bending weirdness. The majority of the cards involve energy-related plays.
The third expansion, and arguably the most popular, presents Factions. Each player now begins with a slightly different set-up: number of energy chits, type of commanders, number of moon bases, etc., and each gets a unique power. The Havoc faction, for instance, starts with a mere one energy but gets a Nuke commander (in place of the Diplomat) and has the ability to draw three nuclear cards at the start of that player’s turn, examine them, and play one immediately for free!
The fourth and last expansion to the Frontline promotion was “Invasion of the Giant Amoebas” and offers a scenario that involves landing and breeding aliens that infest the board and are immune to command cards.
The guys were game, so we tried using the Tech Commander and Factions expansions. (Two of the six factions get a tech commander to start, so the second and third expansions fit together well.) We randomly determined starting factions—Larry drew the Havoc (Nuclear Anarchists) faction, Schizo the Silicon Knight (Technologists), and I the Fusion Conservancy (Conservationists). My power involved gaining a tech commander and getting an 20% energy bonus at the start of my turns. Schizo too got the techie, as well as the fearsome ability to choose and play certain cards from the discard pile.
Play was fast and aggressive, except for one turn in which everyone seemed content to solidify their holdings. I usually end going for the western half of the map, but my random starting placement put a majority of my men in Asia (a rarity for me) wih a few others scattered on all the continents except S. America. I loaded up troops in three spots in Asia (including the Middle East, in case Larry actually took Africa (a move I would later be thankful for) and I placed a moon base next to Europe to help prevent incursions from that quarter. Finally I placed two small heaps of men in North America, so Schizo wouldn’t simply roll over the continent.
Schizo, true to form, went after and quickly secured Europe and began with a majority in America as well. He also began by placing additional troops in America, but made only small forays there for the next two turns.
Larry seized Australia and Africa on the first turn(!) and soon moved to dominate South America (a continent that eventually changed hands three times). This was scary; he literally controlled most of the southern hemisphere.
As the game progressed, America soon stood at an impasse, with three colors (most Schizo and I) present. I desperately tried to seize and hold Asia (something that proved as difficult as expected, despite a fortuitously placed devastation marker) and Larry easily grabbed all of South America, marking him as a front runner. I was largely unable to defend Asia against multiple attacks, due in part to lousy defending rolls on my part, and I had to sit and gaze helplessly at the largely defenseless America. By Turn 3 I was the dark horse, and only my 2-point Moon continent saved me from ruin.
At this point we all had barely used our special abilities, and I began to purchase cards in earnest, using my extra energy to good effect. We all used missile strikes to good advantage, especially when striking a country inhabited by a single commander (basically instant, unstoppable death for the commander). I bagged a large number of commanders, taking three from Larry in one turn. Meanwhile Larry spread into the uninhabited sea areas (giving me extra Asia entry points to worry about) and used his bonus nuclear cards to create havoc. Schizo sent his own contingent to the Moon to attack and nearly eliminate mine and also pushed hard through America and into South America (failing only to take Argentina).
The endgame was marked with large pushes by all players. I used a special card to swap bid places with Schizo, getting my fourth and fifth turns back to back. This was a huge risk (no pun intended), as going first the last turn leaves you completely at the mercy of the players to follow. My gamble was to cash in on a complete Asia (something that wouldn’t stay intact for long), buy plenty of cards, and ravage the globe. If I hit the other guys hard enough, they wouldn’t have the troops or energy to respond with much force. An existing treaty with Schizo prevented Asia-to-Europe conflict, but a strike via Africa was possible… I pored troops through most all of Africa and also rampaged through America, carefully leaving chokepoints of troops at the obvious Asia entries. I also killed Larry’s naval commander in an attempt to prevent sea entry and seized a small sea area.
Larry responded in kind, taking back pretty much all of Africa, restoring his naval commander, and easily slicing into lower Asia—so much for holding Asia! Schizo also did well, killing off my key commander holding the Middle East and taking back much of America. My death traps slowed him but didn’t stop him from taking many countries. When the smoke cleared Schizo and I were tied for points, with Larry coming in third.
It was a great three-player game. The night also featured a bout of dice weirdness, in which Larry and I, rolling dice to determine who went first after a tied turn bid, rolled six-sided dice and tied four times in a row. I enjoyed the Factions experiment—hopefully next time we’ll use our powers a bit more. Risk 2210 has easily proved to be the best Risk update IMHO, lacking the randomness of Risk Godstorm or the unexciting nature of Lord of the Rings Risk, and I look forward to our next encounter on future Earth!
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