Last night Schizo, Larry, Willie and I met once again on the field of battle—this time the selection was Risk Godstorm. Bellies full of BBQ and chips, we descended on the board like a plaque of locusts.Two plague zones fell in useless spots—Roma and southern Nubia—but two other blocked off Europa nicely (falling on Seythia and Phonecia if memory holds). I ended up (due to random placement) with a large number of Germania holdings, plus a few scattered in Asia Minor and 1-2 each in Africa and Europa. Schizo was spread mostly Germania (the “British Isles”) and Africa, plus one Atlantis country. Willie dominated Atlantis, starting with three of four areas, but was otherwise spread around everywhere but Germania. Larry started strong in the central board (see map below), in Europa and neighboring Hyrkania.
The initial game (indeed all of it) went poorly for me. I purposely underbid in the first turn bid, in an attempt to secure an early death god and powerful death cards, with which I hoped to turn the tide of war my way. This placed me third in the initial pull.
Schizo came out of the game strongly. His initial placement suggested that he didn’t desire to yield Atlantis to Willie or Germania to me without a major, protracted struggle. I had dumped many troops at strategic points in Germania to stave off multiple attacks, and threw a war god in Asia Minor with a small force. My troops held Germania against Schizo’s determined assaults, but the many “split decision” rolls weakened us both greatly. It was the first blow from which I was never to recover.
Willie and Schizo battled over Atlantis. Despite some early progress in areas, and a huge card lead (many powerful relics) Willie never took Atlantis, and instead moved to strike my flank in southern Germania. The combination of the multiple Germania assaults forced me to consolidate my forces around Thule. My forces in Asia Minor did better, seizing a few countries. Meanwhile Schizo made some serious inroads, as did Willie, in Africa.
Larry, during the first two turns, placed conservatively. He made minor gains, easily took Hyrkania (the first continent taken), and stood unopposed in Europa. (Europa was never taken by anyone, despite the relatively low number of troops there and the blocking plague zones.)
The next several turns were marked by tit-for-tat scuffles. I took much of Asia Minor, only to lose it to Larry. Africa battles swept back and forth, with numerous godswars. (I desperately clung to a Death card that banished all war gods and sky gods, even after I had neither, because of a high faith cost I could barely afford—a bad mistake, given the number of battles I saw won due to the tie-winning abilities of the plentiful war gods in play. Willie pushed back hard into Atlantis (still amazingly never conquering it) and I watched, bemused, knowing a card I held could sink the whole continent at any time. (A loose 1-turn truce I held with Willie prevented this action, as I wished to secure his orderly withdrawal from Iheria (southern tip of Germania).
The fourth turn was huge. Larry destroyed Willie’s many relics (and several of his own) with a single card. He swept aside my defenders in Varangia and moved into Germania. At this point He controlled almost everything save Africa and Atlantis. Much of Willie’s and Schizo’s strength were in the latter places, and I was holed up in Thule. I was quickly eliminated from everywhere else on the board except Germania. My pitiful income never allowed me more than 4 incoming troops and my sole temple has long since fallen to Willie’s earlier attacks. The numerous crypts I help in the Underworld secured me several bonus Death cards, all of which were two expense to make use of easily. They sat unused. I won a godswar or to and rousted Schizo from the British Isles. Willie forged into Hyrkania and Asia Minor, while Schizo raged around Eqypt.
The final turn saw me sweep out from my sole country—Anglia in the ‘Isles—to peck away at Larry. Good defensive rolls prevented my breaking his continent at the gates of Hyrkania. Larry, taking no chances, stole Pandora’s Box from me, denying me a free Death card play the final turn (and I didn’t have the faith to play my other cards). The others nibbled away at Larry’s vast holding as well, reducing the size of his empire. It was not enough. Larry earned a well-deserved victory. Schizo came in second, with Willie and I limping behind. It was a frustrating game for me, as I never got a “good headwind” due to the multiple earlier attacks I was forced to repel, but it was a good game nonetheless. I await with much avidity our next bout. I shall learn from my mistakes and the Ancient Empire shall tremble! (Hoo hah!)
