Winning MovesGames Risk Europe, Blue

We have two ten year olds and the whole family loves a little session of risk to get away from chores and screens. After breaking the kids in with vanilla risk we played Risk Legacy which was great fun. Risk Europe however is the upper echelon and only somewhat resembles typical risk. Gameplay is slower, more diverse and complex but it makes for a much more interesting and strategic game with less reliance on luck. Armies are reflective of the types of troops you choose, so deciding whether to stack a ton of cannon fodder for overwhelming numbers or use a smaller but stronger blend of cavalry, archers and siege weapons means army composition is key. Steam-rolling the entire globe in two turns or turtling in Australia just isn't an option so players must think much harder to win.The game is for a maximum of four players but works well even with two players since you still have the other factions as mercenaries and bid to control them each turn which is a brilliant dynamic that is unique to this variant of risk.Everyone in our house is a big fan and it has unfortunately surpassed most other risk games that we have for entertainment value. Beware, competitive games can go on for hours depending on the rules you employ, a quick game can be over in a couple of hours but we had a game yesterday take six hours!!Still, I cannot recommend this game highly enough. It is instantly the best board game in our collection.

Product Name: Risk EuropeBrand: HasbroRating: 5 out of 5 starsReview:Risk Europe is a board game for 2-5 players in Europe during the Middle Ages. Players choose one of 7 different kingdoms and attempt to conquer the entire continent. The game is played over a series of turns, with each player moving their armies around the map and attacking other players' territories. Players can also use special abilities and cards to gain an advantage in battle.The game is well-designed, and the pieces are high-quality. The gameplay is challenging and strategic, and playing with friends or family can be quite fun. However, the game can be a bit difficult for younger players. My 7-year-old son loves the original Risk game, but he had difficulty understanding the rules of Risk Europe. I think he can play it better when he is a little older.Overall, I would recommend Risk Europe to anyone who enjoys strategy games. It is a well-made and challenging game that will provide hours of entertainment.Pros:Well-designedHigh-quality piecesChallenging and strategic gameplayFun to play with friends or familyCons:It can be difficult for younger playersOverall:I would recommend Risk Europe to anyone who enjoys strategy games. It is a well-made and challenging game that will provide hours of entertainment.

This game is in a different level, honestly.

Fantastic quality and great fun! It looks brilliant and every game is different with each game varying in length of time. Easy to show new players and to pick up.

Brilliant to play with other people who like the game

This is a far more interesting and absorbing game than the basic game of Risk there are so many more elements to think about and contend with.

I used to play the original game of Risk when I was a kid, but this is something on another level altogether, it's more like RISK crossed with another game I also used to play, DIPLOMACY.The basic Risk concept is till there - take over as much territory and beat off the opposition as you can.But there are loads of additional fantastic rules: you can raise revenues (taxes) and spend them in order to build armies, how much depends on which territories and cities you control. So this version of Risk uses money as well - heavy duty cardboard gold and silver coins that I like to call florins and marks.Then you also have a set of order cards eg 'tax / spend' 'expand / manouvre' and each turn each player has to choose two cards in advance to play. This makes the game much more exciting, as your possibilities that turn are limited to those two cards, and you don't know what other players have planned until they turn their cards over. You must also take account of what stage the game is at: spend too soon, you can't afford anything. Tax too late - you might not have anything left to tax.Each Capital city you control comes with bonuses, eg allowing you to raise extra troops each turn, or giving your more manouvres.If there are only two players, then things can get surprisingly exciting as the two remaining armies are placed randomly on the board by selecting a random city card, these armies are then dubbed 'mercenaries' and the two players will bid each turn in order to try and control them should they wish to.I find the game is not only a good deal more complex and exciting than regular Risk as a result, it also reflects some of the realities of the medieval world quite well: rich kings who could hire large mercenary armies could carry the day, money talks. In some games we played, mercenary armies did most or all of the fighting! In others, most of the money was spent trying to enfeeble the mercenary armies as much as possible. For example, in one game, there was a large mercenary army stationed in Constantinople. One of the players had chosen to build themselves a kingdom in eastern Europe, Rus and the Baltics. With a large mercenary army on their doorstep, they ended up spending a lot of money simply trying to play this army in order to keep it ineffective, spending its money on pawns rather than dangerous siege weapons! A typical error in this game is to spend a lot of money building up the resources of a powerful mercenary army only to have it snatched away and used against you by your opponent who's been saving up for this moment later in the game. It's given me a lot more sympathy for the Italian city states who had to live with the scourge of the Condottieri, John Hawkwood, Gatamelata and all that in 14th century Italy. In fact I think another version of this game could easily be made using just the map of Italy and parts of Europe just to the north of it.I could go on, but I think it's enough to say this game is tremendous fun, a full game can take place in as little as two to three hours. The rules are quite complex to get to grips with at first, and for at least the first few games you'll be on a sharp learning curve. Once you have the hang of the basic rules, the application of strategy will slowly start to dawn on you. If you like Risk and strategy games, you won't regret buying it.

Definitely not for beginners.