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Don’t Focus on Continents, Focus on Players

Don’t Focus on Continents, Focus on Players
Tactic, Strategy, Real-world example, Beginners

Article Rating:::: 18 Ratings :::: 1 Solutions ::::Thursday, August 9, 2007

You made all the right moves in a Risk game. You set yourself next to the most ideal continents. You created conflicts between other players and watched them as they fought each other. You thought only in a few turns you will collect enough armies for your large continent that you will emerge as a new world power. Suddenly, out of no where, a new player started to invade one player after another and got more and more powerful every turn. He conquered one player a turn until your turn was up. He eliminated you and went on to win the game! Sound familiar? This is commonly known as ‘the chain effect’.

A series of elimination moves by a Risk player can lead him to victory much easier than collecting armies for continents or staying in isolation for a long period of time. You need to make sure that you are not caught up in this, while at the same time, know when to take advantage of it when the opportunity comes.

As you may know, learning by example is perhaps one of the best ways to learn new techniques. This walkthrough shows you ' the chain effect’. The Risk game presented here was played between 6 players starting from random locations.

Total Diplomacy > Chain Effect Part 1
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36 Strategies > Part 6: Defeat Strategies

36 Strategies > Part 6: Defeat Strategies
Tactic, Strategy, Series

Article Rating:::: 4 Ratings :::: 1 Solutions ::::Friday, July 27, 2007
In this article you will be introduced to the Defeat Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 31: The beauty trap. (The tender trap, use a woman to ensnare a man.)

Strategy 32: The empty fort strategy. (Mental trap; empty a fort to make the enemy think it is filled with traps.)

Strategy 33: Let the enemy’s own spy sow discord in the enemy camp. (Use enemy’s own spy to spread false information.)

Strategy 34: Inflict injury on one’s self to win the enemy’s trust. (Fall into a trap; become baited.)

Strategy 35: Chain together the enemy’s ships. (Never rely on but a single strategy.)

Strategy 36: If all else fails, retreat.

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36 Strategies > Part 5: Proximate Strategies

36 Strategies > Part 5: Proximate Strategies
Tactic, Strategy, Series

Article Rating:::: 12 Ratings :::: 0 Solutions ::::Thursday, July 19, 2007
In this article you will be introduced to the Proximate Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 25: Replace the beams with rotten timbers.

Strategy 26: Point at the mulberry and curse the locust.

Strategy 27: Pretend to be a pig in order to eat the tiger. (Play dumb.)

Strategy 28: Remove the ladder when the enemy has ascended to the roof. (Cross the river and destroy the bridge.)

Strategy 29: Deck the tree with bogus blossoms.

Strategy 30: Make the host and the guest exchange places.

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Are You an Opportunist or a Moderate?

Are You an Opportunist or a Moderate?
Psychology, Strategy

Article Rating:::: 8 Ratings :::: 1 Solutions ::::Friday, July 13, 2007
I came across an interesting article which discussed Iceberg Slim's writings. The world was divided between two types of people which I call, the opportunist and the moderate, defined as follows:
  • Opportunist. They approach every task with multiple potential solutions.
  • Moderate. They see the world in steps. They make one move at a time. They are to the point.
Using Risk as the pretext of examples, the following, which is loosely based on Iceberg Slim, makes this more clear.
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36 Strategies > Part 4: Chaos Strategies

36 Strategies > Part 4: Chaos Strategies
Tactic, Strategy, Series

Article Rating:::: 15 Ratings :::: 0 Solutions ::::Friday, July 6, 2007
In this article you will be introduced to the Chaos Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 19: Remove the firewood under the cooking pot. (Remove the stick from the axe.)

Strategy 20: Catch a fish in disturbed waters.

Strategy 21: Slough off the cicada’s shell. (False appearances mislead the enemy.)

Strategy 22: Shut the door to catch the thief.

Strategy 23: Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbour.

Strategy 24: Obtain safe passage to conquer the Kingdom of Guo.

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36 Strategies > Part 3: Attacking Strategies

36 Strategies > Part 3: Attacking Strategies
Tactic, Strategy, Series

Article Rating:::: 5 Ratings :::: 0 Solutions ::::Saturday, June 30, 2007
In this article you will be introduced to the Attacking Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 13: Startle the snake by hitting the grass around it.

Strategy 14: Borrow another’s corpse to resurrect the soul. (Raise a corpse from the dead.)

Strategy 15: Entice the tiger to leave its mountain lair.

Strategy 16: In order to capture, one must let loose.

Strategy 17: Tossing out a brick to get a jade.

Strategy 18:Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief.

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How to Say No and Stay Friends

How to Say No and Stay Friends
Psychology, Diplomacy, Negotiation

Article Rating:::: 4 Ratings :::: 1 Solutions ::::Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Sometimes it can be incredibly difficult to say ‘no’. It is a simple word, but it just feels wrong to say ‘no’ when someone asks for a favour. Of course saying ‘no’ is easy if you don’t care about the person. What if you did care about the person, but you still wanted to say ‘no’ without hurting his feelings.

An example of a Risk game may clarify this. Suppose you are playing Risk online and your strategy is to conquer a continent such as South America. You also have some armies in Europe. A player approaches you and asks you to move your armies out of Europe. You want to say ‘no’. However, you want to say it in such a way that your opponent doesn't become hostile to you. There is no point in making enemies in the process. How do you do this?

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36 Strategies > Part 2: Enemy Dealing Strategies

36 Strategies > Part 2: Enemy Dealing Strategies
Tactic, Strategy, Series

Article Rating:::: 7 Ratings :::: 0 Solutions ::::Thursday, June 21, 2007
In this article you will be introduced to the Enemy Dealing Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 7: Create something from nothing.

Strategy 8: Secretly utilize the Chen Chang passage. (Repair the highway to take the crude path.)

Strategy 9: Watch the fires burning across the river.

Strategy 10: Hide a knife behind a smile.

Strategy 11: Sacrifices the plum tree to preserve the peach tree. (Sacrifice the silver to keep the gold.)

Strategy 12: Stealing a goat along the way. (Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat.)

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36 Strategies > Part 1: Winning Strategies

36 Strategies > Part 1: Winning Strategies
Tactic, Strategy, Series

Article Rating:::: 7 Ratings :::: 0 Solutions ::::Saturday, June 16, 2007
In this article you will be introduced to the Winning Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies. 

Strategy 1: Deceive the sky to cross the ocean.

Strategy 2: Surround Wei to rescue Zhao.

Strategy 3: Borrow one’s hand to kill. (Kill with a borrowed knife.)

Strategy 4: Make your enemy tire themselves out while conserving energy. (Substitute leisure for labour)

Strategy 5: Use the opportunity of fire to rob others. (Loot a burning house).

Strategy 6: Feign an attack in the east and attack in the west.

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36 Strategies > Introduction

36 Strategies > Introduction
Tactic, Strategy, Series

Article Rating:::: 4 Ratings :::: 0 Solutions ::::Saturday, June 16, 2007

Thirty-Six Strategies is basically a collection of strategies on battle scenarios in Chinese history and folklore, predominantly of the Warring States Period and the Three Kingdoms Period. The story goes back to Wáng.

Wáng was a Chinese general who lived around 500 A.D. in the time of Emperor Gao. At some point Emperor Ming came to power and decided to execute many members of the royal family. He was afraid that they would threaten his reign and target him directly. Wáng was worried that he will be on the black list and will be the next target and so he rebelled. The son of Emperor Ming became scared of the rebels and decided to escape. Wáng, upon receiving this news, famously said,

“of the thirty-six strategies of Lord Tán, retreat was his best, you father and son should run for sure".

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About the Author

I am a board game and Risk game enthusiast. I like thinking and talking about strategy in games which has led me to the creation of this website. Although Risk is a classic, I feel one can never get tired of playing this game. Read about what I think of the game and I am always eager to know what you think.

My Book: Risk Game Strategy

Total Diplomacy: The Art of Winning Risk

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A surrounded army must be given a way out.

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