In the last part you saw how you managed the balance of power by weakening the strong players and letting weaker players to become strong. You found yourself in the position shown above and were wondering what to do next.

Move 8.

Your efforts have paid off. However, now you need to shift strategies. Yellow has lost all his momentum, but Purple is growing exceptionally fast. Just the same as before, you need to control the balance. A good move is to let Yellow loose. He already has a border with Purple. Setting these two players against each other will allow you to grow quietly without much cost. When the right time comes you can make your move.

Your move is to pull back your armies from the pined territory in Yellow’s continent and allow Yellow to quickly regain his continent. This way, you also remove your armies out of harm’s way.

Move 9.

Next, as predicted, Purple attacks Yellow and conquers one of his continents.

Purple is now becoming too strong. What is the best move now? Think about this a few minutes before reading on.

[THINKING]...

Move 10.

A great strategy in Risk is to wait for others to fight each other and then pick on the weakest player. It will cost you a lot less to conquer them directly but you still get all the rewards. Here, this is an ideal strategy. First, you set Yellow and Purple against each other. Next, Purple conquers half of Yellow’s territories.

Your best move now is to go for the new weak player, Yellow, and eliminate him.

You attacked Yellow, got his cards and continent and only increased the number of your borders by one. You are now in a good position to compete with Purple.

For Purple, the situation seems to have changed significantly. He is now a power with three continents and seems invincible. Remember, this was all your making to begin with. It is up to you to control what you unleashed.

Next cards cashed will give you 12.

Suppose you were Purple now, what can you do to take advantage of your good fortune? Remember, there is no room for error and you have to get it right. You cannot afford to risk too much or get the timing of your moves wrong or you will miss your chances of winning the game entirely. What can Purple do?

How to Maintain the Balance of Power - Part 1

How to Maintain the Balance of Power - Part 2

How to Maintain the Balance of Power - Part 3

How to Maintain the Balance of Power - Part 4