Chapter 1: Why Risk?
This chapter introduces you to Risk. The game can be used as a tool in addition to an entertainment device. Risk is a multiplayer game that lets you practice many real-life skills such as negation, diplomacy, politics and psychological competition.
Chapter 2: The Three Layers
While playing Risk (or anything competitive for that matter), you operate in three distinct parallel layers. These are Tactics & Logistics, Strategy and Diplomacy. Their definition and their differences are discussed in this chapter. These three layers are explained in detail in Chapter 4, 5 and 6.
Chapter 3: Temet Nosce
An important key is the psychological state of other players at any given time in the game. You need to exploit this to your advantage. How to you deal with an aggressive player? How do you exploit an isolationist? This chapter discusses your step by step thinking process, psychological profiling and associated concepts. You will learn how to work out the psychological profile of other players, what type of opponents you may find in the game, and what do you need to do against each category.
Chapter 4: Tactics & Logistics
In order to be able to look at the bigger picture with a long term strategy, you need to have control over the smaller issues. You need to master the rules and mechanics of the game (the environment) and move on to learn how to form a winning solution which will be your long term plan (strategy). A good tactic is only effective as a short term solution, though any good player needs to know them by heart. Specific Risk tactics are explained in detail with appropriate illustrations. Find out more in this chapter.
Read the Risk Guide to learn some of these tactics
Chapter 5: Strategy
To win in any competitive environment, you need to have a strategy. This is your overall plan. Historically, the rise of technology resulted in ever more complex strategies which eventually led to an operational strategy. This involved planning for efficiency of a nation at war as a whole and not just for the war activity itself. In this chapter you are introduced to philosophy of war. You will learn how to look at the big picture and how to exploit others weaknesses. A number of lessons from history shed light on how important it is to pay attention to all aspect of a strategy and not just on tactical levels.
Read the Risk Guide to learn some of these strategies
Chapter 6: Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations. It concerns getting other notations to listen to you and negotiate over crises and resolve issues through peaceful means. In an ideal world, all issues should be resolved through diplomacy and no nation should end up with a war. This is why war is always seen as the result of a failed diplomacy. This inevitably means that the politicians involved in the diplomatical affair have not been able to do a good job or they would not have failed. You need to be a good politician. This chapter explores a variety of issues on diplomacy and the psychology of the masses and how can this all be applied to Risk. Use propaganda, verbal warfare, slippery slope arguments and other methods to beat your opponent in any conflict.
Read the Risk Guide to learn more about diplomacy
Chapter 7: Art of Debate
Negotiation is a key skill in diplomacy and in day to day real life. It is essential to master it. In this chapter, tactics and techniques on different aspects of debating are presented. Effective debate is critical when playing Risk on a normal board game. You will learn how to influence other players to do what you want them to do. You will be introduced to various tactics used in negotiations and how you can get the best outcome. There are a number of techniques you can use to control people. Finally, you will be introduced to the art of deception. Hiding your true intention has always been an important element of strategic competition.
Chapter 8: Dynamics of the Game
Ever wondered if Risk has certain patterns that you can identify and exploit? This chapter focuses on the actual game play and the logical problem domain. Game theory has a large body of research in this regard which is sometimes directly applicable to Risk. For example, what are the best strategies to use when Risk is played many times? Can you get away with back stabbing? And above all, you can find all about turtles in this chapter!
Chapter 9 Online Strategies
Risk was initially a board game mainly played in the living room. Recently, however, there has been a great rise on available options to play Risk on a computer and against other players online. Online Risk can be different due to limited communication channels and anonymity. The games are therefore played slightly differently and you need to be aware of an extra set of strategies suitable for online game play. This chapter explores these strategies. In addition, you will be introduced to the concept of BOMS graph that help to capture the essence of a game and illustrate the most important moves made in the game by players. You can use BOMS graphs to predict potential winners and losers.
Chapter 10: Scenarios and Solutions
This chapter contains a number of scenarios and solutions specifically made to illustrate different aspects of the game. A player confronted with a scenario may have a number of options to follow. These are illustrated with figures. Best choice is then selected from the available options. This chapter attempts to teach by example.
Participate in providing your own solutions in the Scenario Section