So, myself, Darrin, Steven, Marcus, and Thomas played a game of Risk 2210 the other day. I decided to be a little experimental during this particular game and test out some strategies. My focus was on the turn order during the game, particularly in year 5. I thought I would share some of my thoughts regarding the importance of turn order, plus a few tactics to help.
How is turn order different in Risk 2210 than in classic Risk?
If you're a fan of classic Risk, you know that the turn order never changes. At the beginning of the game, the first person to take a turn is chosen and then the turns proceed depending on who's sitting where at the table until the end of the game. In Risk 2210, the order of turns changes each round (year). Turn order is decided by each person getting to choose which turn they want. The order in which turns are chosen is determined by a bid of energy at the beginning of the year. The highest bidder chooses first and so on. If anyone bids the same amount or if more than one person bids 0, then it comes down to a roll of a die.
How can this be part of a solid Risk strategy?
Let's say you are in conflict with another player. You attack him and weaken him, but in the process make yourself vulnerable. His turn is already over for this year, but if he goes before you in the next year, he could retaliate and potentially hurt you very badly. In these kinds of situations, bidding energy is very important. Before you attack or get into a conflict with someone, check to see how much energy they have. Will they be able to outbid you? Part of your plan may need to be to keep more energy than your opponents, so you can choose when to take your turn.
Year Five
Without a doubt it is most beneficial to take the last turn in year 5. The vast majority of games I have seen or been a part of have ended with the player with the final turn winning the game. This is because the last player can take as much land as possible, leaving only one man behind each time and not have to worry about anyone coming behind him and taking it. He also is able to count each person's score and knows what he needs to do to win the game. The only times that I have ever seen the last player lose the game is when he either: doesn't have the forces to take much land at all... meaning he must have been extremely weak already, or he is Cease Fired by another player and cannot move.
In the game I played the other day, I decided to make sure that no matter what, I had enough energy to outbid everyone else in year 5. I barely kept enough and was able to go last, and I won the game. There were other factors that came into play of course, but this was the biggest one.
So keep energy conservation in mind (lol) at all times and make sure you can outbid another player if you need to. Also, if you want to win games, do everything you can to go last in year 5. Leave me a comment. Let me know what you think, or if you have tips or suggestions for readers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I agree, but if your short on time, you should think about if the turn your starting might be last, so you don't wind up with a bunch of energy at the end.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with this strategy, However, never underestimate the moon territories. They play a huge factor in year 5. Especially if one has control of it.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with turn order on year 5. It is quite important, however if you have been wiped out of the map it's a bit hard to use all the energy saved up, don't you think.
ReplyDeleteAlso the turn order isn't necessarily important to see who goes first, sometimes it is just important to go before 1 other player, not all of them.
Great review there, Lane. I thoroughly enjoy this game.