CivRisk: A Module of Alternative Rules for the Board Game Risk

By Chris Grey

     A module of alternative rules for the board game Risk so that it plays out more like Civilization. The idea here was to add as many elements of Civilization to Risk without losing too much flavor of Risk. You start the game in one country depending on the civilization and leader you choose. There are 20 civilizations with most them having two leaders from which to choose. You go through several tiers of growth which provide you with incremental wealth, which is literally just armies and Risk cards. There is no tech tree to speak of, but there are a few buildings to build which include several wonders. Upon exploration, there are random chances to find barbarian camps, ancient ruins, and if you include the optional rule, natural wonders (one for each country, though only so many can show up). The game is designed around 3-5 players, with four victory conditions with which to win the game.

     One last thing to mention, is the game requires more than one Risk board game. You will need the extra armies, cards, and dice. They can almost always be found at thrift stores.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris Grey
• Release date: Aug 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223840329

Book preview

Introduction

Welcome to my module for Risk. This module is full of alternative rules for playing Risk so that it plays more like Civilization. If you're not familiar with that game, it's a turn-based strategy PC game with the same objectives as Risk; try to rule the world! It is truly a fun game, as well as Risk, but I've personally enjoyed Civilization much more which coaxed me to want to make a Risk version. I really hope this extends your enjoyment of the board game.

What You Need to Play

When designing this module, I tried my best to keep the requirements low, but to balance it out, it grew to need more than just one box of Risk. In this module, you'll need 3-5 players, two decks of Risk cards, and possibly more than the standard amount of pieces/armies. You will also need more than five six-sided dice, and some small playing pieces to act as markers, which can be anything such as coins, but you'll need at least six different types and multiples of each (Legos are perfect).

My suggestion here would be to go to a thrift store and try to find one or two boxes of Risk with an attempt to get ones with different colors of playing pieces. Be sure to check that it at least has all the Risk cards. Lastly, you'll need a good imagination and about three or more hours of time.

Game Setup

To start this game, you first need the board out and ready. Allow players to choose which color of pieces they want and have them set them up however they like. Take one deck of cards and remove the wilds and set those aside, then divide them up into six piles with each pile comprised of the countries for each continent, for example, one pile should have Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, and Argentina for South America. These face up cards are the real estate cards. Set the two wilds from this deck and the two from the other deck aside. They will be shuffled into the Risk cards later. Then, each player should have two or