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Hello ladies and gents this is the viking telling you that today we are talking about

RISK

File:Risk logo.jpg

Risk is a strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. The standard version is played on a board depicting a political map of Earth, divided into forty-two territories, which are grouped into six continents. Turn rotates among players who control armies of playing pieces with which they attempt to capture territories from other players, with results determined by dice rolls. Players may form and dissolve alliances during the course of the game.

The goal of the game is to occupy every territory on the board and in doing so, eliminate the other players. The game can be lengthy, requiring several hours to multiple days to finish. European versions are structured so that each player has a limited "secret mission" objective that shortens the game.

Risk was invented in 1957 by Albert Lamorisse, a French filmmaker, and went on to become one of the most popular board games in history, inspiring other popular games such as Axis & Allies and Settlers of Catan. The simple rules but complex interactions make it appealing to adults as well as children and families. It is still in production by Hasbro with numerous editions and variants with popular media themes and different rules including PC software versions, video games, and mobile apps.

Risk was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde (The Conquest of the World) in France. It was bought by Parker Brothers and released in 1959 with some modifications to the rules as Risk: The Continental Game, then as Risk: The Game of Global Domination.

Following the introduction, the first new version of Risk in nearly 20 years was released in 1986. Called Castle Risk, it featured a map depicting 18th century European castles instead of a map of the world. It was a financial disappointment. It would be 15 more years before the company tried again. In 1993, the rules for Secret Mission Risk, which had been the standard in Europe, were added to the United States edition. After a limited special edition release in 1999 in France called Risk: Édition Napoléon in commemoration of 200th anniversary of the Napoleonic era (1799-1815), a new edition called Risk: 2210 A.D. was published in 2001 by Hasbro's Avalon Hill division.

The game was futuristic themed featuring moon territories, ocean territories and commander units and offered a number of expansions. Starting in 2002, Risk versions themed around media franchises such as Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Transformers and various others were released in most years, sometimes as many as six editions per year.

A collector's edition of classic Risk in a bookshelf format wooden box was issued in 2005 as part of the Parker Brothers Vintage Game series, distributed through Target Stores. In 2008, Winning Moves, a Hasbro licensee, introduced 1959 Risk, a reproduction of the original Parker Brothers version with original artwork, wooden playing pieces and rules. Many themed versions are being published, along with new themed versions every year or two.

In the first editions, the playing pieces were wooden cubes (one set each of black, blue, green, pink, red and yellow) representing one troop each and a few rounded triangular prisms representing ten troops each, but in later versions of the game these pieces were molded of plastic to reduce costs. In the 1980s, these were changed to pieces shaped into the Roman numerals I, III, V, and X. The 1993 edition introduced plastic infantry tokens (representing a single unit), cavalry (representing five units), and artillery (representing ten units). The 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition contained the same troop pieces but made of metal rather than plastic. In the 2005 "bookcase" edition, playing pieces are once again wooden cubes.

I hope you liked this post and as always have a chilled day from the Viking.

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