Customer Reviews

Star Wars Risk Original Trilogy Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I remember receiving Star Wars Risk: Clone Wars Edition as a gift for Christmas a few years ago, and found it to be pleasant, but not extraordinary. It was the first variation of Risk I had ever played, and as I played on different boards I realized that the Clone Wars variation paled in comparison. The box, however, announced the upcoming release of an Original Trilogy variation, so for following year I looked forward its release.



It took some time, but Hasbro finally developed and released an Original Trilogy variation of Risk, and I must say it is an immense improvement. The first thing I observed was how much nicer the board was than the Clone Wars variation. It featured a fresh, new design while preserving the spirit and style of the Original Trilogy of Star Wars.

Not only that, but the pieces were also much nicer, being larger and featuring more detail.



More importantly, the elements of gameplay are vastly improved over the Clone Wars variation, which made use of Order 66. Order 66 tended to result in some sort of major imbalance in the game and just seemed, well, weird. There are differences in power in the Original Trilogy variation, but there are also different objectives of different difficulties for each faction, which evens things out.



Finally, one of the best things about the Original Trilogy is the multitude of elements, such as the Death Star, the Force meter, ships (a pleasant carry-over from the Clone Wars variation), and the Hutt faction. I applaud Hasbro for successfully meshing all these different elements together to create a seamless, sophisticated game.



Overall, Star Wars Risk, Original Trilogy edition is a significant improvement over the Clone Wars variation and a great game overall. If you're a fan of Risk, Star Wars, or both, I highly recommend it.



May the Force be with you

The prior 'Clone Wars' release of Risk was far too unbalancing and it looks like they learned there lesson there before releasing this version.

Firstly, it still plays very similarly to the original game it copies. If you know how to play Risk, or one of its many clones, you will have a short learning curve with adapting to this game. For those who never played a game of Risk in their life, you may find yourself spending more time with the rule book than the game board. The information in the rules is complicated, vague at times, and hard to find. This is inherent in the nature of balancing the three different factions among different numbers of players and a complete disregard for arranging information by category and relevance. Once the hurdle of learning the rules is complete, the game is fairly easy to play.

While the Death Star is in this game, it has several inhibiting factors that prevent it from being the colossal fist of doom that Order 66 is in the Clone Wars edition. Against it is the balance of the force between the Empire and the Rebels that alter how combat effective and easy it is to use the weapon. The other key consideration is the Rebels ability to destroy the Death Star and remove it from play for a time.

While the struggle between the Rebels and the Empire has always taken center stage in the films, this set introduces the Hutts/Gangsters as a playable faction (with the proper player count [3 or 5]) whose objective gives both factions a run for their victory.

If you are a Risk fan, or Star Wars fan, give Clone Wars a pass and pick up this copy.

My 9 year old son loves this game. Similar directions to the basic Risk game but, great for Star Wars fans. We play it as a traditional board game but, he also enjoys just playing with all the figures and setting up Star Wars battles. Shipping was great - used regular shipping and received it in 2 or 3 days.

Great game, quite a bit more complicated than other Risks, but it seems to still provide balanced game play. Locked alliances are a new/fun addition to the game. Game board is large and cool looking. The Game pieces are neat looking but are made with a very cheap plastic. I definitely recommend the game, especially if you enjoyed the other Risk versions.

I purchased this game for my sons for Christmas. The Star Wars rules were a little difficult to get used to in the beginning. However, the boys have played this almost every day since they opened the present. You can play by the classic rules or use the Star Wars rules. Some of the Star Wars variations are difficult for younger children, but you can play a game faster than with original Risk. The plastice pieces are easily bent and could be made out of better material. Overall, this is a fun spin on the classic Risk game and I recommend it for Star Wars fans and Risk fans.

I would have to say that this type version for Risk was disappointing for me, perhaps it could be my bias, but let me explain. My two friends and I had played a recent game of original Risk, after playing that a few days later, I had the urge to play Risk. I drove out to Toys R' Us to purchase Risk when my friend recommended that I try the Star Wars version, so I took and we went back to my house, it didn't have the same excitement factor compared to the original. The Star Wars type version is heavily complicated and is a pain to explain to new players, while the original version is played out on an awkward map. The map is in a circle with various connecting routes, simply not as fun as say attacking Asia or so due to the separate galaxies each having at least 2 routes to invade from. It just didn't feel as fun as the original, plus there were no country cards no cards to tell you what territories you owned, you simply had to roll a dice and pick territories by turn order. Plus, the original can play with 6 as this can only be played with 4 and there are no ten troops only 1s and 3s, I don't know exactly why I didn't like it, it most likely was the complicated and imposing circular style map, it just wasn't as exciting, although that may simply be bias. You Decide.

My friends and I are currently obsessed with Star Wars Risk. We play nearly every weekend. We keep stats! This game gives all 3 players (or 5 players) a great chance to win. The game constantly changes and you will never see the same game twice!

Now there are some HUGE problems, but they can be fixed. The directions are not clear on some things. Cards directions can be very misleading and some factions (Hutts) are much weaker. This can be fixed my making some easy house rules. We let the Hutts go second, add an extra green planet and give them extra starting units (30). Here are some observations;

Pros:
- great variety of game play
- great mix of strategy and luck
- 1v1v1 is an awesome change from 1v1
- Great looking board and pieces
- Cards keep game changing constantly
- Worth over 125 bucks!

Cons:
- can be slow
- poor directions
- Small pieces get lost / broke easily.
- if you lose some pieces your screwed (bases, death star)

There are few games out there that offer 1v1v1 in such a interesting way. Great game, buy it and enjoy it.

I'm a big star wars fan, and risk is my favorite board game!!
So with the two together, oh yeah!!

I like the addition of ships to this game, and It is educational for those who have a limited knowledge of star wars planets.

Buy it and have fun, or simply add it to your collection of star wars items, or risk boards!

I played Risk a lot as a teenager. My nephew brought this game on a family vacation and we played it every day (3-player version primarily). It took a while to learn and apply all of the very complicated additional rules and also figure out appropriate strategies. Because it was a lot to keep up with, it seems like players are more likely to make critical mistakes (like not playing a card that would help an attack or forgetting to move the Death Star before their turn is over). In the end, we found the Hutts winning most frequently (sometimes on their second turn). In general I think the Empire can win more easily than the Rebels.

Getting cards and using them for ships or actions can completely change the course of a game, adding another randomizing factor in addition to the dice. The cards can be really funny, featuring quotes from the movies like "Clumsy as he is stupid". You will want to get a ship each turn, but don't use the best cards which can mean life or death during an attack. Occasionally turning in a matched set of cards is enough to push someone into a win, so the cards serve three different purposes (and the match doesn't increase like it did in the original game).

It was fun learning the new rules and trying out the different factions and their objectives. The rebels seem at the biggest disadvantage since their objective (destroying the base where the emperor is located) isn't even possible until that base is in play (may not happen for the whole game) and the Empire can easily defend the base by parking the Death Star there. I wish the pieces were better quality. The cardboard tokens for ships should have been plastic and the bases should have been metal because once the cardboard is worn, everyone can realize which cardboard piece is the emperor (we then switched to quarters for bases). It seems like our games usually didn't last as long as in the original edition, but primarily because the Hutts can win early or the Rebels might luck up and find the emperor early. If we had more experience, the games would probably last longer.

I wouldn't pay the big price Amazon has listed, but if you can pick this game up for a more reasonable price, this is a fun game.

***stores in my area (hobby stores, meijers etc) sell this game for $35***

This version is much better than the clone wars version, rules are not too tricky to understand. Depending on the child I would say between [...] they will be able to play unassisted once they learn the rules.