Risk 2210 A.D.

by Wizards of the Coast

Product Features

• For 2-5 players
• Takes up to 4 hours to play
• Strategic board game
• Tons of replay value
• Sci-fi theme

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 10.5 x 3.5 inches ; 0.3 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002ZQFIY
• Item model number: 4099488
• Manufacturer recommended age: 12 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,158 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The world is at war. As the leader of one of the warring factions, you control the destiny of your people. On and above earth you must marshall your forces, send forth your troops, hit the right commanders and crush your enemies. Build alliances if you dare, but also be wary of those who you call your friend. Spend your energy wisely. Enlist the right commanders with the right commands and you can gain the power you need to conquer the world and beyond. This advanced version of RISK from Avalon Hill contains more strategic play, extending the game theme 200 years into the future when the world's countries are at war. The game contains over 450 military pieces, plus five decks of Command Cards for tactical purposes. For 2-5 players.

Product Description

The world is at war. As the leader of one of the warring factions, you control the destiny of your people. On and above earth you must marshall your forces, send forth your troops, hit the right commanders and crush your enemies. Build alliances if you dare, but also be wary of those who you call your friend. Spend your energy wisely. Enlist the right commanders with the right commands and you can gain the power you need to conquer the world and beyond.

This advanced version of RISK from Avalon Hill contains more strategic play, extending the game theme 200 years into the future when the world's countries are at war. The game contains over 450 military pieces, plus five decks of Command Cards for tactical purposes. For 2-5 players.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

184 of 187 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great spin on an old game, September 20, 2001

By 

Evan Miller "Hedonist and All Around Geek" (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

I had a blast with this game. Anyone familiar with classic Risk will find this an interesting change. I took it to my local games shop and started playing with some people and we had a crowd gathered around watching us play before long.

it takes place in the future of the planet and now you have a Lunar map to conquer along with the Earth map. An added twist to the game is the inclusion of commanders which are more powerful units and allow other certain tactical advantages. Want to storm your opponents naval colonies? You have to have a Naval Commander. Also for each commander type you purchase (using energy chips you get at the start of your turn) you can purchace command cards which allow you to do some radical things in the game. One of my favoites is the Stealth M.O.D.s card. When an opponent invades your territory, you play the card and place 3 additional armies in your territory.

You can also play classic Risk with it, so ina way it's two games in one.

Also to keep the games from going too long, the game is played in 5 rounds. (5 game years) Whoever is ahead at the end is the winner.

The box comes with a nice sturdy carboard insert that makes different storage areas to place the game pieces so they don't get all jumbled up. Definitely a plus.

214 of 220 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Risk with more options, more strategy, and more fun, October 17, 2001

By 

The H. Le "the_le" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

The future of the Risk world is here. All the continents of the original risk are present (with new names), as well as new continents. You can actually play normal risk with this new board!

Of course, the meat and potatoes is the new stuff, and there is plenty of it. For starters there are now underwater territories that can be conquered, such as New York. They come in sets, just like regular continents, and gives bonuses if you can conquer them. These underwater cities also means that there are more links to other territories, which means that Australia now has multiple entry points.

However, to enter and exit underwater territories, you need a WATER COMMANDER, which can be purchased. You see, you now get energy points based on the number of territories that you own, and you spend these points on armies (ala original risk), commanders, bases, or cards that you can use with your commander. These "cards" allows for some interesting twists, such as the ability to do free moves from one territory to a non-adjacent territory. There are only 5 commanders that you can own in the game, and they roll on an 8-sided die rather than 6, making them useful when attacking or defending.

The purchasable Base is treated as a dozen or so non-moveable army units (for defense, but cannot attack). The base is also critical because it allows you to send troops to the Moon. The moon is a separate small circular board, with territories. There are "landing" points on the moon that troops land on for attacking and reinforcing. You get a bonus for capturing the moon, but it is a one-way trip for troops. You also need a Space Commander to send troops there. Otherwise, once you have troops there, it is treated as any other territory that you can reinforce during your purchase phase.

There are also 3 "Nuclear" pieces that are placed randomly each game on land territories. These terries are considered destroyed by previous wars, and cannot be crossed or conquered. This adds some interesting variety to the board and helps change strategy every game, and is probably my favorite feature.

Of course, all this means that you can have a very long game by normal rules. Officially, the game takes place for only 5 turns, and the player with the most points wins. However, it can easily be played in a conquer-all mode.

The pieces themselves are a bit hit and miss. The Commanders really stand out, but would have looked nicer if they were painted. I also question the durability of the Commander pieces, but overall they look nice enough. Gone are the Numeric pieces representing armies. Instead you have 3 types of Armored-MECHs, each representing 1, 5, or 10 armies. It is definitely a nice touch to keep the futuristic setting.

Overall this is a very good game that adds more complexity to the original Risk. It is very well designed and clearly has been balanced for fun and fairness. Original risk players will find this game easy to pick up and a lot of fun, while new players may be a little overwhelmed by all the rules.

Fortunately you can easily play with your own custom rules. Don't like the moon concept? Then don't play it (it is a separate board anyway). Don't like Commanders? Then play without them. Or play without cards, or play without water territories. You can do what you want, and for all intents and purposes it will not effect the balance of the game. As I said, you can also play original risk on this board game, since the main territories have the exact layout of the original.

I definitely recommend this game for anyone with a sci-fi interest, and anyone familiar with Risk. It can be overwhelming for new players as I said, but I think the investment of time to learn this game will be worth it.

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best RISK game thus far: some info on it, too., September 12, 2003

By 

B. Sites "plexiglass_designs" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:1.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

Okay. This review serves 2 purposes, one to praise the game for its quality and two to explain the new stuff to someone considering buying it. First, here's what's new about the game.

The world has changed as it is now the year 2210. As such, don't expect to see any overly familiar country names on the RISK board, which while still laid out in a similar-to-old-RISK-continent style is vastly different on each continent's interior. The country names are rather amusing at times, but generally, not that surprising. Also changed about the board, there are now WATER territories and a Moon full of approximately 16 territories (I'm guessing, don't have it in front of me).

The world has also been stained by wars of the past, and as such, at the start of the game 3-4 radiation counters are randomly placed on 3-4 territories, rendering them either extremely hazardous to pass through or making them totally impassable (depending on what rules you use). This addition suddenly makes some continents very easy to defend.

While the shape of the armies has changed from men, horses and cannons to various sorts of machines (MECH-like, Battletech players), they are otherwise similar in counting function. However, 5 new types of units are available to each player through the use of Commanders. A commander is a special unit which has the ability to roll an 8-sided die on defense at all times and to also roll an 8-sided die on offense in certain situations. There are 5 types of commanders: Land, Space, Aquatic, Diplomat and Nuclear. You need the Aquatic and Space commanders to enter water and lunar territories, respectively. Commanders allow you to buy and use cards of the corresponding type but buying both commanders and cards costs energy. Cards? Energy? What am I talking about you ask!

In RISK 2210, in addition to getting armies each turn, you also get energy which can be used to buy commanders, to buy moon bases (a base you place on an Earth-bound land territory which allows defending units in that territory to all roll d8s on defense and, if you have a Space commander, allows you to travel to the Moon) or to buy Cards. Energy is how you decide who picks turn order each round. Everyone bids a secret amount of energy, you all reveal your amount, and whoever bid the most picks if they go first, second, last, etc. All energy bid, win or lose, is spent.

Cards add perhaps the most dramatic change to the game. Cards come in 5 types, Land, Aquatic, Diplomat, Nuclear and Space. They do what they sound like: Land gives bonuses to attack or defense when you play it, Aquatic does the same for water territories, Diplomat guards you from attack for a turn etc., Nuclear blows stuff up and Space does what Land does on the moon. And all (I think) card types have "Frequency Jams" which prevent a player you choose from playing any cards that turn. Cards can COMPLETELY change your plans. For instance, you plan to attack with 25 armies against your foes 10 armies. Oh! He plays a Cease fire and you cannot attack him! Or perhaps it is in reverse, your 10 against his 25; you play a Scatter bomb land, randomly killing half the units in 3 territories you draw from the RISK deck (you can't target your self with this card).
Cards, well, I love and hate them but they certainly add a lot!

The final addition to RISK 2210 is that the game is designed to end after 5 years (1 turn for each player = 1 year, so 5 turns for everyone and that's it). It, of course, can be played with another variation.

That basically sums up the new RISK game. It's a lot more complex and, generally much harder to strategize in. But, this can be a blessing. For instance, if you're used to always winning, a less skilled opponent stands a better chance thanks to the cards. On the other hand, if you strategize effectively, you can take into account the cards and be prepared for them so a true strategy master is undaunted by them! (some exaggeration here :-) Or, alternatively, if you are playing a World Domination or Capitals game (instead of the 5-year game discussed just above), the cards play in less as they are in finite supply and, once you use them, they're gone. The new RISK is great, especially since you can still play standard RISK with it by ignoring the added elements (you basically have the old RISK board and figures and a bunch of new stuff you don't have to use). All in all, RISK 2210 is my favorite board game and that says a lot. A tad bit pricey I admit, but well worth it.

If you're a RISK fan already, this is the game to try next.

If you're not yet a RISK fan, I bet you'll love this game, but you may want to try traditional RISK first.

And, if you're a Lord of the Rings fan and a RISK fan, while not as complex as this game, check out Lord of the Rings RISK, which is a lot like this version but with Tolkien-themed elements.

Hope this was helpful!

It's a great game!