Risk 2210 A.D.

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Risk 2210 A.D.

A Risk 2210 A.D. mid-game board
Designer Rob Daviau

Craig Van Ness
Publisher Avalon Hill
Players 2–5
Setup time 5-10 minutes
Playing time 240 minutes
Random chance Medium
Skills required Strategic thought

BoardGameGeek entry

Risk 2210 A.D. is a 2-5 player board game by Avalon Hill that is a futuristic variant of the classic board game Risk. Risk 2210 A.D. was designed by Rob Daviau and Craig Van Ness and first released in 2001. In 2002, Risk 2210 A.D. won the Origins Award for Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game of 2001.[1]

Contents

[edit] Equipment

The boxed set includes:

  • a map of the 2210 world, including land territories and water colonies.
  • a map of the moon
  • 5 different colored sets of playing pieces:
    • MODs (machines of destruction) in denomination sizes of 1, 3, and 5.
    • 4 Space Stations
    • The 5 commanders
  • Energy in denominations of 1's and 5's
  • 5 command card decks (1 for each type commander)
  • 3 decks of cards, 1 for each type of territory (land, water, moon)
  • Turn Markers
  • 4 devastation markers
  • A scoreboard
  • 6 and 8 sided dice in black and white

[edit] Box redesign

2210 A.D. originally came packaged in a rectangular boxed set with a playing board that folded into fourths. At some point the design changed to a square, like the packaging for Risk Godstorm. The board in the square box folds into sixths and the cardboard playing pieces are one-sided as opposed to being printed on both sides as they were for the rectangular box.

[edit] Play

[edit] Beginning the Game

Before the game, 4 cards are randomly selected from the land territory deck. Each of the territories drawn will have a "devastation marker" placed on it, and is impassable for the game - thus making every game different.

Then players take turns selecting from the remaining land territories (water and moon colonies will be used later). Once the land territories are filled, players continue placing their alloted number of MODs on territories they own. Then each player places a space station, a land commander, and a diplomat.

[edit] Turn order

The game is limited to five rounds called years. At the beginning of each year, players use energy they have accumulated to bid for turn order. The highest bidder selects which turn order he wants, then the next highest bidder, and so on. The highest bidder may select any turn he wants, he is not limited to "first." There are strategic advantages for taking different turn orders at different points in the game.

At the beginning of each player's turn, based on the number of countries he owns and whole continents he holds, he gains additional MODs and energy. He places the MODs and then has the opportunity to buy additional commanders, cards, and space stations. Then he may play command cards that he has sufficient energy to activate. Next comes the attack phase which, if he successfully takes three contested territories, he receives one bonus energy and one bonus command card. After the attack phase, the player may move one group of units from any one of his territories to any other territory he occupies, so long as all territories in between are his.

[edit] End of the Game

At the end of year 5, each player's score is calculated based on the number of territories he owns, colonies he holds, and the number of colony influence cards he has the commanders to activate.

[edit] Prominent differences from classic Risk

  • Addition of water and moon territories
  • Addition of commanders (land, naval, space, nuclear, diplomat)
  • Command card decks corresponding to each of the five commanders
  • Players earn and spend "energy" to obtain commanders, cards, space stations, and to activate some command cards
  • Players can roll an 8 sided die in some instances
  • Armies are not acquired through card trading
  • The game is only 5 years (turns) long; the winner is the player with highest score at the end of the last year

[edit] Territories

Geographically, the map is nearly identical to the classic Risk map. It has the same forty-two territories as before, but they have somewhat different names; Greenland, for example, is now the Exiled States of America. Also, a few connections are removed; the picture shows that Egypt is the only African country to have a connection with Middle East.

Significant is the addition of thirteen underwater territories divided into five "colonies", which work like continents — control the whole colony to receive a bonus. Moon exploration is also possible. To do so, a player must control a space station, acquire a space commander, and then send MODs (armies) to the Moon. These extra territories also create new avenues of movement and attack between continents.

The map changes each game — before any units are placed, four Devastation markers are positioned randomly on the board. Those four territories are nuclear wastelands that are impassable and uninhabitable during the game.

[edit] Commanders and cards

One of the biggest differences from classic Risk is the addition of commanders: land, naval, space, nuclear, and diplomat. These fill a number of roles. Their most basic function is to act as an improved army unit, enabling players to roll eight-sided dice rather than the typical six-sided ones. For all commanders this is true when defending. Space and naval commanders allow movement into Moon or water territories respectively.

Players may vie for control of the Moon
Players may vie for control of the Moon

The most important function of the commanders is allowing the purchase and use of cards of various types. The addition of cards has a huge effect — they change the strategies in broad sweeps rather than small adjustments. Card play can shift the balance of power rapidly. Players can only buy four cards at a time, and only for commanders in play. Like the new avenues of movement, cards open up the board by making no position impregnable, no attack a certainty. With cards in use, the game is more fluid and positions are constantly shifting. There is a separate deck of cards for each type of commander. Perhaps the most devastating card attacks are enabled by the nuclear commander: playing a nuclear card has the potential to destroy all the armies on an entire continent.

[edit] Energy

Energy also has a strategic importance. It is used to buy cards, to bring commanders and space stations into play, to bid for the most advantageous place in the turn order, and to play certain cards. Each round, players bid energy for the right to choose when they want to take their turns. But players who spend too much energy one turn may find themselves playing at a disadvantage the next turn, or even for the rest of the game.

[edit] Turn limit

Risk 2210 A.D. includes a five-year limit, although it is possible to play as in normal Risk with unlimited turns. Whoever controls the most territories (and bonuses) at the end of the fifth year wins. The player with the last turn in year five can conquer as much territory as possible without worrying about the need to defend. Thus, in close games, victory by the final player is virtually guaranteed, unless the other players have saved a stock of cards and energy to defend themselves.

Although each player only gets five turns, a game may easily last over five hours.

The game includes the necessary equipment and cards for playing the classic version of Risk.

[edit] Renamed territories

North America

South America

Europe

Africa

Asia

Australia

[edit] Strategy

 This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (September 2007)

The strategy for Risk 2210 A.D. is much more varied than in traditional Risk. It is possible to gain a large advantage in the first round if a player strategically outmaneuvers his opponents. By taking the last turn in the first round, and keeping enough energy to buy the first turn in the second round, the player is safe to leave his territories completely unguarded after the first round, earning many reinforcing armies from what would otherwise be reckless conquest. However, if there are more than 2 players, gaining a large early advantage can make the player a target for the other players.

Some players prefer to fly away to the Moon instead of trying to fight on earth, maintaining a small earth presence centered around a space station. Others prefer very quickly establishing sea colonies that border major countries, positioning themselves to invade a continent when its main inhabitant is weak from trying to take over a larger area. Diplomacy creates intrigue, as players can call cease fire to prevent attack, etc. Nuclear holocaust has its effects as well, as should be expected. Otherwise, many strategies are the same as in Classic Risk.

[edit] Early-Game (Year 1)

Don't buy any nuclear cards in the first (or probably second) turn. Nuke cards are expensive to use (they have an average cost of two energy) and you're better off buying more cards and/or commanders early on than using the nuke cards. Make sure you save a decent amount of energy, so that a player doesn't claim final turn of the year, and then first turn of the second year.

[edit] Mid-Game

Assuming that you are playing with two or more other people, you should have two main goals in the middle part of the game: ganging up on anyone who is starting to dominate and avoiding becoming a target. If one player is pulling in tons of energy and MODs, it is vital that the other players in the game work together to bring that player back down to a more even level.

With that in mind, it is also vital that you don't grow strong enough that you start appearing to be a dominate force who needs to be brought down. If you already fully control a couple of colonies, start building up defenses on your border instead of continuing to expand. Not only will this not make you look as scary (you won't be controlling even more land), but other players may pick on easier targets rather than trying to break through your sizeable defending force. Another trick to being stronger than you appear is to hoard cards and energy; players often define strength by the number of countries/colonies controlled and the size of the army, and they disregard the power of cards and energy being stored by that player.

[edit] End-Game (Years 4 and 5)

The biggest strategic advantage a player can get is to secure the last turn in year #5. Not only will you not have to worry about defense, but you can easily identify the biggest threat and target them without fear of retalliation from the targeted player or a third player walking over the remains of the battle between the two of you. When making this evaluation, include any possible colony influence cards they may have (remembering that they will only be able to play those cards if the corresponding commander is alive at the end of your turn). With all that in mind, plan your play in year #4 so as to hopefully have the most energy when bidding for turn order at the start of year #5.

[edit] Expansions

Avalon Hill has released a number of expansions for the 2210 A.D. game. Used as Tournament awards, these expansions were originally available only to retailers and have not been released commercially. To date, there are four OFFICIAL expansions, by the name Frontline

A number of UNOFFICIAL expansions have also been created including an Advanced Tech Command Deck, Terror Tactics Command Deck, Antarctica Expansion Board, Commanders 2.0, Zombies 2210, General Commander, and Terrorist Commander.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Origins Award Winners (2001). Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.

[edit] External links