So I've been thinking a little bit about Risk.

You know how some continents just suck and others don't? Why does everyone seem to go for Australia and America at the beginning? I came up with a little method to determine the 'true' value of the continents, rather than the values the board game assigns them.

It goes like this:

(Value given to continent by board game) / (0.5 * ( (Number of countries that can attack continent) + (Number of entry points to continent) ) ) / 0.37 * ( (Number of countries in continent) + (Number of border countries in continent) )

The values of each continent, using this formula, are given below.

1) North America: 5.4
2) Asia: 4.6
3) Australia: 2.7
4) Europe: 2.1
5) South America: 1.6
6) Africa: 1.5

The overall purpose of the formula is to determine which continents give you the most net gain. For example, North America gives you 5 armies per turn but you may only need to devote 3 of those toward actually defending North America. So stuff like how easily defendable the continent is, how many armies it gives you, how many different places it can be attacked from, and how many resources you have to allocate toward accquring the continent in the first place is all regarded in this formula.

In my opinion, it's pretty accurate. Before doing this I always used to go for Africa and I kept wondering why I'd get trounced.

Australia is always my first. It's easily defensible and you get that nice bonus for holding all the territories.

Europe. Happydud knows.

This kind of also explains why the Australia -> Asia tactic is so successful. By taking 2 of the 3 top continents, you're basically guaranteed success. People tend to forget about Asia because "it will take a long time for the guy who's going after Asia to become a threat." They disregard Asia because they figure Asia is easily penetrated later in the game, so they squabble amongst themselves in North/South America and Europe, leaving Asia relatively untouched.

Also, I'm always amused when there's a cold war going on between North Africa and Brazil. That's a sure-fire way to get your *** handed to you by someone else; because two sides are devoting most of their resources to defending the two crappiest continents.

North America, and I'll tell you why. You take all of North America. There are 3 provinces/counties/whatever leading into North America, but not part of it. Take those three. leave one unit in each. Mass all your troops in the counties right behind those (which are part of NA). Your opponent will take those 3 counties each turn. Then, on your turn, you take them back. Leave one unit in each. Repeat. Basically, you'll get the NA troop bonus each turn, and since your opponent/s will begin each turn one county shy of having SA/Europe/Asia, they won't get their troop bonus. Then they take the county their turn, setting them up to get the bonus next turn, but since you get another turn before they do, you take that county back (with the troops you have amassed in the nearby county).

Africa baby!

Them suns a b****es can't take the Congo!

If I can secure Australie at the start, sweet. If not, I make a rampage through Asia, trying to secure it ASAP, and then just wiping out Austraila.

South america. I seem to crowd around Brazil for some reason.

Africa. But I normally play LotR Risk. Far more fun. In which case - Gondor.

I've never actually played risk.

I prefer North America, since I find it easier to conquer more continents afterwords. I'm always afraid that if I take Australia, I won't be able to fight my way out through Asia.

Gondor...

[QUOTE=Vincent Valentine]I've never actually played risk.[/QUOTE]

I hadn't until 20 minutes ago. It isn't bad.

What would you guys do if you were in my situation? I'm grey.

I'm actually pretty proud of myself, as this was an 8-man game of Risk and I've survived to the last two. My opponent has about 70% more troops than I do, but I am in a unique position to cause a lot of damage. What should I do? :<

[QUOTE=Vincent Valentine]I've never actually played risk.[/QUOTE]

same, and i've also not played monopoly. The later being high up on a list of things I want to try.

Monopoly is epic. It's like Risk with money.

... Monopoly is the best game ever conceived.

Free - What is it you're using there? Looks much better than the system I just used.

Risk II.

Here's what I did with that turn. Not bad if I say so myself.

Doh. >.<

What kind of freakish rule set are you playing with that lets you attack from a territory in the same turn you conquer it?

Either way; if you also allow moving armies to any other un-isolated owned territory, he should take all that back next turn. Of course, he won't get any troop bonuses, which leaves you in position to attack again from Siam. You win.

You should've hit Europe with Greenland, too, that would've cost him every continent bonus.

In ROTC back in high school, a couple times a year we'd play RISK II in class with the projector, same-time play. We'd suck up a week or so to do this.

Oh, never mind. YOU LOSE.

That's the original rules, rampage until you run out or feel like stopping.

FINLAND.

Though you didn't hear that from me.

Oh, man. It was so close!

I almost held off his uberarmy long enough to turn in my cards and get 95 troops. It came down to a fight between 9 enemy troops and my last single guy in Eastern Australia. My last remaining guy took out four of them in a row before he went down.

By the way, Risk has like 70,000 rulesets, plus individual rulesets each person brings in. Bring 6 people together that have all played 6 different versions of risk, and you're just begging for a fistfight to break out.

Diplomacy > Risk.

Whenever my friends and I play Risk (the actual board game, the way it should be played), we divide up the territories evenly through a random dealing. Thus, the approach from there is not as simple as an aim to take the best continent. Sometimes, the dealing gives you a cluster on one continent; therefore, you can easily take that continent first. Other times, the dealing spreads your territories across the entire world. To survive, you have to choose which territories to sacrifice to enemies and which territories to amass forces. I have never played a game of Risk with less than 5 people; alliances also complicate things. The point I am trying to make is that there isn't a formula that can indicate the best action for any game setup.

Monopoly is also a classic, fun board game. I never bothered to play board games on the computer because it is just so much more fun to play face to face with friends. On the other hand, you can't play CS in RL.

I was known for making "alliances", and half the time using them merely as a means to avoid a head-on confrontation, or simply attack as they attack elsewhere.

Sure you can! It's called Paintball or Airsoft!

or Gunfight!

OO. THAT'S A FUN GAME! My uncle (49 Cent, if you must know. No relation to 50 Cent, other than they slapped the same ***** once or twice) used to play that game all the time. He usually won, too. He used to tell the greatest stories, about hoes in distress and drive-by's.

I'm way too damn bored to be posting on Massassi. This post is a result of that boredom. I do not have an uncle 49 Cent. [/spoiler]

This game is racist.

That is an excellent strategy. It is the reason my guy friends and I have often lost to girls. They can be extremely manipulative!

I've never won a game of Risk.