Risk

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Rakarth

Guest
I was having a think about the games played on the forums and was wondering if there was anything else out there that could be adapted to our needs.

Funnily enough my housemate has just acquired Risk which saved me having to think anymore :)

Here's a question, could it be adapted/simplified enough to play it on the forums? You're obviously going to need some sort of map, simple enough and not high res so as not to suck up all the bandwidth, especially with multiple posts of slightly different maps.

Is there any way it could be done or is too much? One big map that could just be altered? It would mean having one person moderating the game and you'd have to post moves in order to have them alter the main map.

Any ideas?

Rakarth
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Heh, I have a whole bunch of wargames that I'd love to play with someone here online. But yeah, the map (or just interpreting the board in general for any game) has always been a problem.

The best would be something in Paint, since presumably everyone has access to it. But then it'd look pretty amateurish unless someone is holding out on graphics talent that they haven't mentioned...
 
turgy22

turgy22

Nothing Special
Is the map really necessary? I mean, couldn't you just have one map as a reference (so everyone knows where they can attack from) and then a listing of countries, who controls them, and how many armies are in each?

I would think Risk would actually be pretty straightforward, as long as everyone's honest about their dice rolls.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Well, we've all been honest about Magic, so dice rolls shouldn't be a problem...

We could try it that way. I just think it'd be easier to tell at a graphical glance at what the status is...

But hey, since we're talking about Risk, what about its variants/spin-offs? I have the Middleearth version and would love to try it...
 
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Rakarth

Guest
I think the one map idea is the best bet. If one person starts the game and updates the single map the it should be no problem. we could try a simple map to start with? Or like turgy said, we play it like magic, quoting the last persons move and then altering it when your move is up.

You could host the map smewhere online like photobucket or fileden so that everyone can see it but it doesn't have to be on the CPA.

We could try it as an aside with a simplified version or would you want to try it with the full game and see what happens?

Rakarth
 
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Rakarth

Guest
Woohoo! KJ joins in the fun :) now do some work to help get it going :p

Rakarth
 
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Rakarth

Guest
Well i've been trying to find a map online. Essentially something I could nick and host somewhere so we could all see it. How big would it really need to be?

What would a post need to look like in order to contain all the info required to play?

Quick Example - from my sketchy remembered knowledge of Risk, I'll try and find the game so I can fill in the details.

---------------
Player 1
Cards:3
Territory:

Siam:3 (Territory name and number of armies situated there, is that all that is needed?)
---------------

Is there any more information that needs to be posted? All you can see is what's on the map, so number of armies, cards in a players hand and that's it. The map then provides all the directions you would require.

I might be able to scan the Risk board itself and then shrink it so that it's still readable. The cards can be put in to Excel so that someone impartial can PM them out when needed.

Anything I missed?

Rakarth

Edit - Another thing to consider is the time required to play. We could tune the rules to our liking. So instead of total domination, just use the secret missions requiring you to capture two specific territories in order to win? This is a bit random though and occasionally can lead to one player having an unfair advantage.

Would you deploy by alternately claiming territory one after the other or to
speed it up use the cards to randomise what people get?

Edit 2 - :) A standard world map would work I suppose. You just need to be explicit what is connected to what and where you can go so there's no confusion. As long as this is agreed beforehand then it'd probably work fine.
Easiest way seems to have a single map and have the posts describe what territories are owned
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Well, isn't a Risk map different from a standard map? I mean, each continent is divided differently.

You also need to know which countries can attack where, 'cause if you just go by the post above, you don't know which countries are next to Siam and thus vulnerable.
 
B

BigBlue

Guest
How about running a modified version of Risk... Rather than an actual map it would be a lot easier to keep track of things...

Assume "square" countries - which have 4 borders - on a border can be a country, water, or impassable terrain.

When you list your countries, start at the top of the "globe" and work your way east to west and then work south and continue...

(This is a simplified and exaggerated map beginning)

Germany: Europe

.............Water
France - Germany - Russia
..............Italy

Controlled by:
Armies on:

------------------------------------------------------
Russia: Asia

............Impassable
Germany - Russia - China
...............India

Controlled by:
Armies on:
--------------------------------------------

etc.

(Not interested in playing btw - I don't like Risk that much).
 
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Rakarth

Guest
@ spidey - I think if we had a map then it'd be the job of whoever's turn it was to check it and find out where he could be attacked from, like in the board game, if you don't look at the map and you get attacked it's not really anyone's fault but your own is it.

If you just list your own territories and someone attacks you then you're free to check the map in case they have made a mistake.


Square countries could be good, it would make it easier although you could list the territories surrounding it in clockwise order from the top? So if you have Russia then have a list following it saying, Impassable, China, India, Germany.

Either of these methods still requires that you check the map as it only gives a basic view of what is near a particular territory. A map is easier to visualise than to go through a large post in order to try and create a picture in your head as to where you are and where you want to go.

Rakarth
 
B

Budget Player Cadet

Guest
Invisible Castle. Google it; it'll help with the rolling process a bit. I'd gladly play.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Ugh, I don't really like the idea of square countries. Part of the charm/strategy of Risk was the bottlenecks and limited access to some countries/areas.

I think it'd be too hard to have the stats post separate from the map. I mean, you gotta flip back and forth and make sure everything is right rather than it all being on one page.

I wonder if there's a play-by-email version of Risk...
 
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Rakarth

Guest
Sweet:) That's nice work there Modus :D

Spidey when you say having stats posts seperate to the map what do you mean? You could have the map there in the forum as the first post and check it when you need to or open it in a seperate tab/window? If the map was to be reprinted in every single post wouldn't that mean that the whole site would get bogged down?

If we could play by email that would be cool. Just send your moves to everyone, there'd only be 6 players max. so it's not that much. Could use the forum for dice rolls, attacking etc as it would be better for everyone to see what's happening and post the new map once the turn is over?

Rakarth
 
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Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, I keep forgetting about the separate window/tab. It's just that it would be nice like the computer game to see directly on the map what countries have what and how many armies, etc. But this is probably good for a "forum" game.

With Play by email, I meant a central location that you send your turn in and it determines the outcome of battles and stuff. I guess a central location could be someone neutral here, but I thought there might be something already set up somewhere in the world :)
 
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