How to Play Risk: Board Setup, Rules, Strategy, & More

Co-authored by Hunter Rising Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: May 4, 2024 Fact Checked

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If you’re looking for an exciting game of strategy and world domination, Risk is a classic that you should definitely play. You’ll compete against your friends by battling armies and controlling territories on a map until there’s only one player left standing. Risk is really easy to learn, but there are a lot of strategies for you to master. We know you’re itching to play the game, so keep reading for all of the rules and strategies you’ll need to start!

Things You Should Know

Play Risk with 2–6 players. Take turns putting 1 Infantry troop in an empty territory on the board to start.
Add troops to the board at the start of your turn. Gain bonus troops for controlling continents and trading in matching sets of cards.
Attack and capture territories by rolling dice. If you roll a higher number than your opponent, they lose troops.
Win the game by capturing all the territories on the board and eliminating the other players’ troops.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Overview and Setup

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1
Set out the game board, cards, and dice. Unfold the board and set it in the middle of the table. Shuffle the 42 cards marked with map territories and the 2 “wild” cards with pictures of troops together to make the draw pile. Set the 3 red attack dice and 2 white defense dice near the board.^{[1]
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- The Risk board has 6 continents — North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Australian Archipelago — that contain a total of 42 smaller territories.
- Variation: If you want to play with the Secret Mission cards, randomly give each player 1 Mission of each of the 4 types. Keep the cards a secret from the other players.
2
Give each person starting troops based on the player count. Each player gets one set of plastic army troops. An army contains Infantry that are worth 1 troop, Cavalry that are worth 5 troops, and Artillery that count as 10 troops. Players get a total number of troops depending on how many people are playing the game.^{[2]
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- 6 players - 20 troops each
- 5 players - 25 troops each
- 4 players - 30 troops each
- 3 players - 35 troops each
- 2 players - 40 troops each (this varies between editions, and you must use “neutral” armies that aren’t controlled by either player)
- Cavalry and Artillery troops are a way to let you consolidate multiple troops on the map. For example, if you have 5 Infantry in 1 territory, you could trade them in at any time for 1 Cavalry so the map is easier to see.
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3
Roll a die to determine who goes first. Take turns rolling a die to see who gets the highest number. If there’s a tie, the tied players roll again until there’s a winner. The first player gets to put down the first troop and takes the first turn at the start of the game.^{[3]
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- After the first player, take turns clockwise around the table.
4
Take turns placing Infantry troops on the board to claim starting territories. Starting with the first player, place 1 of your Infantry onto an empty territory that’s on the map. Once all the territories are claimed, add 1 troop to any territory with one of your pieces in it until you run out of available troops. After that, the game starts with the player who placed the first troop.^{[4]
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- Any territory with your pieces in it is considered under your control.
- Variation: Remove the 2 “wild” cards from the draw pile and deal out the cards evenly to each player. Each player places one of their troops in the territories listed on the cards they have. Always deal out cards to claim starting territories during a 2-player game.
5
Try to conquer all of the territories on the board to win. The Risk game board is split up into 42 territories that you can control. On your turn, you’ll place troops from your army on the board before attacking territories that your opponents control. At the end of your turn, you can move troops to fortify territories you control. Once you control all of the territories, you win the game.^{[5]
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- Some variations of Risk give each player secret missions they need to complete as an alternate way to win.
- A game of Risk usually takes around 2 hours, but it could take an hour or two longer if you’re playing with all 6 players.
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Approach gameplay with a positive mindset. Board games are fun yet strategic. Even if you want to win, preserve the spirit of this wholesome pastime by offering encouragement and support to all gameplayers. Avoid being overly competitive. Cultivating a positive atmosphere will ensure that everyone has a good time.

Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Getting and Placing New Troops

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1
Count the troops you get from territories and continents. At the beginning of each of your turns, you receive more armies based on the number of territories and which continents you control. For every 3 territories you control, you gain 1 additional troop. If you control all the territories on one of the continents, then you gain the number of troops listed on the board.^{[6]
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- Example: If you had 11 territories, you would receive 3 troops. For 13 territories, you would receive 4 troops.
- Receive 3 troops for controlling Africa, 7 troops for Asia, 2 troops for Australia, 5 troops for Europe, 5 troops for North America, and 2 troops for South America.
- If you ever gain fewer than 3 troops at the beginning of your turn, round up to 3 troops.
2
Trade in sets of 3 matching cards to place bonus troops. During the game, you’ll get chances to draw cards from the draw pile. When you have 3 cards that show the same troop picture, or have 3 different troop pictures (Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery), you can turn the cards upside-down to claim extra troops. Each time a player turns in cards, they gain more troops that the last set of cards.^{[7]
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- First set: 4 troops
- Second set: 6 troops
- Third set: 8 troops
- Fourth set: 10 troops
- Fifth set: 15 troops
- For every set after the fifth set, add 5 more troops to the total.
- If you have 5 or more cards at the beginning of a turn, you must turn at least one set of them in.
- If one of the cards you turn in has a territory you control, place 2 bonus troops in that territory. You can only do this once per turn.
- Some editions of Risk have stars on the cards instead of troops. You gain troops based on the number of stars on the cards you turn in.
3
Place your troops on territories you control. You may place the troops you received anywhere you have another troop on the board. You can split your troops between each of your territories, or you can place all of your new troops in one territory. You can use any combination of Infantry, Cavalry, or Artillery as long as you don’t place more troops than what you gained for the turn.^{[8]
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- Example: If you gained 16 troops, you could place 16 Infantry; 3 Cavalry and an Infantry; or 1 Infantry, 1 Cavalry, and 1 Artillery.
- Try to place your troops in territories that border your opponents so you can perform a strong attack or defend yourself.^{[9]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Attacking

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1
Declare an attack on a territory adjacent to one you control. Territories are adjacent if they share a border or if they have a sea line connecting them. When you want to attack another territory, name the territory you’re attacking and which territory you control that you’re attacking from. The territory you control must have at least 2 troops in it.^{[10]
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- Example: You may say, "I'm attacking Eastern United States from Western United States."
- Attacking during your turn is always optional. If you’d rather save your troops and keep your defenses strong, you can skip straight to fortifying your troops.
2
Choose up to 3 troops to use for your attack. The number of troops you choose to attack with determines how many dice you get to roll when you square off the opponent. Push the troops into the territory that you’re attacking, but leave at least 1 troop in the original territory. Gain 1 attack dice for every troop you choose to use.^{[11]
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- Since Cavalry or Artillery are worth 5 and 10 troops, you can’t use the pieces in an attack. Trade Cavalry or Artillery pieces in for Infantry before you make your attack.
3
Roll the red attack dice against your opponent’s white defense dice. As the attacker, roll 1 red die for each of the troops you’re using in your attack. The defending player rolls the same number of white dice as the number of troops in their defending territory, with a maximum of 2. Compare the die with the highest value for both the attacker and defender to see who rolled higher. Then look at the next highest die for each player until you resolve each die.^{[12]
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- If the red die is higher than the white die, remove 1 troop from the defending territory.
- If the red die is lower or equal to the white die, remove 1 of the attack troops from the board.
- If you rolled more dice than your opponent, ignore the extra results.
- Example: John decides to attack Jane. John uses 2 troops to attack and Jane has 1 troop to defend. John rolls as a 4 and 3. Jane rolls a 3. Since John’s highest die was a 4 and Jane’s was a 3, John wins the battle and removes Jane’s troop from the board.
4
Occupy the territory if you win it. If you successfully wipe out all of the defending troops in the territory you’re attacking, keep all of the troops you used to attack in the territory. You can also move additional troops from the attacking territory to the one you just captured as long as you leave 1 troop behind.^{[13]
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- If there are still enemy troops left in the territory, then move your troops back into the territory they came from.
- As soon as you run out of troops on the board, you’re out for the rest of the game.
5
Attack any number of times during your turn. You can keep attacking the same territory or you can try attacking a different area on the map altogether. You can perform as many attacks as you want during your turn until you decide you’re finished.^{[14]
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- Pay attention to how many troops you have left on the board before you declare an attack. It may be smarter to save your troops for a strong defense so you don’t wear yourself too thin.
6
Draw a card at the end of your turn if you captured a territory. If you've conquered at least one territory, take the top card from the draw pile and add it to your hand. No matter how many territories you controlled on your turn, you still only draw 1 card from the pile.^{[15]
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- If you manage to wipe out an opponent by destroying their last troop on the board, you gain all the cards they had in their hand.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Fortifying Your Territories

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Fortifying your territories is the last chance you have to build your defenses up for enemy attacks. Choose any number of troops in one territory that you want to move. You can move the troops to an adjacent territory you control, or to any territory you control as long as you have troops in all the territories in between.^{[16]
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You have to retain control of the territory you’re moving troops out of, so keep at least 1 Infantry behind.^{[17]
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Since you won’t be able to move your troops again until your next turn, set yourself up for the defensive at the end of your turn. Look for territories you have that are vulnerable to the other players and try to fortify them with your troops so you can keep control of it.^{[18]
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Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Strategy

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Attacking with a lot of troops early on spreads your army out pretty thin, which makes you an easy target for the rest of the players. If you want to win at Risk, think about if you really gain any advantage from attacking immediately. It might be better if you just wait until your next turn so you have time to build up more troops.^{[19]
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Take small continents early in the game. Even though you get a larger troop bonus for controlling larger continents, they have a lot more territories you need to defend. By focusing on controlling the smaller continents, you can defend them a lot easier so you get extra reinforcements each turn.^{[20]
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- Hold off on trying to control all of Asia since it has too many borders to fortify and will quickly lead to over-expansion and spreading your troops thin.
Instead of attacking as much as you can, defend your borders and build up your troops. While you will not receive the continent bonus at the beginning of your turn, having strong defenses along continent borders will make it harder for your opponents to attack you and win.^{[21]
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4
Form temporary alliances with other players. Even though only one person can win the game, you can make an unofficial agreement with another player to team up. You might work together to try eliminating another player or make deals not to attack one another for a turn. Just keep in mind that you will eventually need to attack each other. This will make it easier to concentrate your efforts on other objectives.
- Example: "Alex has a lot of pieces in Europe. Sammy, I won’t attack your troops if you help me attack him on your turn."
- You can say your alliances out loud or you can keep them secret.

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Question

Once you own a continent, when do you place your extra troops?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Place your extra troops at the beginning of your turn when you first gain them.

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When does a turn actually end? Or is it up to to the player?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Your turn ends as soon as you move your troops to fortify your territory, but you can attack as many times as you want.

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If I attacked from Great Britain to Scandinavia and lost, could I then attack from West Africa to Brazil?

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Yes. You can make as many attacks as you want each turn regardless of whether the previous attacks were successful or not.

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Tips

Risk can take a few hours to play if you have 5 or 6 players. If all the players agree they want to end early, then count up who controls the most territories to decide the winner.

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There are many different versions of Risk, and they may have slightly different rules. Always check the rulebook for the edition you own to see if there are any differences.

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