‘Risk: Warhammer 40,000’ Greatly Improves On The Classic
A well-deserved update to the classic game of strategic conquest, Risk: Warhammer 40,000 brings it to the grimdark future.
Vigilus is positioned in the Imperium Nihilus, near the Eye of Terror. It remains a critical location, especially now with the opening of the Great Rift, as it serves as a key connection point between two halves of the Imperium. And so, all-out war has engulfed Vigilus as Ultramarines, Orks, Chaos Space Marines, Aeldari Craftworlds, and Genestealer Cults all seek to control the vital location.
How To Play Risk: Warhammer 40,000
Risk: Warhammer 40,000 is a competitive area-control strategy combat game with unique player powers. Unlike in classic Risk, players achieve victory by completing 3 objectives, although the game does offer the Total Domination game mode, which plays like the classic game.
At the beginning of the game, players will randomly select 4 Minor Objectives and 4 Major Objectives to be available throughout the game. To win, players must complete any 3 of these objectives in any combination of Minor and/or Major.
This means that each game will play out differently as the goals of the players can change so wildly between games and conquering territory only becomes an avenue by which they can complete those objectives, rather than the victory condition itself.
In addition to being the victory condition, completing Objectives also grants the player a Reward of equal rank, Minor or Major, which can be used once before discarding.
Once a player has collected 3 Objectives, they win the game and gain control of Vigilus. Which, I assume based on its prime location, they use to send greeting cards across the galaxy. I don’t know their plans.
Risk: Warhammer 40,000 Outclasses the Original
But this isn’t the only change Risk: Warhammer 40,000 brings. Each team has a Faction Leader, which can be deployed on the board, like any other army unit. These Leaders grant a bonus to the allied units in their region.
Combat in Risk: Warhammer 40,000 works more or less just like it does in classic Risk. The attacker can attack with up to 3 armies at once, but the defender can only use 2 armies. This gives the attacker a huge advantage, pushing players to avoid attempting to stay defensive. Both players line up the dice from highest to lowest and compare the results. For each die pair, the lower roll loses an army, ties go to the defender.
If a player conquered at least one territory on their turn, they draw a Territory Card. This will have listed a specific amount of Throne Gelt the card is worth. At the start of their turn, a player can turn in these Territory cards gaining a number of armies based on how much Throne Gelt was turned in.
All of these changes make for a much better gameplay experience. We will remain forever grateful to classic Risk for bringing area control games to the public eye. However, there are better options out there now, including Risk: Warhammer 40,000.
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