One Token Over the Line

Summary of Risk Event II: Electric Boogaloo
The only person who dressed as the color of his pieces was the Jolly Green Giant, as part of a plan to intimidate the previous champion (everyone else forgot to dress for the occasion). We voted that the lone latecomer would become the Pink Peril. Previous Winner was the Red Menace, I commanded the Blue Meanies, and the Black Brigade filled out our party of five.

Pink, the newcomer to our group, focused almost solely on targeted attacks on Black, then changed tactics to near-dominance of North America at a speed which may have surprised all of us. Black had early existential issues as Green tried to block him in for a final kill. I took the Risk to erase Black off the board (no genocide comments please), but Black survived dramatically with one army in his Australian homeland, and slowly grew from there. I had to leave Asia and fall back to North America, leading to regular skirmishes with Pink over the continent. The Red Menace started near Africa and took a country each turn, moving through the Middle East and massing a menacing force next to Black's only supply line from Australia. A Black-Red Axis treaty held for a while until Black apparently got tired of his conservative ally, and entered a war of attrition until both forces were rendered useless. Green played a good game, holding much of Asia (and South America?), and taking out weak players to use their cards to win the game (could have been faster if sets were completed-- or was that a bluff?). I came in second, folding my hand in the face of an assured Green win.

One question came up during play: can a player turn in two (or more!) sets during his turn after getting a defeated player's cards? (We voted no when we couldn't find the answer in the Hebrew rulebook. And the player this ruling most affected, Green, still won). One day I'll post our answers and house rules on a web page. And if we played on days other than Shabbat, we could keep more detailed notes on gameplay.

Mr. Pink and Mr. Red left after the tournament game, so Green, Black, and I played two games of Mission Risk. I won one, and Black won the next. A trio of winners around the table, a good time was had by all, and the strange situation of having far more alcohol at hand than snacks at a Jewish gathering.

Mr. Red had a good idea later: we should buy some sort of champion's trophy, like a large studded beer chalice, to be awarded to the winner each time. The winner would hold it until the next event and present it, clean, to the next winner of global domination. It is presumed the trophy would be used at the event by the defending champion. I suggested, with the current World Cup in mind, that we all retain hardcore posses of aggressive fans who will start riots outside our Risk stadium.