Risk Europe

Today's review is of the 2015 release, Risk Europe.  For 2-4 players, it takes 45-180 minutes.

Overview
Don't be fooled- this isn't your traditional Risk game.  Set in Medieval Europe, here your goal is to own 7 crowns by the end of a round.  Most crowns are obtained by controlling territories with major cities (like Paris, Rome, Berlin).  To do so, you'll tax the populace to build castles and purchase units, and then use siege weapons, archers, cavalry, and foot soldiers to sweep across the continent to claim territories and expand your power.  Each 'gold crown' city you control grants you unique bonuses to further your aim.  Are you up for the challenge?

example of units; image from here

Simplified Gameplay
Unlike traditional Risk, Risk Europe gives each player a deck of eight cards, each with two orders on it.  At the beginning of a round, each player secretly chooses two cards and places them face-down in front of him.  The first player (determined by bidding or card effects) starts, revealing his top card and choosing/executing one order on it.  Turns proceed clockwise, with the players then revealing their second cards in the same manner.  Orders can be things like:

- tax (gain gold for your controlled territories, with bonuses in city areas)
- spend (spend your gold to buy military units or castles; units must be placed in city or castle territories)
- expand (move an army into an adjacent territory; if it's occupied, a battle will happen at the end of the round)
- maneuver (move any number of armies up to two territories away, if you control each)

At the end of the round, perform battles if applicable.  Here, Units go in a certain order before 'regular' Risk combat:

- 1: Siege engines attack first, rolling two dice per unit and hitting on 3+
- 2: archers, rolling one dice per and hitting on 5+
- 3: cavalry, rolling one dice per and hitting on 3+
for each of these, a 'hit' means the opponent chooses and discards one of their units.  If the opponent has equivalent units, they perform these same attacks simultaneously.  There are no 'attack' vs. 'defense' dice comparisons here. 

Then, the final order is like regular Risk:
- 4: everyone (foot soldiers on up); the attacker rolls one die per unit (up to 3), the defender up to 2.  The deltas are compared, with ties going to the defender.  If any units remain, then go back to step 1 and repeat the steps until one side is eliminated.  The winner claims that territory.

After battles are performed, victory check verifies if any player controls seven crowns.  If nobody does, the two cards each player used is set aside, and two new cards are chosen (out of the six you have remaining).  Rounds proceed in like manner until all cards are used; then the full eight-card deck is taken back into hand for the next cycle.  Play proceeds until one player satisfies the victory condition.

a game in progress; image from here

Review
Growing up, I played Risk a good deal.  And it always seemed to end in anger, primarily because 1) it took forever and 2) it generally involved shifting alliances and associated betrayals.  That said, I heard good things about Risk Europe, so I picked it up on clearance.  I was glad I did.  This game is superior to Risk in every respect.  The city bonuses, action cards, unit types, castles, and combat rules are all a step above the original.  It was simple yet strategic.  My one ding is that the rules must be modified for 2 players (and even 3), and (in my opinion) the changes aren't satisfying- play this as a 4-player game.

Rating: A-