I know what you’re thinking, man, they’ll put Game of Thrones on anything just to make a quick buck. In the case of Game of Thrones Risk, however, you would be wrong. No need to worry, I will not extol the still relevant virtues of board games upon you; nor will I declare this a must own for all Game of Thrones fans from the Iron Islands to Qarth. But for those board game fans, who at least have some interest in Game of Thrones then this Game of Thrones Risk is right for you. And for the rest of you who only recognize Risk because of Seinfeld, thanks for playing.
Unlike other possible GoT board game tie-ins – Monopoly I’m looking at you – “the game of world domination” is uniquely built for the GoT story of territory/kingdom upheavals and the quest to sit atop the Iron Throne. Anyone upset with the offing of the Starks over the series can finally exact sweet revenge across Westeros. Or perhaps you’re just tired of Daenarys putzing around in Essos. Whatever the reason GoT Risk offers up incredible quality and multiple ways of playing the game to satisfy you.
There are two full size game boards, one for everything south of The Wall in Westeros and one for all of Essos, which you can use in conjunction with each other or separately. The Essos side of things offers a 2-player game experience. Here you choose either the House Targaryen, with some player pieces shaped like dragon heads, or the Ghiscari (sort of a hodge podge of the various rulers of the city states Daenarys has conquered in Essos), who get some pieces shaped like the Meerenese Harpy. To make things a tad more difficult there will also be randomly placed neutral armies for the two players to work through.
For a game in Westeros 3 to 5 players are needed and feature House Stark (wolf’s head), House Baratheon (stag’s head), House Lannister (lion’s head), House Tyrell (a rose), and House Martell (a sun with a spear through it). Of course if you choose to play both Westeros and Essos you need at least 6 players as there’s tons of ground to cover.
And if that isn’t enough you can play two different game types. The traditional Risk (known as skirmish), which is the basic attempt to control as many territories until one house reigns supreme – or the “Valar Morghulis” card is drawn, which offers a quicker end to the game without it devolving into a frustrated board throw across the room and pieces scattered asunder.
The other type features the same basic Risk mechanics that incorporate house specific character cards that give you specific turn/battle bonuses; objective cards that award 1-4 victory points for things like “controlling five castles” or conquering multiple territories in a single turn; and maester cards that that can give you certain bonuses or advantages during any given turn. That doesn’t even include the special units and gold that can be acquired during a dominion game. To win you need 10 victory points and control your House’s natural castle, so if you are the Starks you must still have Winterfell. Needless to say dominion is a much more involved way to play.
But what really makes Game of Thrones Risk stand out is the level of detail, care, and intricacies put into the crafting of the game. Both the Westeros and Essos boards are massive and divided into sections well, showing some nice geographical features for the specific parts of the world. Many well known castles are represented, Harrenhal and The Twins as examples, and and each board also includes ports that allow for quick attacking of far away regions. A very happy consequence of the game boards is the enhancement of your understanding of the show or books. Unless you are a diehard fan, it’s pretty hard to place a lot of where everything is actually happening and where characters were, are, or will be going. Even during your first playthrough you’ll recognize some of the names of the lands and castles and it will help give a sense of scope and just how large and daunting Westeros and Essos are – regardless if there was only one chapter or one scene devoted to that place.
The boards aren’t the only impressive aspect of the game. While the castle and single-army pieces are the same shape for each House, the House sigil-specific pieces are well-sculpted and give you more of a sense of your particular House. Because of the game’s affiliation with HBO’s Game of Thrones the sigil-specific pieces are based off the designs from the show. Though understandable why the castle designs aren’t House specific, it would have been nice if they could have been.
For dominion games it goes further as each House as their own placemat to keep track of victory points, castles, ports, and territories owned. These also comes with four House-specific character cards, which can be used once a turn. Characters like Robb Stark, Oberyn Martell, or Cersei Lannister (with photo stills from the show) all offer unique bonuses that can help you win a battle or gain gold or territory cards during turns. The maester cards also feature some very specific Game of Thrones-esque lingo and characteristics to only further the immersion into the world.
I have enjoyed many a game of traditional Risk but, as I mentioned earlier, many of them did end before completion due to the other players giving up before the inevitable or blind rages of fury. Back then there wasn’t a built-in way for the game to reach a conclusion, so the addition of the “Valar Morghulis” card and/or the victory points system is a welcome addition. Sure, it’ll still may take a while to complete a game but at least there are now some ways to end a game without having to just take over the entire world. And while some of the rules are kind of complicated at first, by the end of your first game you’ll have a mastery of most of the finer points.
This is a must own for Game of Thrones fans who like board games. And while the price is currently a hair less than a just released video game, the production and craftsmanship is certainly worth it. While Game of Thrones Risk doesn’t offer the complexity of a Settlers of Catan or games of that ilk, it definitely offers some extra strategy in the dominion style of play. Game of Thrones Risk is a well-thought out, nicely crafted, and aesthetically pleasing intermediate board game that is a must-buy for any Game of Thrones superfans, especially those with a multitude of friends in the vicinity.