A Lifetime of Playing Risk

A Lifetime of Playing Risk

by Morganmason
(Major Command Risk Game Player and Blog Contributor)

playing risk game board

Playing Risk has always been one of the favorite games to play. I was introduced to it as a young adult at parties where groups of (mainly) guys would gather around a table for the evening while rock music blared and others danced, talked and laughed. I was quite fascinated, watching them roll dice and move groups of armies around on the board. I purchased my first Risk game at the thrift store. It was an ancient version with wooden cubes for soldiers – it would have been quite the collector’s item if I had held onto it over the years.

playing risk roman numeal pieces

I eventually married and raised four fantastic children. We read lots of books and played lots of games, and of course, playing Risk became a family favorite thing to do. By then, the colors on the board were a little brighter and the armies were plastic Roman numerals – I, III, V, and X. (Excellent opportunity to foster a kid’s interest in Roman numerals!) But it took a long, long time to play the game and for this reason, when it came time for family game time, Risk was often passed over and some inane game with shorter play time would be chosen.

And then came the advent of the computer age. Simple games, like pong, evolved, then Pac-Man and soon software was written for almost every game on the planet and more. Sometime after the turn of the century, somehow I came into possession of Risk on a CD disc. I don’t even remember how I got it and I’ve never found another since. It worked quite well on early Windows operating systems and will still work on my old PC. The beauty of playing Risk on the computer is that you no longer have to fool around with all those tiny armies, counting them out, picking them up, putting them down. And the game progressed at a much faster rate. Even better, the disc allowed you to play against the computer, so you could enjoy a game of Risk all by yourself.

Tournament Cup Trophy Gold playing riskA few years back, I was on an extended medical leave of absence and regularly passed the time by playing my computer Risk game. There was a tournament option – you had to win over twenty consecutive games to win the tournament, which I accomplished and more than once. Recently, just last month actually, and to my great delight, I came across MajorCommand.com. All I can say is, I’m glad I had all those years of practice. Although I’m just a newbie to the site, my current stats are 26-25, not a bad beginning, I think. It’s great playing with real people and, boy, you guys are good! So, playing Risk is still my favorite game to do.

24 thoughts on “A Lifetime of Playing Risk”

  1. Hello MorganMason. You brought up fond memories of me as a very young 5-6 year old boy, playing Risk with my Father and older Brother. We had the Risk game with the colored cubes. What a blast we had. We played for hours and hours on that board and what a time to remember. I enjoy the strategies people try to pull over on me… Similar to Chess I imagine. Speaking of Chess I see the similarities to Risk and Chess in that both are VERY ADDICTIVE. Fun read on the game from you MorganMason. Thanks for a blast down memory lane with the old Risk board.

    See you on the maps.

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