Which board games do you find better than Risk? (elaborate on your suggestions)

[AuthenticM]

I've had a lot of fun with Risk. But there's one thing I hate about it, and it's a pretty big part of it: dice rolls. The random factor is just too important in this game, and it leads to frustration.

Now, I don't know anything about other board games out there, but I do know that there are a lot of them. So I'm sure that there's probably at least one out there that would correspond perfectly to my tastes. I'm basically looking for a game in the genre of Risk, but one that has a more minimal random factor, and that rewards strategy over luck.

What are those games that you find better than Risk, ERA?

 

[plv251]

Catan, love the trading aspect

 

[Pirate Bae]

Stratego. I played the fuck out of it as a kid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratego


Each player sets up their own board and there's a lot of strategy involved in where you place your flag and where you assemble your pieces. Like, if you put all your bombs around your flag, then of course your opponent is going to know that something good is nearby. And if you put all your high number pieces in the front, they may get killed early before you can do anything. It's less RNG and more thinking about how your opponent normally plays games and how they might act in certain scenarios.

 

[TrueSloth]

Catan, love the trading aspect

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Catan is overrated.

You want to play:
Power grid
Tammany Hall
Scythe
Aztlan
Blood Rage
Kemet

There is also another game which is almost exactly like risk, but uses a rock, paper, scissors system. 'Balance of Power' I don't know if its in print anymore. And its alright.

Also check out Risk Legacy. I hate Risk, but Risk Legacy is awesome.

 

[joecanada]

There's so many dice rolls though in risk someone probably knows stats better than me but I'd bet the outcome is rarely determined by chance. My friends used to play all the time and would basically know who was going to win within like 10 turns.

Catan I find similar. There's more variables but also quite predictable.... I like Catan expansion, what is it knights and castles or something

 

[Volimar]

I was going to list some of my faves but they pretty much all rely on dice mechanics. Guess I love RNG.

 

[thecouncil]

The world of designer board games is so vast that you really shouldn't have to settle for Catan.

Listen to Alcotholic. He seems to know what he's talking about, at least.

You could also try asking in the board gaming thread here.

Here's a good source for quick game overviews and reviews. They also have "best of" videos for genres, including strategy.

 

[TrueSloth]

The world of designer board games is so vast that you really shouldn't have to settle for Catan.

Listen to Alcotholic. He seems to know what he's talking about, at least.

You could also try asking in the board gaming thread here.

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;)

Cheers for the validation. I used to managed a board game social cafe. If that means anything to anyone here.

But yeah, gather more opinions from the board game thread. Plus they may offer some more up to date recommendations.

 

[Froyo Love]

What do you actually like about Risk? "Dudes on a map" is a term between my friends and I for what we consider Risk's genre: you have some dudes on a map and you blow each other up until someone wins. The genre tends to have a lot of dice roll mechanics because it's a pretty good quick way to have combat not be completely Chess-y and predictable.

Kemet and Blood Rage are both highly regarded games in the genre. Nexus Ops is a Risk-like game I personally really like, but it doesn't really have less randomness, it more fixes all the OTHER weak parts of Risk (combat is repetitive rather than strategic, game takes forever, no diversity of strategy beyond who you gang up on, etc.).

 

[Squarehard]

Catan for sure because it's pretty easy to pick up, and even casual gamers can enjoy it, and pick up points so they won't feel completely left out.

Also,

always preferred playing this over Risk.

 

[Modest Mauser]

Kemet sounds like what you're looking for! It's like Risk but minus dice and with a video-game-style tech tree of unique upgrades players can acquire.

 

[ThanksgivingDinner]

Axis and allies has always been a favorite of mine. There's so much more variety in strategy, especially with the development of the industrial stuff.
Do you want long range bombers, better tanks, or better subs? But that also pushes you into an interesting war and fighting strategy.

Edit :
Forgot to add that the land/sea/air focus can cause a lot of interesting fights (and stalemates).

 

[thecouncil]

;)

Cheers for the validation. I used to managed a board game social cafe. If that means anything to anyone here.

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Haha. That's cool.

 

[TrueSloth]

Oh yeah, I really love this game:

This game does have luck, but you can control and mitigate your luck a bit. Absolutely phenomenal strategy war game.

 

[Xaszatm]

Diplomacy: you hate dice rolls? This games take the same concept as Risk and removes dice rolls all together. Instead every player moves at the same time. And victory is determined purely by numbers. The catch is that you can only move one unit at a time but can support any army, including those not yours. Thus, the game becomes all about alliances and the betrayal of alliances to secure your victory.

Downsides: Requires 7 people to play. Is worse than Mario Kart and Mario Party combined in the "lose your friends" category because you can't blame a dice roll.

 

[HStallion]

The real answer is of course Mutant Chronicles Siege of the Citadel

This game came out in the 90's and was my time actually getting my hands on something more complex than your normal everyday boardgames. Imagine a simpler version of Warhammer 40K with a similar aethestic with tons of figures you could paint with a bunch of different tiles and pieces to create a wide variety of different missions with unique goals and limitations. There was everything from a mission where the tiles were laid out in a very winding elongated manner and your characters are fleeing the toughest enemy in the game. The designs were also great 90's grimdark scifi stuff.

 

[zulux21]

The list would be so damn long I would never finish typing it if I just posted the ones I felt were better than risk lol.

If you hate die rolls though basically you should be looking at Euro games. Which, are not the genre of games I really enjoy so I won't go around recommending a bunch lol.

you could likely have decent luck going through something like board game geek's top games https://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgame?sort=rank&rankobjecttype=subtype&rankobjectid=1&rank=1#1
and seeing what appeals to you.

If you just want to play risk with new mechanics you could also get Risk Legacy which is a game that changes each time you play it.

but yeah I will go random and just recommend Spirit Island (not a euro game). Co op, no dice roll and trying to kill the invading army.

 

[Bo Neslek]

Better than Risk:

- Axis & Allies
- Memoir '44
- Twilight Struggle
- Battle Line (card game)

Memoir '44 is probably the best in terms of fun and accessibility.

 

[Johann Mistletoe]

Diplomacy- it's somewhat like Risk but without randomness, and a greater degree of backstabbing. You're pretty much swapping out dice with trying to predict what the other players are going to do. A few key details:

• Set in Europe circa WW1, players pick one of the 7 major powers: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Turkey.
  
• Each location can support 1 unit at most, and all units have the same strength. You have to outnumber your opponents to take their land (which only drives them away; they don't lose the unit), or else it's a stalemate and neither unit goes anywhere.
  
• Locations can be empty (and most are, especially at the beginning), allowing a unit to move in freely.
• You can only gain/lose units by taking/losing specific locations
  
• You can support other players in their moves, and they on yours. Since most locations are exposed to multiple fronts, you pretty much need to develop some kind of agreement with another player to make lasting progress.
  
• Everyone writes down their moves privately and then all moves occur at the same time.
  
• Nothing stops you from lying to your fellow players about your intended moves and completely betraying them. In fact, it's pretty much the only way to win.

 

[Stove]

Stratego is a classic.

Someone recommended Blood Rage, I agree, it's a great game that removes all of the issues Risk has.

Risk Legacy is a great improvement over the original.

Game of Thrones is quite good.

 

[Mandos]

Better than Risk:

- Axis & Allies
- Memoir '44
- Twilight Struggle
- Battle Line (card game)

Memoir '44 is probably the best in terms of fun and accessibility.

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I've been wondering about the memoir games myself, mind going into more detail.

Also Axis and allies owner here... although I've never gotten it to the table...

 

[Deleted member 18514]

Check out smallworld. It plays somewhat like Risk (much more whimsical fantasy theme) but has a lot less dice rolling/luck. So combat and territorial gains are more deterministic except for a final "press your luck" element. It also has a set turn count, so it plays in a predicable amount of time. I'm also a fan of the DnD themed Conquest of Nerath game, which is more like fantasy Axis and Allies but still well within the Risk wheelhouse.

Other good options are Nexus Ops (original or FFG reprint) for a nice tight combat game or even better, the Cry Havok game, which is Nexus Ops turned up to 11. Asymmetric forces, fast tight combat with a lot of depth but not too dice dependent. Not as easy to learn but still a pretty simple war game for a casual crowd. Blood Rage is probably the ultimate evolution in modern Risk design but I wasn't a fan. Too much of the game takes place off the board, it really wastes those beautiful minis.

 

[Poppy]

i think people like carcassone

 

[Camstun187]

Goofy Golf Machine!

 

[MoxManiac]

Scythe

 

[Ultron]

I'd highly recommend Inis. It's a territory control game with tons of player interaction and room for strategy. No dice rolls, but just a bit of randomness from some decks of cards to keep thing interesting. A big plus is that it usually finishes in under an hour. Also it has lots of gorgeous art.

The one disadvantage is it only plays 4 players, but it plays well with 2-4 so it's fairly flexible.

 

[Deleted member 25600]

Tzolk'in - No cards. No dice rolls. No direct attacks on other players. Just careful forward planning and sweet, sweet victory.

If you specifically want a war game then Sekigahara is a pretty good one to go with. It's an incredibly well thought out game. The combat is based around having the right cards to make units in your army fight. As you cannot see the composition of an enemy army, only the size of it, you may not want to go near the 10 unit doomstack your opponent has sitting on the main highway into Osaka....only to find out later that army couldn't fight and was essentially a paper tiger.

 

[RiOrius]

If I were looking for a game with a strong combat focus, I'd go with either Scythe or Cyclades.

Scythe has a Russian steampunk theme and a stronger focus on economic management. Cyclades is Greek mythology themed and uses auction mechanics. Cyclades does have a die roll involved in combat, but the luck aspect is much reduced in comparison to Risk.

 

[Lord Fagan]

I tend to go really nuts with my Dungeons & Dragons maps. Custom isometric maps in a virtual tabletop. I know there's a lot of that game that is far beyond the more focused aspects of most board games, but I very much enjoy the flexibility with creating a arena to fight in. Corridors, open fields, crowded city streets, underwater, multi-level spaces with destructible cover, atmospherics like weather, and traps/consumables hidden throughout a space allows for tremendous variety in the kinds of fights that are possible. It's work, sure, but my players get the feeling that even though they understand the basic concept of their turns and the dynamics of their abilities as a team, there's always new challenges for them to encounter and learn from. Time I spend to come up with ever more complex spaces for battle beyond a chessboard is pretty much my bread and butter gaming experience that replaced what used to be multiplayer shooters.

 

[Zej]

You have a wide rich world of a hobby to discover my friend.

Coming from dudes on a map...
Scythe is highly regarded and fun that others have mentioned.
Inis is a card drafting/territory control game where the card actions are used to improve your position on the ever expanding world map to claim the throne.
Eclipse is a more streamlined 4X space game more focused on exploration, tech and combat
Twilight Imperium is a longer sci-fi 4X game with tech trees and politics
If you care less about combat, I really like Lancaster and have been playing it a bunch lately. It's a worker placement game with good player interaction, but no direct combat of units.

 

[MrFarenheit]

Twilight struggle is great. Still a bit of luck/dice rolls but heavily mitigated. Board is like the Islamic on steroids. So many options and learn history at the same time!

 

[Bo Neslek]

I've been wondering about the memoir games myself, mind going into more detail.

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Basically a 2 player game, though you can buy expansions and include more players.

You play a battle, 1 side Axis, 1 side Allies. Battles are based off actual historical ones, so sometimes the fights are a little lopsided. The game will tell you that though.

The game uses a variation on the Command & Colours system. Each player takes a turn and does something. There's a little bit of deck building, and you play cards to determine where you're attacking and with how many units. Combat is decided with dice rolls, but only the attacker rolls. Victory is achieved through completely destroying units or taking strategic points.

More info:
https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/games/memoir-44/
http://www.dicetower.com/game/10630/memoir-44

 

[OS_]

Also,

always preferred playing this over Risk.

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What's it called?

 

[Pikelet]

What's it called?

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That looks like Shogun, but it has also been published under the name Samurai Swords or Ikusa

 

[Squarehard]

I hate these threads because there's always that ridiculous sub elitism that makes it sound like there's no such thing as a good dub. It gets annoying.

Either is fine, but I've been really liking dubs the past couple years. Easy to binge and having it in my native English just... Clicks with me better.

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What's it called?

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Shogun, later renamed as Samurai Swords, and later renamed again as Ikusa.

That looks like Shogun, but it has also been published under the name Samurai Swords or Ikusa

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Indeed.

 

[affeinvasion]

If you want Risk without dice rolls then you want Game of Thrones.

Combat is decided by what units you have on the board plus a card from your hand that you play against a card from your opponent's hand. Each card can only be used once and the hands are not random (each House has their own set). You can also make alliances (or break them) with players. The only other twist is that the players have to sort of cooperate at points to prevent Wildlings from invading (but you can just tell everyone that you'll contribute and then don't). It's fantastic with the full complement of players.

 

[kvetcha]

Better than Risk:

- Axis & Allies
- Memoir '44
- Twilight Struggle
- Battle Line (card game)

Memoir '44 is probably the best in terms of fun and accessibility.

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Memoir '44 is fabulous, two-player limit aside.

 

[Any Questions]

Better than Risk:

- Axis & Allies
- Memoir '44
- Twilight Struggle
- Battle Line (card game)

Memoir '44 is probably the best in terms of fun and accessibility.

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Great choices here however I have not played battle line. OP make sure you check out boardgame geek online.

 

[Prolepro]

I've forgotten how to play it by now but I'll echo Axis & Allies. Used to play that game at least once a week at one point.

 

[Xe4]

Literally all of them. I've always hated Risk, it always ended with me angry or fighting with my siblings, or whomever I was playing against. Early victories of mine would turn against me as I was inevitably ganged up upon. And I would always be the damned worst at rolling dice.
Sorry, no suggestions, just wanted to bitch.

 

[Nezumi]

Cthulu Wars is the better Risk :p it still has dice rolls though but I find that they are much less important to the overall game. Quite expansive sadly even if you only get the core set without the bazillion expansions.

I'd highly recommend Inis. It's a territory control game with tons of player interaction and room for strategy. No dice rolls, but just a bit of randomness from some decks of cards to keep thing interesting. A big plus is that it usually finishes in under an hour. Also it has lots of gorgeous art.

The one disadvantage is it only plays 4 players, but it plays well with 2-4 so it's fairly flexible.

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I will second this. While none of the mechanics used in Inis are technically new, the way they are combined here just works so flawlessly.

There'll also be an expansion somewhere down the line that will add a fifth player.

 

[Noaloha]

Cosmic Encounter is an excellent strategic land-grab game which leans into direct player interaction - negotiating, backstabbing, bluffing - to springboard off the variance of its factions and ability cards. Bit of a love-it-or-hate-it game, but those groups which love it really *love* it.

 

[MarkMcLovin]

Smallworld

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Smallworld

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Was going to post Ticket to Ride, but this.

 

[Deschain]

I'd recommend giving 'Risk Europe' a try. It still has dice based combat but the armies now consist of different unit types Siege, cavalry, archers & footman. The combat is less about luck and more about the composition of your army.

Like others above I'd also recommend Scythe, love that game!

 

[BrokenMill]

Smallworld is basically Risk, but actually fun to play. It doesn't take too long, has lots of variety because of the randomized race/ability combinations, combat is simple and not random, and the decline mechanic where you give up on your current army and bring in a new one next turn is great.
Blood Rage and Scythe are also fantastic games, but a bit more complex.

There's also a Dice Tower video about 10 games better than Risk:

 

[Funky_Monk]

If you can get it Forbidden Stars by FantasyFlightGames is a fun asymmetric risk-like game.

unfortunately it's out of print as they no longer have the 40k license

 

[Paganmoon]

If you want Risk without dice rolls then you want Game of Thrones.

Combat is decided by what units you have on the board plus a card from your hand that you play against a card from your opponent's hand. Each card can only be used once and the hands are not random (each House has their own set). You can also make alliances (or break them) with players. The only other twist is that the players have to sort of cooperate at points to prevent Wildlings from invading (but you can just tell everyone that you'll contribute and then don't). It's fantastic with the full complement of players.

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It's a big hassle to set up, and get everyone on board and learn the rules and so on. Also, one game can take hours. It can be fun though, but I'd still not recommend it.

Smallworld

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Smallworld is where it's at. Quick to get started, not that many or over complicated rules, so it's more forgiving to newcommers and "veteran" board gamers alike. And there's like max 1 dice roll per round.
A lot more to do with strategy, how you use your race and ability, and what lands you try to conquer.


Edit: also Risk: Legacy > Risk.

 

[Harken Raiser]

Smallworld is basically Risk, but actually fun to play. It doesn't take too long, has lots of variety because of the randomized race/ability combinations, combat is simple and not random, and the decline mechanic where you give up on your current army and bring in a new one next turn is great.

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Smallworld is where it's at. Quick to get started, not that many or over complicated rules, so it's more forgiving to newcommers and "veteran" board gamers alike. And there's like max 1 dice roll per round.
A lot more to do with strategy, how you use your race and ability, and what lands you try to conquer.

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I'll also recommend Smallworld. My group of friends play it a lot, along with the Underground expansion. It's easy to get into if it's your first foray into non-Hasbro board games.

 

[Goldenroad]

So many.

The best game that's like Risk that is 100x better than Risk is Twlight Struggle. It's got the full world map, but it all about the Cold War. Really strategic stuff with things like the space race, and defcon status that you always have to keep in mind.

Other board games that are better than Risk include, but are not limited to:

Dominion (+ expansions)
Le Havre
Castles of Burgundy
Pandemic
Takenoko
A Few Acres of Snow
Jaipur
Grand Austria Hotel
Patchwork
7 Wonders