How to Effectively Play Castle Risk
First, read and familiarize yourself with the rules., In accordance with the rules, pick your empire., Place your Capital/Castle in a defensible position., Stake out your territory., Reinforcement phase: If you placed an army in someone else's...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: read and familiarize yourself with the rules.
If you and your friends are OK with it, you can each choose your own Empires.
Different Empires:
Empires have their advantages and disadvantages.
French Empire:
Often seen as the best empire, France has easy access to an unoccupied Britain, and superior access to Spain.
It is also somewhat defensible British Empire:
Held in high regard by the author, Britain is a highly defensible empire, with only two points of land entrance.
Russian Empire:
Russia is disadvantaged in that it borders two empires-but if they are not occupied, then they can easily be taken Ottoman Empire:
This is a somewhat defensible empire, with a prime spot for a capital on a bottleneck.
Austrian Empire:
Definitely the least defensible of the empires, Austria should be avoided on the basis that it is likely to be completely surrounded by enemies and a limited coastline.
German Empire:
Faced with the same problems as the Austrian Empire, Germany is unlikely to be a long-lasting empire. , A Coastline is an excellent place to place it.
You will likely have many troops in your Capital, so you will be able to use the Admiral card to attack from here to a distant territory effectively. , Do your best to fill in your empire, as it will grant you a bonus.
Do not be afraid to place an army in someone else's territory to augment their bonus.
If they are placing outside their territory, you may finish filling in your territory before they do.
Look for those people.
DO NOT TRY TO DO THIS TO MORE THAN ONE PERSON.
Don't be surprised if someone does this to you.
When the reinforcement phase comes, you can reinforce to repel them. , Just a few armies can intimidate them into turning their reinforcements elsewhere or send them into a paranoid defense, leaving them out of the aggressive picture.
If you fell victim to this, make sure you have the forces to repel and conquer this territory.
You will get a bonus for holding the territory, and the territory can serve as a foothold for an invasion. , Watch for an exposed area.
If a country is guarded with only one army feel free to devote an army or two to its capture.
Don't devote more forces than absolutely necessary unless you plan to follow through and Blitz (see below) their territory.
If you are not able to reach an exposed position, alert someone who would be inclined to form a truce or alliance with you.
They will more than likely take up the chance. ,, if you can force your enemy's borders to their capital, you're in great shape.
Don't overexpose yourself. , You will either want to go straight for the eye, or Capital, or seek to deprive your enemy of their valuable territories-if doing the latter, don't overexpose yourself, i.e. surrounding their capital with one army territories, and the help of an ally is appreciated.
If going for the capital, make sure you have a massive army-remember, the capitol gets a defense bonus. , At this point, look for openings in defenses-overpower them and push to the capital, or deprive them of land like in the last step-you can trust allies at this point. -
Step 2: In accordance with the rules
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Step 3: pick your empire.
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Step 4: Place your Capital/Castle in a defensible position.
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Step 5: Stake out your territory.
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Step 6: Reinforcement phase: If you placed an army in someone else's territory
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Step 7: follow through and defend it to withstand the first turn.
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Step 8: as the game starts
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Step 9: carefully observe what goes on before your turn if you are not going first.
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Step 10: Essentially repeat the past step as the rounds shift-Remember
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Step 11: even if you're last
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Step 12: you still have someone playing the turn after you.
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Step 13: push-be aggressive!
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Step 14: When ready and have a sufficient army (the size will depend on your target) aim for a Breakthrough or Blitz strategy.
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Step 15: After the elimination of some players
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Step 16: Castle Risk may evolve into a two or three sided arms race.
Detailed Guide
If you and your friends are OK with it, you can each choose your own Empires.
Different Empires:
Empires have their advantages and disadvantages.
French Empire:
Often seen as the best empire, France has easy access to an unoccupied Britain, and superior access to Spain.
It is also somewhat defensible British Empire:
Held in high regard by the author, Britain is a highly defensible empire, with only two points of land entrance.
Russian Empire:
Russia is disadvantaged in that it borders two empires-but if they are not occupied, then they can easily be taken Ottoman Empire:
This is a somewhat defensible empire, with a prime spot for a capital on a bottleneck.
Austrian Empire:
Definitely the least defensible of the empires, Austria should be avoided on the basis that it is likely to be completely surrounded by enemies and a limited coastline.
German Empire:
Faced with the same problems as the Austrian Empire, Germany is unlikely to be a long-lasting empire. , A Coastline is an excellent place to place it.
You will likely have many troops in your Capital, so you will be able to use the Admiral card to attack from here to a distant territory effectively. , Do your best to fill in your empire, as it will grant you a bonus.
Do not be afraid to place an army in someone else's territory to augment their bonus.
If they are placing outside their territory, you may finish filling in your territory before they do.
Look for those people.
DO NOT TRY TO DO THIS TO MORE THAN ONE PERSON.
Don't be surprised if someone does this to you.
When the reinforcement phase comes, you can reinforce to repel them. , Just a few armies can intimidate them into turning their reinforcements elsewhere or send them into a paranoid defense, leaving them out of the aggressive picture.
If you fell victim to this, make sure you have the forces to repel and conquer this territory.
You will get a bonus for holding the territory, and the territory can serve as a foothold for an invasion. , Watch for an exposed area.
If a country is guarded with only one army feel free to devote an army or two to its capture.
Don't devote more forces than absolutely necessary unless you plan to follow through and Blitz (see below) their territory.
If you are not able to reach an exposed position, alert someone who would be inclined to form a truce or alliance with you.
They will more than likely take up the chance. ,, if you can force your enemy's borders to their capital, you're in great shape.
Don't overexpose yourself. , You will either want to go straight for the eye, or Capital, or seek to deprive your enemy of their valuable territories-if doing the latter, don't overexpose yourself, i.e. surrounding their capital with one army territories, and the help of an ally is appreciated.
If going for the capital, make sure you have a massive army-remember, the capitol gets a defense bonus. , At this point, look for openings in defenses-overpower them and push to the capital, or deprive them of land like in the last step-you can trust allies at this point.
About the Author
Jacob Clark
Enthusiastic about teaching hobbies techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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