Sometimes real games that I play, accidentally offer a board configuration that are so well-balanced that  demand more examination and are just fun to think about. Here is one of these configurations.

The world in this game is divided between two groups. Three players own continents and three others don't. The three that have continents are well-off. They are like the rich nations of a planet, living in harmoney with no wars between them. Some like Brown have colonized lands far away from their home (Australia) and want to expand beyond their own continents.

Meanwhile, the situation for continent-less players seem to be dire. They have amassed large number of armies and seem to be ready to fight. Two of them (Black and Red) are competing over a very crowded Australia. They are not fighting because they know that the pair that fights will lose and the third player comes to dominate the continent.  Blue on the other hand is squeezed between the rich and the poor, not knowing which way to turn. 

In this world, anyone can win. It is a matter of having a vision and a sound strategy that you stick to. Nevertheless there is going to be only one winner. The players are all experienced and are unlikely to make even a single mistake. If you make a risky move, you can easily get kicked out.

What if you have a history with another player? This happens all the time. You play a few games and you start to get ruthless as the games progress. You develop a history. Even if you forget what you have done to others, they may not forget it. There comes a time when they want to take revenge and they may attempt this when you least expect it.

Hence, you always need to be prepared and ‘remember’ the history between you and other players. If you suspect that a player is planning to take revenge; you need to contain him or remove him from the game. However, saying this is easier than done. The following scenario illustrates this concept.

Playing online Risk games is always different from playing with the board game. Performing diplomacy with text chat isn't quite the same. Nevertheless, the capability is there and it is possible to use it to perform some limited diplomacy.

In one of my online games, as it turned out, my diplomacy backfired completely. Here is what happened.

In this case you are playing as Red. This is the early stage of a 5 player game. Players have selected their continents and are ready to start the battle. Everyone is at risk. Unfortunately, Red was the last player and was left to choose South America. At this point in time, everyone has the same number of armies.

In this scenario you are Red and your objective is to expand and conquer the world. You have Australia under your belt and feel that you are in a very good position as no one can threaten you. Hence, you are playing the classic safe strategy of isolated build-up. Now you have come to a point to decide which direction you want to take in the game and you would like to progress.

In this map you are playing as Red and it is your turn. You have made a number of treaties and have conquered Europe.