Welcome back everyone. Today we’ll be looking at Risk: Legacy. Surprisingly this is a Board Game with spoilers and while I’ll get into more detail about those in later posts, I’ll be keeping the review as spoiler free as I possibly can. Just don’t look too hard at some of the pictures.
This is a bit of an old game now and I imagine quite a few people have played it already. However for those who haven’t here’s a brief rundown. Also I’m only 4 games into the Campaign so there may be facts I get wrong or judge incorrectly.
Essentially it’s just like any other Risk variant with different units, cards and conditions added onto the base game. What makes it unique however is the ‘Legacy’ mechanic which allows the game to change each time you play it. However it’s a bit more in depth than that and it really goes about changing how we think of board games. The biggest difference between a Legacy game and something with a Campaign mechanic is that the game doesn’t just change based on your choices and decisions, it changes them forever!
One of the things about board games is that those of us who collect them like to ensure we keep them in good condition. We do things like buying card sleeves and having ‘no drinks’ rules during our board game nights. I’m not really that crazy about it but I definitely like to keep my games organised and the components in good condition. Risk Legacy turns that on it’s head and actively encourages you to destroy your game. For instance when a card is removed from play you don’t just put it in a discard pile, you actively destroy it.
You’re also meant to permanently affix stickers to the board whenever things change. There are cards made specifically for this purpose called ‘Scar Cards’ which have rules about how and when you might use them. Once the board is scared it’s there forever, well there are things which remove them but these are in limited quantities. Removing them also requires putting another sticker on top, so the board is forever changed by the scars regardless of what happens later on. Scars aren’t the only way you adjust the board; you can also build cities and name continents. Others permanently adjust the troop bonuses you might get for holding those continents. Stickers also aren’t the only way you make these changes to the board. One of the biggest things you do is actually write on it.
No special dry erase markers come with the game either, that’s a sharpie doing that damage. Take that America!
One other aspect is the way the game evolves over time. As you play through the victor, holders on and losers all receive different bonuses to help their faction in the games to follow. This might involve getting to name continents and build cities. Or it can involve receiving a bonus to your faction to use next time you play. The game encourages you to swap the factions around to ensure nobody gets an unfair advantage. We haven’t found that to be necessary in my group so far but I can see it being an issue if one person is always on top. With 15 potential games that could get pretty boring.
I mentioned before that the game actually has spoilers, this is because when you buy the game certain sections of the box are actually sealed up in little pouches. Some are small and others are quite large. On top of each pouch is a description of the game event which triggers opening that particular pouch. Once conditions are met you open it up and more components are added into the game. My favorite are the ones which actually completely change the rules. There are sections in the rulebook which are left blank with obvious rules to be added later on. It’s a great system which keeps your group engaged with the game and wanting to play it more. My group and I enjoy playing lots of different board games but I’ve found that Risk Legacy is the one that everyone is always the most interested to play. Mostly because they know that not only is each game different, but that the choices they make will actually be influential on future games. It’s also great to see what comes out of all the sealed sections, you never really know what they will be and they always come with a little ‘fluff’ card describing the ongoing story.
That’s ultimately what makes the game great, it’s probably the only board game I’ve every played that it feels like I have real agency over. I find myself not just thinking about how to win the current game but also the next three games after that. Naturally having a consistent group of players is very key to keeping this experience going. I’m not sure the mechanic would work as well if you were hot swapping players all the time. We’ve had a few sessions where not everyone could play but we haven’t found it effects the overall experience to much and is preferable to changing people all the time. It’s definitely for the committed gamers out there.
Apart from the mechanics listed above, of which I’ve only mentioned a few to keep the spoilers light, the game really does play just like any other version of Risk out there. All the extra bits and pieces I’ve mentioned add so much to the basic game but they’ve managed to do so without making the game overly complex. For most in my group this was their first ‘serious’ board game and they’ve all managed to pick up the mechanics quite well. It plays in about the same time as a standard strategy game but can sometimes take a bit longer to pack up simply because you have to record all the victory conditions. This varies game to game though anyway and it’s usually an exciting time which gets you amped up for the next game.
I think the biggest take away from this game is that you’ll always have some great stories and at the end of the whole experience you end up with a game board with so many scribbles and stickers on it that it couldn’t possibly belong to anybody else. You’ll have your own little history book of all the games you’ve played over the weeks/months/years which are easily triggered in your memory thanks to the information being so permanent.
This is where this game gets people a bit divisive. Unlike mostly any other game a Legacy game has an exact end point. For Risk it’s 15 games. That’s it. 15 games and the board is so full of crap that it can’t change any more. All the pouches are open and it will never ever change again. However I think that’s a bit of a pessimistic way to look at the situation.
To start with, who actually gets more than 15 games out of something most of the time anyway? Even classics like Monopoly or The Game of Life I can’t say I’ve played more than 10 times over my 28 years on the planet, and quite a few of those were with other peoples copies of the game. It’s also really looking at the experience the wrong way. The game doesn’t become unplayable after 15 games. That’s just when the winner of the campaign is decided. The game is still functional and able to be played over and over again like any other. The only difference being that this is your game. A game you’ve created with a group of friends and one that’s different to almost everyone else’s out there. I think we’ll most likely move on to another game once we’re done but even then. 15 solid and unique games is more than most games at the same price or higher.
I really can’t recommend this game enough. It’s truly a unique experience which you can’t find quite the same where anywhere else. I’m eager to experience the Legacy mechanic in more games now. So far Risk is the only one available but for the Co-Op fans out there a version of the famous Pandemic has also been developed and will be out soon.
Basically if you like Risk then I can’t see a reason not to give this version a try. If you’re concerned with destroying something you’ve paid for then there are plenty of guides out there where people have managed to do it without making permanent changes to the game. You’ll excuse me however if I scoff just a bit at your desire to play against the central them of the game.
Definitely worth a look! If you’re interested in seeing more about this game I’ll be doing a little summary of each of my groups games from time to time. Obviously these will contain spoilers but I’ll be sure to mark it quite clearly on each post. I hope you’ve enjoyed this review, it is a little difficult to discuss without spoiling anything but I hope I’ve given you a taste and you’re eager for more.
Until Next Time. Keep an eye out for upcoming entries in the Risk Campaign Book.
+10 points for those who get the above reference.
– The Valiant Knight
The Valiant Knight 