Giant Risk

Some things just have to be done because they are cool.

In World War 2, there was the Battle of Britain Ops room at Uxbridge.

Note the map.

Photo: The 'Ops' Room

Photo by Nick Catford

To run a real war you need :

A map large enough to cover a large table

Models to represents the troops.

Sticks to shove the pieces around.

A large quantity of whisky or brandy for the generals to sip

optionally - big fat cigars

Giant Risk

Equipment required

A table, the larger the better. In this cast 4'6" by 3'.

A piece of fabric large enough to cover the table.

Three hours to paint a map of the world on it split into the traditional risk countries.

A piece of perspex large enough to cover the table to protect the board, and give a smooth surface for pushing the troops around.

Six hundred small plastic army pieces.

Spray on undercoat, six different acrylic colours for the top coat and around six hours to paint all the pieces.

Two croupiers sticks configured to push and pull troops. (thanks to Matt and Zoe for finding these)

The game risk for the cards

A roast duck to eat before you start, three bottles of wine, one bottle of strange wheat beer, a large selection of different whiskies and some crazy luminous bacardi stuff.

Six hours with Zoe, Matt, Susan and me to wage war.

Vangelis' soundtrack to 1492 because it's great invading music.

The size difference between this and traditional Risk.



War

The game begins, Pete (blue), Susan (purple), Matt (green) and Zoe (red).



Australia falls to Pete(blue) in the first round.



The state of play after each player has had a turn, Susan (purple) has taken and held North and South America on her first go!



Matt(green) decides that attempting to hold Asia as a first continent is a losing strategy and commits his troops to conquering Australia, which he succeeds at.



After a shock defeat across the atlantic from Susan(purple), Zoe retakes North Africa in a no nonsense fashion.



The africans invade Afghanistan from the Middle East only to discover the defending troops were expecting trouble from Europe.



In a shock feat of Naval engineering the North Africans boat a small army across the Atlantic and completely fail to conquer Brazil.



After having lost some of the fringes of America to the blue democrats, the crazy gun-toting purple necks exercise their right to the second amendment.



Four hours in, it's looking like a fight between Matt(green) and Susan(purple).



Some goes later Matt goes for broke and mounts a huge invasion of Africa...



... handily eradicating all of Zoe's red troops, he uses his remaining forces to finish off Pete's blue ones. This nets him a total of ten cards in his hand.



Susan mounts a peace keeping force across the atlantic to quell the African uprising...



... but due to severe lack of knowledge about world geography outside America ends up conquering Australia instead.



Matt (green), does a triple cash in for a bonus 30 troops, added to his twenty anyway and runs out of pieces, choosing to borrow Zoe's. Deploying everything into Scandanvia he looks at Iceland.



Institutionalised racism immediately develops in his army and operation 'Get behind the Darkies' ensues.



The view from Iceland. Where are they going to stand?



A quick trip through the whole of North America, South America, Africa and South-east Asia later, and the fourth conquest of Australia begins, to win the game.

If you can draw, you might end up with the much more beautiful and much larger version of Giant Risk done here. Someone has to buy them both the croupier sticks and a dustpan and brush for the dead pieces though.