tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post3910303225354848350..comments2023-11-03T02:44:56.790-07:00Comments on Fortress: Ameritrash: "But it's STAR WARS Risk!"Matt Throwerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04426055092986158446noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-15763103398666578212007-05-17T07:33:00.000-07:002007-05-17T07:33:00.000-07:00I really like Star Wars Risk. Enough to get my ow...I really like Star Wars Risk. Enough to get my own copy. The only place I found it is at Toys R Us for $27 (I also checked WalMart, Target, and K-Mart). This price was just too expensive for me to impulse buy it, but I'm probably going back today to pick it up.<BR/><BR/>After playing this game last week, I got to thinking about how well the game told a story, and, like Michael said, how the imbalance of the game makes it so much fun--with every player trying to achieve a different winning condition.<BR/><BR/>I got to thinking about how I could totally remember the 'story' of the game, and where the shift occurred that enabled the Empire to sweep the board and win. Then I tried to compare that to the last time I played Ticket To Ride. I couldn't remember any details about playing TTR. There wasn't a story, no turning point, no drama, no significant conflict, no meta-game.<BR/><BR/>-----<BR/><BR/>On a completely different note, using the metaphor of Star Wars Risk actually helped me in my relationship. Basically, last weekend, my fiance had all of these plans: go look at wedding bands, pick out thank you cards, update the registry. Anyway, on Saturday morning I slept very late, and she got all angry at me for not jumping out of bed and cheerfully accompanying her on all of these errands. It was a silent, icy ride to the mall, and in my head I realized that at that moment, she and I had different victory conditions. She won by telling me how disappointed she was that I didn't care enough to wake up early, and I won by just shutting up and not fighting her back or telling her she was unreasonable. So, regardless of how stupid this story is, the metaphor that I incorporated by playing Star Wars Risk actually helped me to justify not fighting fire with fire. And by not jeapardizing our relationship, we both win.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-65013738969629470172007-05-17T06:53:00.000-07:002007-05-17T06:53:00.000-07:00Well, it looks like RISK is the AT Contingency's M...Well, it looks like RISK is the AT Contingency's MONOPOLY...<BR/><BR/>I definitely understand why folks don't like it but it's also a situation where the game is incredibly influential and it's really the game that launched thousands of other games- if only because some kid played it and decided that he wanted to design a game like it without its flaws.<BR/><BR/>As far as you lapsed SW fans...I understand that too, Lucas has pretty much destroyed the franchise because he has absolutely no clue as to what made the original trilogy so special and apparently there's no one at Skywalker Ranch willing to say "no" to him. And it's really unfortunate that the scrappy, somewhat ragged chutzpah of the first films was replaced by almost unbelievably egregious and crass marketing. Sure, licensing is one of the things that made SW what it is _from day one_ but that doesn't foreclose on the fact that the original films were at least worthy of hundreds of action figures, bed sheets, and C3PO cereal- especially when you're a kid and in love with it.<BR/><BR/>SW was a huge part of my nerdly upbringing and I can still watch the original trilogy and love it just like I did when I was 10. I'm just 31 years old, but I already have come to understand what the old timers meant when they said "they don't make 'em like that any more".Michael Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01465993224831900150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-23195381407577542642007-05-17T06:43:00.000-07:002007-05-17T06:43:00.000-07:00Luckily I just nabbed a Fortress America off eBay ...Luckily I just nabbed a Fortress America off eBay at the beginning of the month so it got shipped (someone in the Atlantic now) for $26 - need a bank loan to get it over via airmail now !<BR/>Card games and such may be OK if you are Trading or get them for a good price but the big box games will be staying over on Uncle Sam's side of the pond.<BR/>But it all depends on the person and how much they want the game - sold 'Doom of the Eldar' and 'Union Pacific' to USA types recently and they both paid airmail rates to get them when surface mail was available for just over half the price.Southernmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03254183843277088157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-85197866207312972222007-05-17T05:46:00.000-07:002007-05-17T05:46:00.000-07:00Yeah, that shipping thing sucks. That's not going...Yeah, that shipping thing sucks. That's not going to make it any easier for you guys to get games.Ken B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01621793460967739987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-10214220860332715162007-05-17T05:43:00.000-07:002007-05-17T05:43:00.000-07:00The Trilogy edition may be a bit rare across the p...The Trilogy edition may be a bit rare across the pond in the UK, plenty of Clone Strike editions on eBay but not Trilogy. And now since USPS have discontinued their surface shipping parcel rate it is a bit too expensive getting larger games from the US (via eBay or Trades).Southernmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03254183843277088157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-51687112481479219872007-05-16T23:39:00.000-07:002007-05-16T23:39:00.000-07:00Risk and all of it's variations, for lack of a bet...Risk and all of it's variations, for lack of a better word: suck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-82687289558952603002007-05-16T19:15:00.000-07:002007-05-16T19:15:00.000-07:00I've seen somebody get nothing but bombers and mak...<I>I've seen somebody get nothing but bombers and make it nigh impossible to stop/kill them. Even with a huge army. I think he had 4 bombers and would only roll one die. So, he had a guaranteed 5 but 5 out of 6 times it was a 6 or better.</I><BR/><BR/>The +1 for bombers isn't cumulative: each bomber can only add 1 to a single, different die. <BR/><BR/>To use three bombers (the most you can have) you'd need to roll three dice and each die would be +1.G Haggertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05576496806585294190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-70783528498865908222007-05-16T19:08:00.000-07:002007-05-16T19:08:00.000-07:00Can anyone compare the Clone Wars edition against ...<I> Can anyone compare the Clone Wars edition against Trilogy...</I><BR/><BR/>Clone Wars edition has only two factions (Republic and Separatist) of two armies each. <BR/><BR/>Republic wins by eliminating all the Separatist armies or conquering the planet where Darth Sidious is camped after Order 66 is called.<BR/><BR/>The Separatists win by eliminating the Republic armies.<BR/><BR/>The Order 66 feature is the main difference between the two games.<BR/><BR/>After each Separatist player turn, Sidious moves up one space on the numbered Order 66 track. The numbers on the track show the (increasing) d8 die roll range for a successful subversion of the Republic clones. <BR/><BR/>When either Separatist player calls Order 66, <I> every</I> Republic planet gets a die roll. If the roll is equal or higher than the current space on the track, the clones on that planet join the Separatists.<BR/><BR/>The Republic's compensation is that Sidious comes off the track and must be parked on a planet, becoming a game-ending target.G Haggertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05576496806585294190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-1740386324381315102007-05-16T16:31:00.000-07:002007-05-16T16:31:00.000-07:00Thank God somebody finally released a star wars ga...Thank God somebody finally released a star wars game. <BR/>I hope they do some action figures next.Mr Skeletorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17641339798508135450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-23526719964037042092007-05-16T15:33:00.000-07:002007-05-16T15:33:00.000-07:00I've seen somebody get nothing but bombers and mak...I've seen somebody get nothing but bombers and make it nigh impossible to stop/kill them. Even with a huge army. I think he had 4 bombers and would only roll one die. So, he had a guaranteed 5 but 5 out of 6 times it was a 6 or better.<BR/><BR/>The battle was awesome he was already beat down to a small army maybe 5 figs total when he got the bombers and he must've killed a dozen armies before getting killed.ironcateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13976645472552078821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-27306345297330664572007-05-16T14:51:00.000-07:002007-05-16T14:51:00.000-07:00Yeah, they definitely went back to the well on the...Yeah, they definitely went back to the well on the design...it looks like 1981 all over again.<BR/><BR/>Don't listen to Robert...I'm not supposed to make this public, but come to find out he doesn't like _any_ games other than DRAGONLORDS (of course), GUERILLA, and DRAGON DICE. And he probably wouldn't like that if he weren't getting a huge, thousands-of-dollars paycheck from SFR.Michael Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01465993224831900150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-29592077027572240782007-05-16T14:33:00.000-07:002007-05-16T14:33:00.000-07:00I looked for this game back when I was in high sch...I looked for this game back when I was in high school, but sadly, it didn't exist. I almost want to go buy it now, even though I know I probably won't ever play it, but it just looks so cool! The box art is just perfect. It definitely looks like the best game in the RISK series.Aarontuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561708815324103950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-425991033117193362007-05-16T13:54:00.000-07:002007-05-16T13:54:00.000-07:00You're SUCH an Amerisnob, Robert.You're SUCH an Amerisnob, Robert.Ken B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01621793460967739987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-26481856039670922082007-05-16T13:53:00.000-07:002007-05-16T13:53:00.000-07:00In my twisted worldview, Star Wars and Risk occupy...In my twisted worldview, Star Wars and Risk occupy the same niche: I loved them until I hated them.<BR/><BR/>When we were ten years old, my best friend bought Risk at a garage sale, but it didn't come with a rule book. We made up rules from what my friend remembered, and pretty much got it right. We played it a lot, and got some friends to play, too. Funny thing, though, we had seemed to have an unofficial house rule that games were never played to completion. Once your last remaining guys were trapped in South America or Australia or wherever, you were expected to swear like a sailor and flip the board in anger. Come to think of it, that was much more fun than playing out the tedious and inevitable endgame of Risk. A few years later, I discovered better board games at the same shop that was selling D&D stuff to my gaming group. After that, I completely stopped playing Risk.<BR/><BR/>A couple of years later, Star Wars came along and rocked my world. (The impact was somewhat diminished later that summer when I went off to Boy Scout summer camp for a week with a book called The Hobbit. Running around in the woods and shooting arrows at targets during the day, while reading about the dangers of Mirkwood Forest at night was an even more meaningful experience than watching Star Wars on the biggest movie screen in Indy.) The Empire Strikes Back was even better, but those goddamn Ewoks ruined the whole franchise for me. I have not watched a Star Wars movie in over two decades. In fact, I have successfully avoided everything related to Star Wars since then, except for one very enjoyable afternoon playing that excellent Epic Duels game.<BR/><BR/>So despite my love of AmeriTrash games, the chances of me playing Star Wars Risk is very close to zero. It sounds pretty good from this review, I gotta admit, but there are so many other games that I would rather play instead.Shellheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02023484901650550355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-35637852649506519362007-05-16T13:49:00.000-07:002007-05-16T13:49:00.000-07:00First, I'm over Star Wars. It's just a cartoon fo...First, I'm over Star Wars. It's just a cartoon for kids now. Maybe that's all it ever was.<BR/><BR/>Second, the Risk system sucks. Ever wonder why does Risk takes forever? Because your massive army only gets to throw 3 dice. A proper game like Dragonlords gives you a die per unit.robartinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05294186755409903257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-61183879808704437372007-05-16T13:05:00.000-07:002007-05-16T13:05:00.000-07:00I have hated all other Risks (save the original) u...I have hated all other Risks (save the original) until this one came along. Myself, Brian, and Bryan played it over at Corey's house with him and his wife. It was a really good time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-76997990694507748682007-05-16T12:11:00.000-07:002007-05-16T12:11:00.000-07:00This really is a cash in on the Star Wars license ...<I>This really is a cash in on the Star Wars license for what .. the third or fourth time? </I><BR/><BR/>No, I think it's like the second time after those Burger King glasses...they really need to get with the program and realize that there's a market for Star Wars-branded products.<BR/><BR/>Sure, it's a cash-in...but the designers obviously gave a damn about making a decent game and also making sure that it looked and felt like Star Wars. Of course, Rob Daviau is involved and he's really done more to get "sheeple" (hardy har har) playing better games than any of the Euro designers, that's for damn sure.Michael Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01465993224831900150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-37033286669783769852007-05-16T12:08:00.000-07:002007-05-16T12:08:00.000-07:00I said "Nexus Ops: Star Wars" - not "Nexus Ops: Ri...I said "Nexus Ops: Star Wars" - not "Nexus Ops: Risk" as that wouldn't make any sense.Pat Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18200005894774999916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-10547079329285290792007-05-16T12:03:00.000-07:002007-05-16T12:03:00.000-07:00Pat:Nexus Ops Risk or a Risk plus would never sell...Pat:<BR/><BR/>Nexus Ops Risk or a Risk plus would never sell. <BR/><BR/>That was tried once with Castle Risk, and it did not do terribly well. <BR/><BR/>Star Wars Risk sells because it is Star Wars and slightly because of Risk. No one has ever really heard of Nexus Ops, so they might gain a couple thousand sales. <BR/><BR/>Hasbro needs 50,000 customers to sell a game. We don't matter. <BR/><BR/>The themed Risks have actually mostly been pretty thorough reworkings. The only core concept that remains is the dice thing. <BR/><BR/>The UK got Narnia Risk Junior which wasn't really Risk at all. (It did use a very A&A-like dice system, but is more of a children's game, and not really worth it for gamers, unless you are a Richard Borg completist. )Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-60323123187170846302007-05-16T11:39:00.000-07:002007-05-16T11:39:00.000-07:00Proposition 13Wasn't that the infamous "Gungan Reg...<I>Proposition 13</I><BR/><BR/>Wasn't that the infamous "Gungan Regsitration Act"?Michael Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01465993224831900150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-65100912940827391572007-05-16T11:38:00.000-07:002007-05-16T11:38:00.000-07:00Risk could definatley benefit from a proper makeov...Risk could definatley benefit from a proper makeover rahter than fidling with theme redressing. Re-do the house first and then the patio.<BR/><BR/>At it's heart Risk is an Ok game that spearheaded an industry. Risk needs a "Risk Deluxe" version to present some innovative and new elements. Then you can re-dress theme and add meat to a new system with the "Risk" tag.<BR/><BR/>This really is a cash in on the Star Wars license for what .. the third or fourth time? Soon the demographic for these products will all be wearing depends but still playing Star Wars in the lunch/social area at the "home".<BR/><BR/>A better game for the same "holder of licenses" would have been "Nexus Ops: Star Wars" which would offer more flexibility and would sell. <BR/><BR/>Battleboard and a shitload of dice with all of the card bearing modifiers, oooohh. No glowing Darth Vaders though.Pat Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18200005894774999916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-33697409348436735162007-05-16T11:28:00.000-07:002007-05-16T11:28:00.000-07:00Regarding Clone Wars:At the core, they both rely o...Regarding Clone Wars:<BR/><BR/>At the core, they both rely on Risk dice. Ships work the same, and the object for the rebels is a similar--take out the Emperor kind of thing. <BR/><BR/>Original has an overall Force Track that changes the usefulness and availability of the action cards as it swings from light to dark. <BR/><BR/>The other changes is the third player--which is huge, and the chrome like the Death Star. You all lose the Proposition 13 stuff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-43191170235513966632007-05-16T10:55:00.000-07:002007-05-16T10:55:00.000-07:00Can anyone compare the Clone Wars edition against ...Can anyone compare the Clone Wars edition against Trilogy (time seems to be hinted at to start with). <BR/>I am up to get one of these, Trilogy sounds like it has its nose in front due to time (likely to be accepted at more tables) and this good write-up, but would buy both if Clone Wars is suitably different (and great to play) to Trilogy and standard Risk (I have the 40th anniversary edition with metallic troops which I can't bring myself to sell ... damn those shiny bits).Southernmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03254183843277088157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-48027822113731533202007-05-16T10:32:00.000-07:002007-05-16T10:32:00.000-07:003,720 to 1?I've personally witnessed the "two kill...3,720 to 1?<BR/><BR/><BR/>I've personally witnessed the "two kills 10+" defender thing. I HATE IT.<BR/><BR/>With Star Wars Risk (and all the other Risk variants) you can stack the odds where it counts, either with leaders/ships or cardplay. BIG time difference.<BR/><BR/>With Risk, it's just toss the dice where it makes sense and hope for the best. Bleh. Vanilla Risk needs to be taken out behind the barn and shot. It's obsolete.Ken B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01621793460967739987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811769968708731746.post-78795457094771476122007-05-16T10:19:00.000-07:002007-05-16T10:19:00.000-07:00I'm not really dissing it per se...in fact, I thin...I'm not really dissing it per se...in fact, I think that the system creates a lot of fun drama- it's wonky and sometimes infuriating, but I like when one guy kills twenty. I know a lot of folks who HATE that, which is why I brought it up.<BR/><BR/>Robert and I were talking about RISK and he made a good point...bringing in a massive army and only rolling three dice takes away a sense of scale. At least AGE OF MYTHOLOGY let you roll a million dice if you were attacking with a million creatures. It's a different kind of drama, I guess.<BR/><BR/>Oh, BTW. Never tell me the odds.Michael Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01465993224831900150noreply@blogger.com