Hobbies And Interests
Different Ways to Begin the Game
You can deal out all the territory cards evenly to assign random territories to each player. Each player then places at least one army on each territory, and uses any leftover armies to fortify territories as he chooses. This is the faster way to begin. You can also take turns claiming territories; each player claims one territory per turn and occupies it with one army until all territories have been claimed. This method allows the game to begin with strategy rather than luck.
Secret Missions
Some versions of the game offer secret missions as an alternative way to win the game. This variation is much faster than the traditional world domination version. At the beginning of the game, once colors have been assigned, remove any mission cards that correspond to a color not being used. Then deal each player a mission card. Players should not reveal their missions to each other. Secret missions can direct players to eliminate a player with armies of a certain color, to conquer a certain combination of continents or simply to occupy 24 territories. In some versions, if another player eliminates your target player, your mission changes to trying to occupy 24 territories. In others, your mission will be considered complete. Once a player has achieved her secret mission, she reveals her mission card and wins the game. Make sure you specify at the beginning of the game whether missions can be revealed at the beginning of a turn, the end of the turn, or one turn after the mission was completed.
Capitals
This is another alternate way to win, also much faster than world domination. At the beginning of the game, each player selects a capital from among his territories and reveals this choice to his fellow players. To win, a player must conquer and occupy every player̵7;s capital.
Risk Cards
You can choose from a variety of variations on the amount of armies a set of risk cards is worth. The basic rules about receiving cards remains relatively standard; a player receives a card only on turns in which he has conquered at least one territory. Players must collect a set of three cards either with all the same symbol or all different symbols to be able to exchange the set for additional armies. The number of armies awarded can be decided according to the type of set turned in (4 armies for 3 artillery, 6 for 3 infantry, 8 for 3 cavalry, or 10 for one of each), or can increase in order with each additional set turned in (4 for the first set turned in, 6 for the second, and then 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30). To speed up the game, increase these at an even higher rate. To add more difficulty or uncertainty, consider making the number of armies decrease after 20 (4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 4).