Risk Europe Game Rules

Welcome to the exciting world of Risk Europe! In this strategic board game, you’ll embark on a journey to conquer medieval Europe. As you battle your way to victory, it’s important to understand the rules and strategies that will guide you to success. So, let’s dive in and explore the key elements of this thrilling game.

First and foremost, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the game board. It showcases a map of medieval Europe, divided into different territories. Each of these territories has a specific symbol and color, representing different kingdoms and factions.

The goal of the game is to conquer territories and expand your influence across Europe. You do this by moving your armies strategically, attacking rival territories, and ultimately defeating your opponents. Be careful though, as battles can be treacherous and victory is never guaranteed.

To start the game, each player is given a secret mission card. This card outlines a specific objective that must be completed in order to win the game. It could be something like capturing a certain number of territories or controlling a particular region. It’s crucial to keep your mission card hidden from other players, as revealing it might make you a target.

As you play, you’ll earn coins, which represent your wealth and resources. These coins can be spent to recruit new armies, fortify your territories, or unleash special abilities. Managing your resources wisely is key to maintaining a strong position on the board.

One of the most exciting elements of Risk Europe is the battle system. When attacking an opponent’s territory, both players roll custom dice to determine the outcome of the battle. The number of dice rolled depends on the number of armies involved in the attack. It’s a thrilling moment as you eagerly await the results of the dice roll, hoping for victory but prepared for defeat.

Combat isn’t the only strategy at your disposal. Diplomacy plays a critical role in the game as well. Forming alliances with other players can provide you with valuable support and protection. However, these alliances are not binding, and betrayal is always a possibility. Choose your allies wisely and be ready to adapt your plans if necessary.

Keep in mind that the game can be unpredictable, with unexpected twists and turns. No two games are the same, and victory often requires flexibility and adaptability. It’s important to remain vigilant, constantly reassessing your strategies and adjusting your plans as the game progresses.

So, whether you’re a seasoned strategist or new to the world of Risk Europe, remember to embrace the challenges, make bold moves, and forge your path to victory. Good luck on your quest to conquer Europe!

To win the game, you need to have control over seven or more crowns by the end of a round. It sounds simple, but it can get pretty intense!

Getting Started

First, let’s pick our army colors. Once you’ve chosen your color, you’ll get some cool plastic figures, a War Banner, a reminder card, and eight King’s Orders cards for your army.

Now, let’s gather some resources. Everyone gets five silver coins, one crown, and one castle. Keep the extra pieces in a separate area called the reserve. And make sure to keep your army units close to you in your army reserve. We’ll need them later!

Okay, let’s figure out who goes first. We’ll do a little bidding. Each player secretly chooses a number of coins from their initial five and holds them in a closed fist. When everyone is ready, we all reveal our bids at the same time. The player with the highest bid pays that amount to the reserve and gets the First Player Marker. The other players can keep their coins.

When it’s time to start the game, the person who bids the highest gets to go first and be the First Player. They’ll control the gameboard in each round.

But what if two players tie in their bids? Well, in that case, we’ll let the dice decide. The players will roll the dice, and whoever gets the highest roll will be the First Player.

Now it’s time for everyone to place their kingdoms on the gameboard. We’ll start with the First Player and go clockwise, with each player completing all their kingdom placement steps before the next player takes their turn. You can find the steps on page 7 if you need a reminder.

Once everyone has placed their kingdoms, we can start the first round of the game.

Oh, and before we begin, take a look at the City Bonus Tiles. They might help you decide where you want to place your kingdom.

Kingdom Placement

Hey there! Ready to start your quest for the Gold Crown Cities? Well, let me break it down for you. Just follow these simple steps:

First things first, choose one of the dazzling Gold Crown Cities on the gameboard. Once you’ve made your royal selection, place your majestic crown and castle on that city territory. Make sure to grab the city’s Bonus Tile and collect its Tax Value in coins from the reserve. (By the way, the Tax Value is an extra reward you’ll receive every time you place a crown on a city). How cool is that?

Now, it’s time to let your warrior spirit soar! Place your epic War Banner on the first space of the Crown Tracker. If you started in Rome, go ahead and place it on the second space instead. This will show everyone how serious you are about conquering the Gold Crown Cities!

Lastly, gather your mighty army. You get to choose how to divide ten Footmen between your starting city territory and any adjacent non-city territory. Spread them out wisely, brave ruler!

Playing the Game

When I start playing the game, I will have all eight of my King’s Orders cards in my hand. However, I can only choose two of those cards to play during each round.

Once I have chosen my cards, I will play them and they will be discarded. This means that in the next round, I will only have six cards to choose from.

After I reveal a card, I can choose one of the two orders available to me and carry out any bonus actions or city bonuses that are relevant to that turn.

If I run out of cards, I can simply return all eight of them from my discard pile back into my hand. This will happen at the beginning of every fifth round.

Overview of Each Round

Each round follows these steps:

1. Before we start the first round, each of us will secretly choose two cards from our hand and put them face down on the table. These cards will create our own personal stack, with the top card being used for Turn 1 and the bottom card for Turn 2. Remember, once the cards are placed, we can’t change their order!
2. Turn 1 begins with the first player flipping over their top card and announcing the order they have chosen. They then carry out the action associated with that order. After that, it’s the next player’s turn, and we continue clockwise.
3. In Turn 2, each of us will carry out the action associated with our bottom card, following the same clockwise order as Turn 1.

Once every player has played both of their cards, we need to settle any battles in disputed territories. It’s important to update the War Banners accordingly, especially if crowns change hands during a battle.

After revealing their two cards for the round, each player must discard those cards into their personal discard pile.

A round is only considered finished once all players have revealed their two cards, played their orders, and resolved any battles that occurred.

If a player manages to control seven or more crowns by the end of a round, they win the game. If not, the next round begins.

Remember, even if a player doesn’t take any actions with a revealed card, they still need to put that card in their discard pile at the end of the round.

If the First Player Marker changes hands during the round, the next round will start with the player who has it now.

Getting Crowns

To win, you need to have at least seven crowns when a round ends. There are three ways to get more crowns during the game.

1. Capture a city

You can use your army to take control of a city that nobody owns. This will give you the crown(s) from that city.

When you capture an empty city, you should do the following things right away:

1. First, I’ll place a crown from the reserve on the city territory. This is an important move because it allows me to collect the city’s Tax Value in coins as a bonus. If the city is a Gold Crown City, I’ll also gain control of the city’s City Bonus Tile.
2. Next, I’ll move my War Banner forward on the Crown Tracker. This step keeps track of my progress and shows that I am gaining control of the land.

2. Take over an opponent’s city

I also have the option to take over an opponent’s city. To do this, I need to expand my army into the territory of the player I want to defeat. This battle will take place at the end of the round.

If I win the battle and successfully take over my opponent’s city territory, my War Banner will advance on the Crown Tracker. On the other hand, my opponent’s War Banner will fall back, indicating their loss.

Note: It is important to remember that I won’t receive a tax bonus when taking over another player’s city in battle. This is because the victory itself is the reward.

3. Get Yourself Some Crowns!

You’ve also got the option to purchase a crown card during a round using coins.

Buying a crown card is a way to flex your power and will instantly move your War Banner one step forward on the Crown Tracker.

The King’s Orders Cards

When it comes to running your kingdom and commanding your army, it’s all about the King’s Orders. Here are the options you have to choose from when playing King’s Orders cards for the round: Expand, Split Expand, Manoeuvre, Spend, and Tax.

A. Expanding Your Kingdom

If you want to claim new territories and go after your opponents’ lands to grow your kingdom, you’ll need those Expand orders.

Important Things to Know About Expanding:

• If you expand into an opponent’s territory, it becomes a disputed area, and it’s gonna lead to a battle at the end of the round.
• When there’s a fight over a place, only the defender can send more army units out of that place. But they have to leave some of their units equal to the number of attacker’s units.
• If there’s a castle in the opponent’s place, you can’t send your army there unless you have a Siege Weapon in your army.
• No one else’s army can go into a place that is being fought over.
• You can’t use an expand order to move units into a place that is already being fought over or already under your control. You have to use the Manoeuvre order for these actions.

Expanding Your Kingdom (in Just One Territory)

Hey there! Let’s talk about how you can grow your empire by expanding into new territories. It’s an exciting strategy that can give you an edge over your opponents!

Here’s how it works: you can move some of your armies from one territory you already control into a neighboring territory. This neighboring territory can be unclaimed or occupied by another player’s armies.

But wait! You need to be careful. When you expand, you have to leave at least one of your armies in the original territory. Otherwise, you’d end up losing control over it, and we don’t want that to happen!

So, remember, expanding your kingdom is a risky move, but it can also give you an advantage. Make sure to plan your moves wisely, and may your empire thrive!

Divide and Conquer (into 2 Territories)

I have the power to split my army units into two different territories. I can move as many units as I want from a territory I already control. The two new territories need to be next to the original one, and can either be empty or occupied by my opponents. However, I must leave at least one unit behind in the original territory.

Moving Your Army Units and Reinforcing Your Territories

When I’m looking to move my army units and support the territories connected to my supply lines, manoeuvre orders are the way to go.

Supply lines are the important routes that connect all the territories I control. These routes can be land borders or sea routes.

Remember: If I want to move all of my army units out of a non-city territory, I can do that. But when I leave city and castle territories, I must leave behind at least one army unit.

How to Move Your Armies Strategically

Hey there! Today, I want to talk to you about an important aspect of the game: the manoeuvre. It’s a fancy word, but don’t worry – I’ll break it down for you.

A manoeuvre allows you to relocate your army units from one territory you already control to another territory, up to two territories away, that is also under your control or in dispute.

Here’s how it works: The army units you want to move must go through territories that you already control. Keep in mind that if these units enter a disputed territory, they have to stop and can’t move any further.

It’s crucial to note that once you commit your army units to battle, you can’t retreat. This means you can’t manoeuvre them out of a disputed territory, no matter what.

B. Collecting And Spending Coins

The primary way to earn more coins is by taxing the lands under your control. When you collect taxes, you gather extra coins that you can later use to buy things for your kingdom.

Spend

Hey there! This card is super cool. It lets you use your coins to buy awesome stuff that makes your kingdom even stronger. With this card, you can spend your coins on cool things like recruiting new army units, building castles, and buying crown cards. The best part is, when you’re done spending, any coins you didn’t use get returned back to the reserve. How cool is that?

Tax

When you play the game, one of the things you’ll have to do is choose a city territory that you control. This city will serve as your base for collecting taxes. But it’s not just the city itself that you’ll be collecting taxes from – you’ll also be able to collect taxes from all the other cities and non-city territories that are connected to your chosen city through supply lines.

When you collect taxes, you’ll receive the full Tax Value of each city territory that is connected to your chosen city. And on top of that, you’ll get one extra coin for each non-city territory that is connected to your chosen city. So the more territories you control and connect to your chosen city, the more taxes you’ll be able to collect.

However, there’s an important rule to keep in mind. You won’t be able to collect taxes from any disputed territories in your supply line. These disputed territories have the ability to break apart your kingdom into multiple smaller supply lines. This means that if a disputed territory breaks apart your kingdom, you’ll have disconnected areas that may have different values in terms of coins. So you need to be careful and choose the city you want to tax wisely!

C. Bonus Actions

Hey there! Did you know that some King’s Orders cards come with bonus actions? These bonus actions are special abilities that you can use along with the main order on your card.

What’s cool about bonus actions is that you can use them before or after you complete the main order for your turn. It’s like getting an extra special power to help you on your quest!

Commanding Royalty

Once this maneuver comes to light, you are bestowed with the honor of taking charge as the First Player.

It is possible for numerous individuals to execute the King Me action within a single round. However, the individual who successfully seizes control of the First Player Marker at the culmination of all card plays will commence the subsequent round. Ownership of the First Player Marker is transferred exclusively through the revelation of the King Me action.

Boost

You can reinforce your control over a city territory you have or strengthen your hold on a castle territory you possess by adding three Footmen or four Footmen, respectively.

If you are the defending player, you can also utilize this maneuver in a contested city or castle territory.

Storm Attack

If you have a territory under your control that has Siege Weapons, those units can attack an enemy territory right next to it. To do this, you roll two dice for each Siege Weapon you have. If any of the dice show a value of 3 or more, your opponent has to remove one of their army units of their own choosing. There won’t be any dice rolled for defense.

Did you know that Siege Assaults are special actions that have some limitations? They can only be used on land territories that are next to each other, and you can’t use them to attack across seas or from disputed territories. So, if you’re planning a Siege Assault, make sure the territories are adjacent.

There’s another important rule to keep in mind when it comes to Siege Assaults. You can’t use them from disputed territories or into disputed territories. Disputed territories are off-limits for Siege Assaults. Keep that in mind!

Now, what happens if you don’t have any Siege Weapons when the card is revealed? Don’t worry, it’s simple. You just ignore the bonus action for Siege Assaults and continue with the rest of your turn as usual. Easy, right?

Let’s Talk About Buying Army Units, Castles, and Crowns

When you use a spend order, there are three types of things you can buy. Don’t worry, I’ll explain them all!

A. Are You Ready to Recruit Army Units?

With a spend order, you can buy new army units. You can get any type of units and as many as you can afford. It’s up to you! Just remember, when you buy these units, you have to put them on the gameboard, and you can only place them in territories that you control. So be strategic!

You have the freedom to divide your purchased army units among different cities or castle territories. You don’t have to put them all in one place.

Remember, you can never buy more army units than you physically have available in your army reserve.

Unfortunately, you can’t place your purchased army units in disputed territories. They can only be deployed in territories that are under your control.

If your army units are lost in battle, don’t worry. They will be returned to your army reserve and you can purchase them again in future turns.

Let me give you a breakdown of the costs for each unit:

– Footman: 1 Coin

– Archer: 2 Coins

– Cavalry: 3 Coins

– Siege Weapon: 10 Coins

Now, let’s move on to the next step.

B. Build Castles

When you make a spend order, you also have the option to build a castle in any territory that you control. This will strengthen the defenses of that territory.

Building a castle comes with its benefits.

Castle Powers

Did you know that castles have unique powers that can drastically impact the outcome of battles in the game? Let me tell you about three of them.

Protection: When you have a castle in your territory, it acts as a shield. It protects your territory from attacks, unless the attacking army has a Siege Weapon in it. So, having a castle can give you that extra layer of defense and keep your territory safe.

Remote Recruitment: Building a castle in a non-city territory allows you to recruit army units into that territory. This means you can strengthen your forces in a distant location without having to move your armies there first. It’s like having your own recruitment center wherever you need it.

Castle Defense: The defending player has a special advantage when they have a castle. They can re-roll all dice of one rank each time the Ranked Attack Order is repeated in battle. This means they have a chance to improve their attack strategy and turn the tides of battle in their favor.

Castle Rules

There are a few rules that you need to keep in mind when it comes to castles:

1. Castles cannot be destroyed, but they can be taken over by other players. To take over a castle, you need to win a battle in its territory. If the territory is unclaimed, you can claim it by expanding into that territory with any army unit.

2. You cannot build a castle in a territory that is in dispute. This means that if there is a conflict over a territory, you cannot establish a castle there until the dispute is resolved.

3. You can only build one castle in each territory. So, choose wisely where you want to establish your stronghold and make it count.

In the game, once all the castles in the reserve have been bought, you can’t build any more castles.

Buy Crown Cards

Another way to use your coins is by purchasing a crown card from the reserve. You can only buy one crown card per round, and there are only eight available for the whole game.

When you buy a crown card, your War Banner moves one space forward on the Crown Tracker, and this position is permanent.

Remember, each player can only buy one crown card per round, even if you have spend orders for both of your turns.

Place the crown cards you buy in front of you, with the crown side facing up, so everyone can see.

The missions and bonuses on the back of the cards are used for the special Kingdom Missions variant explained on page 19. But for the Basic Game, you don’t need to worry about them.

OtherCost per Unit

Castle	12 Coins
Crown Card	10 Coins

Battles in Disputed Territories

In this section, I’m going to talk about where and when the battles take place and how we can settle them.

Disputed Territories

When I expand into someone else’s territory, it becomes a fight. Both of us want control, and it’s up to the battle at the end of the round to decide who gets it.

Once everyone has played their cards, I can choose the order in which the battles happen. It’s an advantage to have the first player marker because I get to decide.

While we’re fighting over a territory, the defender still keeps any city or castle that might be there. It’s not until the battle ends that things change.

If I win the battle, I not only take control of the territory, but I also get any city or castle that’s in it. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

I’m the attacking player: I’m the one who goes into someone else’s territory. It’s my job to try and take control.

When it comes to playing the game, there are some important things to understand:

As the defending player, I am the one who controlled a territory before it was attacked.

If I decide to attack another player’s territory using an expand order, a battle will always take place at the end of the round. Retreat is not allowed, no matter what.

A disputed territory can only have army units from two players. A third player’s army cannot enter for any reason.

I might find myself in multiple battles with different players at the end of the round.

The Battle

During a battle, players roll dice to determine the outcome. The rolls are done simultaneously and in the following order: siege weapons, archers, cavalry, and finally a general attack from each army.

When it comes to battles in the territory, there are four stages of attack that are repeated until one side is defeated – this is known as the ranked attack order. Let me break it down for you.

Attack Order
Unit Type
No. of Dice Rolled
Hits On

Rank 1	Siege Weapons	2 per Siege Weapon	3+
Rank 2	Archers	1 per Archer	5+
Rank 3	Cavalry	1 per Cavalry	3+
Rank 4	All Units/Footmen	1 per Army Unit (maximum 3 for Attacker, maximum 2 for Defender)	Higher Values Score Hits

Battle Ranks Explained

To determine the outcome of battles in Ranks 1, 2, and 3, we both need to count the number of army units we have in the disputed territory. Then, we roll the appropriate number of dice for each of our units. If I’m the only one with units of that type in the territory, I’ll be the only one rolling for that rank.

When we roll the dice, any result that is equal to or higher than the unit type’s ‘Hits On’ number will score a hit against the opponent’s army. There’s no way to prevent these hits. Since we both roll for each rank simultaneously, it’s possible for both armies to be hit at the same time.

Every hit against an army reduces its total by one unit. The owner of that army gets to choose which unit is removed. Before we move on to the next rank, we both have to remove units if hits have been scored against our armies.

Simultaneous Annihilation

When both armies are completely wiped out in a battle for a territory, that territory becomes unclaimed, and any crowns that were there go back to the reserve.

Castle Defense

If you’re defending and you control a castle in the disputed territory, you can roll all the dice of one rank again whenever the Ranked Attack Order is repeated.

Main Attack

To make the Main Attack (Rank 4), I count up all the army units I have left in the disputed territory, and so does the defender. Then we both roll a set number of dice.

After that, we compare the highest values we rolled. We might have rolled different amounts of dice, depending on how many army units we have in total.

Attacker
3+ Units	3 Dice
2 Units	2 Dice
3+ Units	1 Die
Defender
2+ Units	2 Dice
1 Unit	1 Die

Note: If both players only control Footmen in a disputed territory, both players need only repeat the Rank 4 attack until one army is eliminated. They will skip Ranks 1, 2, and 3.

Scoring hits in the General Attack works differently from the first three ranks, and only a maximum of two hits can ever be scored during each General Attack.

Look, when you want to score points in the General Attack, what you gotta do is roll some dice. Now, how many dice you roll depends on the number of army units you have in the disputed territory. Once you’ve rolled your dice, you compare the highest value rolled by each player. Whoever rolled the higher value gets to score a hit against the other player’s army. It’s as simple as that!

Now, let’s remove the two dice that we just compared.

If each of us rolled at least two dice, let’s compare the highest values that we have left. Whichever number is higher, that player gets a hit.

During a General Attack, if our numbers are tied, only the defender gets a hit.

If both of us still have army units in the disputed territory after the General Attack, we start the Ranked Attack Order again from the beginning.

We must repeat the Ranked Attack Order as many times as necessary until one of us is eliminated from the disputed territory.

End of the Game

If I manage to control 7 or more crowns by the end of a round, after resolving all battles, I will win the game!

In case there are two or more players tied at the end of a round with seven or more crowns, the player who controls the most territories will be the winner. If there is still a tie, the player with the highest number of coins will take the victory.

If one of the tied players also happens to have the First Player Marker, that player can count the marker as ten additional coins.

What if I Get Eliminated?

Although it’s not very likely, it is possible for a player to be completely eliminated from the game. This would happen if a player loses control of all city territories and their War Banner falls to the zero position on the Crown Tracker.

If I don’t have any cities under my control by the end of the round, I’m out of the game. I have to take all of my army units off the gameboard and give back my City Bonus Tiles and coins.

Saved by the Crown

If I don’t control any city territories, but I have at least one crown card, I still get a chance to play one more round. I can try to get a city territory back to stay in the game.

If I don’t have any city territories, I can’t collect taxes until I get one back.

I can still recruit army units even if I don’t control any cities, but only if I have a castle territory.

If I can’t reclaim a city territory by the end of the next round, I’ll be eliminated from the game.