Risk: Balance of Power
Risk: Balance of Power Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
START: Basic Training ("Курс молодого бойца")
Basic Training is an introductory version of RISK: Balance of Power. After practising on it and learning the rules, you can move on to the "Command Post" version.
Your Goal
Your goal is to be the first to complete 3 missions while controlling your capital, or to eliminate the other player. Before starting, look through the list of missions.
Before the Game
- To become familiar with the contents of the game, read the QUICK OVERVIEW leaflet.
- Choose one of the four variants of filling the game board on the SETUP leaflet (by the players' choice or by rolling a die) and set up the board according to the instructions on the leaflet. Players choose colors (for example, by rolling a die) and also determine who goes first.
When Your Turn Comes
- At the start of each of your turns, receive additional troops (see TROOPS).
- Attack your opponent's territories and/or neutral territories (see ATTACK).
- After finishing your attacks - and if you have successfully completed a mission - receive 1 mission (see END OF TURN: side 1).
- Perform a troop movement and draw a card from the deck, if you are entitled to do so (see END OF TURN: side 2).
Victory
The winner is the player who has completed three missions and controls his own capital at the end of his turn, or the player who eliminates his opponent.
COMMAND POST
Your Goal
Your goal is to be the first to complete 3 missions while controlling your capital, or to eliminate the other player.
Before the Game
To become familiar with the game materials, read the QUICK OVERVIEW. Then carefully read the rules of BASIC TRAINING. Practising on this simplified version of the game will help when playing the full version.
Game Setup
Placement of cities: Draw nine random territory cards and place one city on each of those territories. Shuffle all the cards.
Placement of missions: Shuffle the 12 missions and place eight of them on the board in any order, face up. Return the remaining four missions to the box.
Placement of capitals and troops: One player (chosen randomly or by agreement) prepares the board according to the following requirements:
- each player receives 27 troops and one capital;
- the neutral player receives 60 troops;
- the neutral player gains control of the territories containing objects;
- every territory must have at least one troop.
Start of the Game
After one player has placed all the armies and capitals, the other player chooses which army he will play and who will go first.
When Your Turn Comes
- First, check the resistance of the neutral troops (see the TABLES leaflet: side 1).
- Then you may acquire rear-echelon support (see the TABLES leaflet: side 2).
- Next, gain new troops (see RAISING TROOPS).
- Attack your opponents (see ATTACK).
- After finishing your attacks - and if you have successfully completed a mission - receive 1 mission (see END OF TURN: side 1).
- Perform a troop movement and draw a card from the deck, if you are entitled to do so (see END OF TURN: side 2).
Victory
The winner is the player who has completed three missions and controls his own capital at the end of his turn, or the player who eliminates his opponent.
QUICK OVERVIEW
Contents
- Game board
- 6 dice
- Deck of 30 cards
- 3 sets of colored army pieces
- 9 cities
- 2 capitals
- Leaflet with details
Game Board
The game board consists of 30 territories forming six regions: yellow, green, brown, blue, orange and purple. Territories are adjacent to each other if they share a common border or are connected by a special line across the sea.
Eleven territories have rough terrain in the form of mountains or swamps. Rough terrain places limits on the number of troops that may take part in an attack on that territory. A more detailed description is given on the ATTACK leaflet.
Note: Southern France, northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany are territories. Together they form the green region.
Note: Poland is adjacent to Prussia, Lithuania, Belarus, western Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany, because it shares a common border with each of these territories. Poland also borders Sweden, because they are connected by a line across the sea.
There are four territories on the board that contain strategic objects (Switzerland, Denmark, western Ukraine and Norway). Objects do not affect the course of battles and give no bonuses to troops, but some missions require capturing one or several objects.
Cities
Cities are placed on the board within various territories. If a player controls a territory, he also controls the city on it. The number of cities controlled by a player is added to the number of controlled territories when raising additional troops, and is also counted when completing some missions.
Capitals
Each player has one capital, which is placed on one of his territories. Capitals have no military function, but owning them is important for the course of the game. During the game a capital cannot be moved to another city.
Troops
Each player controls either the red or the blue army. Troops are marked with two arrows. The small arrow represents 1 troop and the large arrow represents 3 troops.
Example: In Romania the green player [sic: as printed] has 2 small arrows (1 troop each) and 1 large arrow (3 troops), i.e. 5 troops in total. [partly illegible in the scan]
Neutral Troops
A third, neutral army (yellow-brown) is also present on the board. The player who is not taking his turn is assigned to roll the dice when the neutral armies defend, and to remove their losing troops from the board. The neutral army always defends with two troops (dice) when it is able to.
Dice
Dice are used when attacking and defending territories. Each player's dice are colored in his own color, so they do not need to be passed to each other. (3 red dice, 3 blue dice.)
Cards
There is one card for each territory on the board. Each card has the name and picture of the territory and one or two stars.
Missions
Missions are the military objectives that players try to achieve.
Tables
The tables are used in the COMMAND POST version of the game. Their purpose is explained on the TABLES leaflet.
Airfields
In the COMMAND POST version of the game, players may place their airfields on the board to gain an advantage in combat.
SETUP (Basic Training)
Choose one of the four games below. Place the listed missions on the board, put the remaining missions in the box (they are not used in that game), and place cities on the listed territories. The troop numbers, cities and capitals for each game are shown on a map picture on the leaflet (number = troops, city symbol = city, star = capital); the maps are not reproduced here.
Game 1
Place the following missions on the board:
- Seize the Swiss safe
- Take control of the naval base in Denmark
- Eliminate the neutral player
- Take control of both satellite centers
- Take control of 6 territories with rough terrain
- Take control of the green region
- Take control of 6 territories bordering along a sea line
- Take control of the purple region
Place cities on the following territories: Great Britain, northern France, Germany, Sweden, northern Russia, Poland, Italy, Hungary, eastern Ukraine.
Game 2
Place the following missions on the board:
- Take control of 2 whole regions
- Take control of 6 cities
- Seize the Swiss safe
- Take control of the naval base in Denmark
- Take control of both satellite centers
- Take control of 6 territories with rough terrain
- Take control of the green region
- Eliminate the neutral player
Place cities on the following territories: the Netherlands, Germany, southern France, Slovenia, Slovakia, Prussia, Lithuania, Latvia, northern Russia.
Game 3
Place the following missions on the board:
- Take control of 6 cities
- Take control of the naval base in Denmark
- Eliminate the neutral player
- Take control of both satellite centers
- Take control of 6 territories with rough terrain
- Take control of the green region
- Take control of 6 territories bordering along a sea line
- Take control of the yellow region
Place cities on the following territories: Great Britain, Belgium, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Romania.
Game 4
Place the following missions on the board:
- Take control of the naval base in Denmark
- Eliminate the neutral player
- Establish control over 6 territories with rough terrain
- Take control of the green region
- Establish control over 6 territories bordering along a sea line
- Take control of the purple region
- Seize the Swiss safe
- Establish control over 2 whole regions
Place cities on the following territories: Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, eastern Ukraine.
RAISING TROOPS (side 1)
ATTENTION! The number of troops received at the start of each turn is determined by adding together the following values:
- The number of controlled territories and cities, divided by 3.
- Bonuses for controlling region(s).
- The number of controlled capitals.
- Troops received by turning in cards.
1. Territories and Cities
Count the number of territories and cities you control and divide by 3 (round down). If the number is less than 3, round it up to 3. Receive new troops according to the calculated number and place them in front of you.
2. Region Control Bonus(es)
Controlling all the territories within one region gives control of that region. The table next to each region shows how many troops are given for such a bonus. Receive new troops according to the calculated number and add them to the pile in front of you.
Example: For controlling the entire orange region, the player receives a bonus of 5 troops.
Examples
Territories and cities: At the start of his turn the red player controls 19 territories and cities. 19 divided by 3 is 6. Red receives 6 troops. At the start of his turn the blue player controls 5 territories and no cities. 5 divided by 3 is 1. However, the minimum number of new troops is 3, so blue receives 3 troops.
Region control bonus(es): The blue player controls the blue region. In addition to the troops received for controlled territories, for controlling the blue region the blue player receives 2 additional troops. The red player controls the brown and yellow regions. In addition to the troops received for controlled territories and cities, for controlling the brown (5) and yellow (3) regions the red player receives a total of 8 troops.
RAISING TROOPS (side 2)
3. Capitals
Receive one troop for each capital you control, including your own, and add them to your pile.
(1 capital = 1 troop)
4. Cards
Receiving cards is explained on the END OF TURN leaflet.
Cards have one or two stars. If you have cards with a total of two or more stars, you may turn them in to receive new troops. The number of troops received is determined by the total number of stars on the cards. You may turn in from two to ten stars. The table on the board shows how many troops are given for various sets of cards. Add the troops received to your pile. When receiving troops, the territories on the cards have no significance.
Example: At the start of the red player's turn he has 3 cards with 4 stars. The player turns in all three and receives 7 troops.
Table on the board (stars: troops):
| Stars | Troops |
|---|---|
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 7 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 13 |
| 7 | 17 |
| 8 | 21 |
| 9 | 25 |
| 10 | 30 |
After Raising Troops
After receiving troops, place ALL of them on territories you control. You may place all the troops on a single territory or distribute them among many.
ATTACK (side 1)
During your turn you may attack territories adjacent to yours in an attempt to capture them. Attacking is optional.
-
Choose one of your territories that has at least two troops on it. Leave one troop "in the rear" to guard the territory. The remaining troops may take part in an attack on an enemy territory.
Example: The red player, who has 3 troops in northern Russia, intends to attack Finland. He sends 2 troops to Finland, because he cannot send all 3 - one must remain "in the rear".
-
Choose how many troops will take part in the attack. You may send one, two or three troops to attack. Your territory may hold more than three troops, but no more than three may attack.
Example: The blue player defends Finland and has 3 troops in this territory. He may send up to 2 troops into the battle.
-
NOTE: territories with rough terrain may be attacked by no more than two troops.
-
The defender chooses how many troops will take part in the battle - one or two.
-
Each side rolls one die for each troop taking part in the battle. The attacker may roll 1, 2 or 3 dice, and the defender 1 or 2.
Example: The red player has 10 troops in Sweden, 3 of which he sends to attack Finland. (He cannot send more than 3, because that is the maximum permitted number.) Blue defends with 2 troops.
-
Both sides arrange their dice from the highest result to the lowest. Then they compare their highest results. The one whose result is higher wins. In case of a tie, the defender wins. The loser of the battle removes one troop from the territory.
Then the sides compare their second results. The loser removes one troop. If either side has an "extra" die, i.e. you rolled one or two dice more than your opponent, those dice are not counted.
Example: The red player rolls three dice, one for each troop; blue rolls two dice. The highest result of the red player (printed "green") - 6 - is higher than the highest result of blue, 5. Blue loses one of the defending troops. The second highest result is the same for both players. Since in case of a tie the defender wins, the red player loses one attacking troop. The last die of the red player, with a result of 3, is not used, because the defender has no third die.
ATTACK (side 2)
If the defender still has troops on the territory
If you wish and have the forces, you may attack again - either the same territory or others.
Command Post version only
In the COMMAND POST version of the game, losing troops are not placed straight into the pile but go into the table of lost troops. Both players have one, and the neutral player has one as well. When placing lost troops in the table, fill the card from left to right. If the table is full of troops, subsequent lost troops are placed directly into the pile. What happens to the lost troops is explained on the TABLES leaflet.
If the defender has no more troops on the territory
Move the attacking troops into the territory. Additional troops may be moved onto the captured territory from the territory from which the attack was made. Thus, you may attack with no more than three troops, but you may move any number of troops onto the captured territory. Do not forget to leave at least one troop in the territory from which the attack was made - leaving a territory unguarded is not allowed.
If the captured territory contains the enemy's capital, leave it in place.
In the same turn you may attack again if you wish and have the forces to do so.
Example: The red player attacks with 3 troops from the territory of Sweden, attacking Finland, which belongs to the blue player and is defended by one troop. Red wins the battle and moves the 3 attacking troops into Finland. Then he moves four additional troops from Sweden into Finland. However, he must leave at least one troop in Sweden.
TABLES (side 1) - Command Post version
ATTENTION! In the COMMAND POST version, before each turn the player must go through two additional steps. The player has two tables that help with these steps. As explained under ATTACK, lost troops are not placed straight into the pile but go into the table of lost troops. Neutral troops go into the neutral troops table, and the players' troops into the corresponding tables. This leaflet explains how these troops come back into the game.
1. Resistance of the Neutral Troops
Look at how many neutral armies were defeated during the other player's turn. Look at what number is indicated under the last troop (the rightmost one). Roll two dice.
If the number rolled is equal to or greater than the number under the troop, take half of the troops from the card (round up when dividing by two) and place them on any territory or territories on which neutral troops are present. Put the other half of the lost neutral troops back in the box.
If the number rolled is less than the number under the rightmost troop, put all the lost neutral troops back in the box.
This step is not obligatory. If you wish, you may return all the neutral troops to the box.
Example: At the start of the blue player's turn there are 7 neutral troops in the table of lost neutral troops. The blue player rolls two dice and the sum is 9. He takes the 7 troops from the table, puts 3 of them back in the box, and puts 4 back on the board on neutral territories. If he had rolled a sum of 5 or less, all the troops would have been put back in the box.
(The neutral table has slots numbered 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3.)
TABLES (side 2) - Command Post version
2. Rear Support of Troops
Troops in the players' tables may be returned to the pile of troops in order to "purchase" the special abilities and advantages indicated on the card. The special abilities differ in cost, expressed in troops. At the start of your turn you may buy as many special abilities as you wish (if you have the troops), or save them for use during following turns. The same ability may be bought more than once.
Example: At the start of the red player's turn he has 12 troops in his table of lost troops. He returns 3 of them to the pile and buys "Preemptive Maneuver". He immediately makes such a maneuver. Then he returns another 8 troops to the pile and buys "Special Forces". This allows him during this turn to attack territories with rough terrain with 3 troops. He leaves the last troop in the table, since he cannot use it.
Special Abilities
(Printed on the table of lost armies; cost in troops.)
- Recon Mission. Cost = 2. When attacking an object, one of the dice cannot give a 1 - it must be rerolled until a higher result is rolled (the other dice may still give 1). This ability may be bought several times, guaranteeing results higher than 1 for a larger number of dice.
- Preemptive Maneuver. Cost = 3. Allows you to immediately make a maneuver, i.e. move troops on the board.
- Uprising. Cost = 6. Choose an enemy territory adjacent to a neutral territory that has at least two troops on it. These neutral troops will attack the enemy territory until they capture it or lose at least one troop in a battle. If the neutral attack succeeds, only the troops that took part in the attack (one, two or three troops) are moved onto the enemy territory.
- 3 Additional Troops. Cost = 7. Three new troops may be placed on any territories you control on the board.
- Special Forces. Cost = 8. During this turn, when attacking a territory with rough terrain, you may send up to three troops instead of the usual two.
- Card from the Deck. Cost = 9. Draw a card and add it to your cards.
- Building an Airfield. Cost = 10. Having received the "airfield" token, place it on any of the territories you control. While the airfield stands on this territory, when fighting battles on it or on territories adjacent to it, 1 is added to your highest die result. This bonus works both in attack and in defense, but not when rolling dice for neutral troops. If the territory with the airfield leaves your control, the airfield is destroyed (but may be built again later). Each player may have only one airfield at a time.
END OF TURN (side 1)
How to Receive Missions
After finishing your attacks, check the missions lying face up on the board. If during your turn you have completed one of them, you may take the card of the completed mission for yourself. Do not place new missions on the board in place of the one taken. As the game goes on, fewer and fewer missions will remain on the board.
If you completed several missions in one turn, choose one of them. You are not allowed to receive more than one mission per turn.
Completed missions do not pass to the other player.
Missions
- Take control of the yellow region: Establish control over all territories in the yellow region.
- Take control of the orange region: Establish control over all territories in the orange region.
- Take control of the purple region: Establish control over all territories in the purple region.
- Take control of the green region: Establish control over all territories in the green region.
- Take control of 2 whole regions: Establish control over two different regions.
- Take control of 6 territories bordering along a sea line: Establish control over 6 territories bordering along a sea line. (Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Poland and northern France).
- Eliminate the neutral player: Defeat all the troops of the neutral player.
- Take control of 6 territories with rough terrain: Establish control over any six territories with rough terrain.
- Take control of 6 cities: Establish control over any six cities on the board.
- Take control of both satellite centers: Establish control over both satellite centers. (Norway and western Ukraine).
- Seize the Swiss vault: Establish control over the safe (Switzerland).
- Take control of the naval base in Denmark: Establish control over the naval base (Denmark).
END OF TURN (side 2)
ATTENTION! At the end of your turn you can do two things:
- Move your troops;
- Draw a card from the deck (depending on achievements during the turn).
Troop Movement
Moving troops is optional.
Take the desired number of troops from one of your territories and move them to one other territory connected to it (do not forget to leave at least one troop in the territory - leaving a territory unguarded is not allowed).
Territories are considered connected if a chain of territories under your control leads from one to the other. Crossing enemy territories is not allowed.
Such a maneuver is not an attack - it is simply a tactical movement aimed at strengthening the front or preparing a strike for the next turn.
Only one troop movement is allowed per turn.
Example: At the end of your turn you may move troops from Germany through Poland and Belarus to southern Russia, because all these territories are under your control. This is possible because Germany and southern Russia are connected by a chain of your own territories.
Receiving a Card from the Deck
If during your turn you conquered at least one enemy territory, you receive one card. Take the top card from the deck and add it to your cards. Regardless of the number of captured territories, whether 28 or 1, you receive exactly 1 card.
You are not allowed to take a card from the deck if you conquered only neutral territories.
If you received a mission card, you are forbidden to receive a card from the deck in the same turn.
If the deck is empty, shuffle the discarded cards and form a new deck from them.