Risk Transformers: The Decepticon Invasion of Earth Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• How to Play Risk Transformers
• A Look at the Game
• The Troops
• The Dice
• The Cards
• Game Rules
• Setup
• How to Play
• 1. Beginning of the Turn
• 2. Place Your Troops
• 3. Attack
  • Choose a Territory
  • Marching In
  • Rolling the Dice
  • Evaluating the Dice
  • Further Attacks
  • Battle Example
  • Power Cards
• 3. Draw a Card
• 4. Move Your Troops
• 5. Lower the Energon Meter
• Winning
• Quick Reference

Components

3 Decepticon armies, 1 Autobot army, 1 human army, 1 sheet of Energon bars, 42 Territory cards, 15 Power cards, 5 dice, 1 game board, and the rulebook.

How to Play Risk Transformers

It is simple: you only have to decide whether, as a Decepticon, you want to try to take over Earth and enslave humanity, or whether, as an Autobot, you want to work together with the humans and defend Earth. At the start of each turn you receive more troops to take part in the fight, and the larger the share of Earth you control, the more troops you receive. Secure your position with your forces and defend territories, or attack them strategically, depending on how the game develops. Use the Power cards (caution: not all of them are advantageous to you!) and collect Energon to stay in the game. When there is no Energon left, the game is over.

A Look at the Game

The game board shows a world map divided into 42 territories, which are connected by borders or sea routes. The more territories you conquer, the more troops you receive. The territories are grouped into six continents, each marked with its own colour.

If you play the Autobots and control an entire continent (meaning every territory on it is occupied by either Autobots or humans), you receive additional troops at the start of your turn. If you play the invading Decepticons and control a continent, you receive additional units at the start of your turn; the numbers next to the continents show how many.

At each corner of the game board is a starting point for the Decepticons (4 in total). For the Autobots there is one starting point in the centre of the game board. The Transformers may only begin the game from one of their starting points. The Decepticons may use any of their starting points at any time, whereas the Autobots may only use their starting point in the centre.

The Energon meter drops by one bar at the end of each round of play. When it is empty, the game is over. 5 Energon bars are distributed on the world map, which the Transformers must collect to keep the game running. At the start of the game, each player receives Power cards, which may or may not help them!

The Troops

There are 5 different armies, and each army has units in three different sizes. One vehicle counts as 1 unit, one Transformer counts as 5 units, and one shield counts as 10 units. You may exchange 5 small playing pieces for one medium one, or 10 for one large one, at any time (or the other way round). The Autobot army is larger than each of the Decepticon armies. Human soldiers come in only one size, which counts as 1 unit. Both kinds of Transformer begin the game without troops on the board, so place all your playing pieces in front of you.

The Dice

[Die images: black attack dice and red defence dice.]

Black dice are used to roll attacks on territories, and red dice are used to roll defences.

The Cards

TERRITORY CARDS: Each of these cards shows a territory and one or two stars. During play these cards are collected by conquering new territories and are used to receive more units at the start of a turn. Each player collects cards in a stack of their own; in addition there is a single common main stack. The cards are also used to distribute the Energon bars at the start of the game.

POWER CARDS: At the start of the game each player receives three Power cards. Power cards can have different effects: your troops may be strengthened or destroyed, or they may give you an advantage in attack or defence. If a card causes units to be lost, it must be played immediately. The other cards may be kept and played at any time, or, in some cases, must be passed on to other players.

ENERGON BARS: At the start of the game, 5 Energon bars are distributed at random on the world map. Once a Transformers army has conquered the territory and collected the Energon, the Energon bars may be placed on the Energon meter on the left-hand side of the game board at any time. After each round (that is, after every player has finished their turn) the Energon meter drops by one bar. When the Energon meter reaches zero (EMPTY), the game is over.

Game Rules

If you have played RISIKO before, much of this game will seem familiar, but the Transformers version has some differences, chiefly the fact that at the start of the game only the human units are on the game board. How each round is played is described below.

Setup

1. Place the 42 humans in the 42 territories on the world map.
2. Decide who plays the Autobots and who plays the Decepticons. One player MUST play the Autobots, and that player also controls the turns of the humans. There may be up to 3 Decepticon players. Take your units and set them beside the game board. Each Decepticon army consists of 54 playing pieces; the Autobot army consists of 74.
3. Shuffle the Territory cards, deal out 5 cards and reveal them. Place the 5 Energon bars on the corresponding territories and return the cards to the stack. Shuffle the stack once more.
4. Deal 3 Power cards to each player. These are first placed face down next to the troops, unseen.

How to Play

The goal of the game differs depending on whether you play the Decepticons or the Autobots. The goal of the Decepticons is to conquer Earth and enslave humanity. The more human slaves and territories the Decepticons control, the more units they can deploy. The goal of the Autobots is to defend Earth and secure the survival of humanity. The more territories they win back from the Decepticons, the more units they can deploy. The Decepticon player to the left of the Autobot player begins; play then continues clockwise, so that the Autobots are always the last to play in each round.

A turn proceeds as follows:

1. Bring your units into play via one of the starting points and play Power cards if you wish.
2. Attack and battle.
3. Draw Territory cards if your attack or attacks were successful.
4. Move your remaining units.
5. Lower the Energon meter by one bar each round.

1. Beginning of the Turn

The number of units you may use depends on how many continents you control, how many human slaves you have, and whether you want to exchange stars in this turn. This is explained in more detail later. On each turn you may bring 3 new units into play, regardless of the conditions just mentioned, and on your first turn even 5 units.

You may start in any of the territories that touch your starting point. If you belong to the Decepticon horde, you must attack the humans immediately (this too is explained later). If you play the Autobots, you may immediately enter territories controlled by humans and help them. You may not bring new humans into play: the 42 human troop units are all you have.

POWER CARDS: During the phase in which you bring new units into play, you may reveal one of your Power cards if you wish. This may give you an advantage, but be aware that the card could also help your opponents. Power cards must be played immediately unless something else is stated on them. Power cards do not have to be revealed, so not every Power card has to be played during the game.

2. Place Your Troops

STRATEGIC DECISIONS (printed heading: "2. PLACE YOUR TROOPS.")

Decide how many of your units you want to place on the game board. The human army is limited and can never exceed 42 soldiers, but the Transformers receive 3 new units with each turn, and if you are successful you receive additional units as well. If you have very many units, you may use the medium and large playing pieces, which stand for 5 and 10 units respectively.

CONTROLLING TERRITORIES: Where you begin the game, where you deploy your units and where you attack are strategic decisions, which depend on how additional units can be obtained, especially once the first turn has been played. The more territories you have conquered, the more units you may send into play. Read the following paragraph before you make your first turn.

CONTROLLING CONTINENTS:

Autobots: If you control every territory of a continent (that is, if each territory has either a human army or Autobots standing on it), you receive additional troops. Consider the consequences for your continents before you move your human troops. If a territory is empty, the continent no longer belongs to you and you lose your claim to the additional units.

Decepticons: If you control every territory of a continent, because Decepticons stand in each of the corresponding territories, you are likewise entitled to additional units. Keep this in mind every round when you plan your attacks.

ENERGON: The Energon meter drops by one bar each round, but only after every player has had a turn. Once it is empty, the game is over. The 5 Energon bars distributed across the world are collected by the Transformers units that conquer those territories. Energon may be added to the meter at any point during the game. The number of Energon bars added may be chosen freely. Once all 5 have been collected, there is no further supply, so bear this in mind when you move your units.

SLAVES: When the Decepticon horde defeats a human, that human becomes its slave and is placed beside its army outside the game board, to repair damaged Decepticons. For every 5 humans a Decepticon has enslaved, it may bring one additional Decepticon into play per turn; that is, 10 slaves = 2 units, and so on. This applies for the entire duration of the game. Keep this in mind when you make your decisions about attacking and moving.

EXCHANGING CARDS: At the start of each turn you always receive 3 new Transformers units, and you begin the game even with 5 units. In addition you receive Territory cards, and with them additional units, when you defeat opponents. As a Decepticon you receive the card when you conquer a territory of the humans or Autobots. As an Autobot you receive a card when you (re)conquer a territory from the Decepticons, but NOT when you merely enter a territory controlled by humans or a territory that is unoccupied.

Each card shows one or two stars. Once you have collected enough stars, you may exchange them for additional units. The more stars you collect, the more units you may bring into play. The respective number is given on the legend on the game board. It is worth collecting stars for a while and bringing a larger number of troops into play at once, rather than exchanging them every turn. However, once you have collected 10 stars, you must exchange them.

If you play a Decepticon, remember that for every 5 human slaves you receive one new unit on each turn; with 15 slaves that is 3 units on every turn!

3. Attack

The attack is the most important part of your turn, because this is where you decide where you attack, whom you attack, and when you withdraw. You may attack as often or as seldom as you like.

Choose a Territory

The first battles in Transformers RISIKO take place with human units around the starting points. To bring units into play, the Decepticons must confront and defeat the humans standing at the starting points. After that, battles continue in every territory that is conquered or defended.

Decepticons may attack any adjacent territory that is controlled by humans or Autobots and to which there is a border or a sea route. Autobots and humans may attack any adjacent territory in the same way, but they may never attack one another, since they are allies. The Decepticon armies, on the other hand, may attack one another and contend for supremacy! If a first attack is unsuccessful and the Decepticons are driven back, you may simply try again on your next turn (however, after your first turn you receive only 3 units and no longer 5). If a Decepticon army is driven off the game board AFTER its first turn, it is eliminated and may no longer take part in the game.

Marching In

The new units you bring into play each turn cannot attack. They are placed only in one of the territories adjoining the starting point, and they do not move until the turn is over and you reach the phase for moving units. You may only attack with units that are already in play.

Move the number of troops with which you want to attack across the border into a territory occupied by enemy units. You may send as many units as you like, but Transformers must leave at least one unit behind as a guard in the territory of origin. For example, if you have 3 units in a territory, you may attack with only 2 units. Humans, however, may also vacate a territory completely and leave it unoccupied. The defending player uses all of their units for the defence, and the battle continues until the territory is conquered or the attacker withdraws.

ATTACK EXAMPLE: The Decepticons attack Scandinavia from Russia with 3 units, so they leave one unit behind as a guard. Scandinavia defends itself with 2 Autobots.

Rolling the Dice

The attacker rolls one black die for each unit, but never more than 3 dice at the same time. Even if you attack with 6 units, you roll only 3 dice. If you lose one unit and then attack with 5 units, you still roll 3 dice. The number of dice is reduced only when the number of attacking units falls below 3. The defender rolls one red die for each unit, but never more than 2 dice. The dice are rolled simultaneously. The dice are used in the same way regardless of whether the attacker or the defender is an Autobot, a Decepticon or a human.

Evaluating the Dice

Sort the dice from highest to lowest number and compare the highest black die with the highest red die, then the next-lower pair of dice, and so on. For each attack die that shows a higher number than a defence die, remove one defending unit from the game board. If the defence die shows a higher or equal number, one unit of the attacker is removed from the game board. If all defending units are destroyed, the attacker wins the territory.

[Dice diagram labels in the manual: DECEPTICONS, AUTOBOTS.]

Further Attacks

Once the attack has been successful, or if you decide to withdraw, you may attack further territories in the same way. If you are defeated and lose all your units in an attack, you may not attack any further. Humans should therefore think carefully before leaving a territory completely unguarded, because the Decepticons could otherwise take it very easily. For the Decepticons, occupying an empty territory counts as an attack. In this case you still receive a card and may move units.

Battle Example

The Decepticons roll 3 black attack dice and the Autobots roll 2 red defence dice. The dice are compared in descending order of number: the black 6 beats the red 4, so the Autobots lose one unit. The black 3 beats the red 2, so the Autobots lose another unit and the Decepticons win the territory. Had the Autobots rolled at least one 3, the Decepticons would have lost one unit and would have had to decide whether to attack again. If a territory is attacked in which Autobots and humans are present, the Autobots are destroyed first, because they defend the humans.

As a rule, there is one surplus die in attacks. The attacker picks the two dice with the higher numbers and disregards the third die.

The attacker may keep attacking for as long as they wish, until the territory is defeated and therefore conquered, until they decide to withdraw, or until they are defeated. You roll 3 and 2 dice until you have fewer than 3 or 2 troops respectively; that is, if you attack with only 2 units, you roll 2 black dice. Human soldiers act in every battle exactly like Autobots or Decepticons.

Power Cards

Remember that, whether you are attacking or defending, you may use Power cards during combat. In this phase, however, you may NOT reveal Power cards. You may only reveal them in the phase in which you bring new units into play. If you have already revealed a card but have not yet played it, you may use it in combat.

3. Draw a Card

For each territory you have conquered or reconquered, you may draw one card from the main stack of Territory cards and add it to your cards. This card does not necessarily correspond to the territory you have just conquered, but is purely random. If you have not conquered a territory, you may not draw a card.

4. Move Your Troops

Once the attack phase is over, you may carry out a reinforcement manoeuvre and move your troops.

Autobots and humans may move their troops as often as they like at the end of each turn. However, units may cross only one border per turn, so their progress is rather slow. Decepticons may move their troops only once, but they may move as many units and cross as many borders as they like. They may, however, only pass through territories they control, and they may leave units behind in the territories they pass through (provided they take a direct route).

Remember that if you play a Decepticon and are thrown off the game board after your second, third or any later turn, you are eliminated from the game. If your units are defeated in your first turn, you may start again with 3 units in the next round.

MANOEUVRE EXAMPLE: The Decepticons decide to send reinforcements from Scandinavia to Afghanistan, since Afghanistan will very probably be attacked by the Autobots. The Decepticons control Russia and Northern Europe, so they can move their units through these territories and station units there on the way to Afghanistan. Had the Decepticons had no control over these territories, they could not have done so.

5. Lower the Energon Meter

Once every player has finished their turn, one bar is removed from the Energon meter. It drops by one bar after each round and can be refilled with the 5 Energon bars that were initially distributed on the game board, once these have been collected. You may refill the Energon meter with one or several bars at the same time.

Winning

RISIKO TRANSFORMERS is won by the player who, at the end of the game, controls the most territories, or all of them. It is unlikely that one player will control all territories ... but anything is possible!

The game usually ends when the Energon supply is used up and the Energon meter is empty. When this happens, it must first be counted whether the Autobots/humans or the Decepticons control more territories. If it is the Autobots, they have won and the Earth is defended. If it is the Decepticons, the Decepticon player who controls the most territories wins.

All cards, dice and units are then packed back into the box and wait there for the next invasion!

Risk is one of those games that become ever more exciting the longer they last. The longer the game, the more conflicts, alliances and strategies. The more often you play, the better the battles. It may seem complicated, but in principle it is rather simple, so do not lose sight of your goal!

Quick Reference

1) BRING NEW UNITS INTO PLAY VIA THE STARTING POINTS:

• 5 units in the first round, thereafter 3 units or more, depending on the continents, slaves and stars you have.
• You may reveal one Power card if you wish.

2) ATTACK AND BATTLE

• Important: your new units cannot yet take part in battles.
• Roll the dice and compare the highest numbers.
• Keep rolling, or withdraw.
• Take slaves (Decepticons only).

3) DRAW TERRITORY CARDS IF YOU CAN

• For each territory you have (re)conquered, you receive a card.

4) MOVE TROOPS

• Autobots may move any number of troops across one border or sea route each.
• Decepticons may move their troops only once, but may cross any number of borders or sea routes.

5) ENERGON METER

• Lower the Energon meter by one bar after each round.