RISK: Global Domination 9+

Great game , time consuming though

Don’t let other comments about too much luck in this game make you think that the game is ill designed. In deed, luck can determine the outcome of a single battle, but that s part of the game, after all, this game is called “risk”. What those casuals who complain about unfairness in luck fail to realize is that the more important part of this game is to understand your opponent, who you can trust, who is more easily triggered, who is willing to take more risks, who has a better skill thus pose a bigger threat, etc. speaking as a expert rank player, the ability to estimate these information early on in game, modeling your opponent and form a long term plan to victory is vital to your chance of win. This game is indeed very much heavily skill based. The rank system does need improvement though, as a couple of round with some beginner players who plays irrationally would easily drag me down from master to expert. I realize it is hard to improve, since you can’t guarantee to have enough high rank players in a game, but perhaps add a feature in quick play so that you can add a constraint on the minimum rank of players you would end up with?

Average

The game is probably suited to those who are interested in an intermediate level strategic game, although if you are interested in advanced strategic play the game is quite average (they seem to have designed the game to accommodate non-strategic players by gearing things such as dice rolls, computer player choice or the initial setup - there is a nontrivial benefit to a setup where fewer countries have a higher number of troops versus an initial setup with troops dispersed over lots of countries. Also there are lots of players whose stats seem to defy the logic of the gameplay i.e. people who win more than 40%-50% of the time despite the fact that matching those stats in a 6 player game (where chance / initial setup / dice rolls / etc are a factor) suggest that it is highly implausible (after watching a few players whose stats are that high I was surprised to see that they seem to generally roll higher numbers than would be statistically possible (despite what their dice roll stats say) and often then seem to benefit from computer player choice, both of which should not happen in a balanced game and seems to imply that it is a feature of the games design rather than some other thing). All of this seems simple enough to resolve (if the developer wanted to) although if you don’t overthink it it’s fine.

Developer Response ,

We have more information on our dice here: https://bit.ly/smgdiceodds and can try out our dice simulator at: https://riskodds.com Make sure to use Balanced Blitz for a more strategic experience! All the best, Luci@SMG

Over-reliance on luck with dice

I used to love this game but it has a major flaw: you can often have an overwhelmingly large force and attack a much lesser one but still be defeated by an appalling run of dice throws. This throws the game mechanics and can often destroy decent tactics in one fell swoop. It is this lack of realism which has really begun to frustrate me. Having made it to the "Master" rating, I don't think I'm completely useless at tactics, so I believe this review is valid. You don't see the same problem with the board game version.
Similarly, if playing a two-player world domination game, whoever is lucky enough to go first often wins it. The second player needs to be given more than +1 troops to be given a fighting chance!
This is a shame, because so much of the game is fun and exciting. But - the luck of the dice is an issue. And, ignore the "Expert" ranker on here who claims that reviews like mine suggest that we underestimate our opponent or can't predict or strategise: utter rubbish! My rank is "Master" and I'm still saying that the overriding problem with this game, is a problem so major it undermines any strategic thinking, undermines any careful assessment of your opponent: the dice rolls are often absurd! That's not a "Risk" - it's highly unfair and penalises the strategists by completely undoing any well thought-out actions, too often!

Developer Response ,

We have more information on our dice here: https://bit.ly/smgdiceodds and can try out our dice simulator at: https://riskodds.com Make sure to use Balanced Blitz for a more strategic experience! 
In terms of 1v1 style modes, majority of maps are not designed for that style of play (so many playing these games rely on the luck factor, winning 50% of games that way may be desirable I guess?) I'd recommend trying manual placement and capital conquest with fog of war if you're aiming for as strategic a game in 1v1 gameplay,
All the best, Luci@SMG