I love Risk Global Domination. It’s one of my favorite board games to play.
But I find one of the most confusing rules for inexperienced players to be the fortifying rule.
My family used to play this rule wrong for years!
I wanted to settle the debate once and for all and answer the question:
How far can you fortify in Risk?
During the Fortify phase, you can move as many territories as you want from one territory to any other territory as long as adjacent territories connect them. This means they can move over the entire map as long as they’re connected. You also must leave at least one army in the original territory.
If this makes perfect sense to you now, great!
If not, I don’t blame you. I need visuals and more detailed explanations too.
Look ahead for those answers in the rest of the article.
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Table of Contents
How Far Can You Move Troops In Risk?
As far as you want, ONE TIME.
As soon as you fortify once, your turn is over!
A risk turn goes like this:
- Reinforce your armies.
- Attack enemy territories.
- Fortify (one time!).
- Collect a territory card if you captured at least one territory.
So when it comes time to fortify, pick one territory with more than one army.
Remember, you always need to leave at least one army behind.
You can’t abandon a territory.
Decide how many armies you want to move.
You only get one chance to move, and then your turn is over. Don’t blow it!
Move those armies to any connected territory.
What’s a connected territory? Any armies owned by your color.
Consider the following example (I’m in orange).
Can we fortify from South Africa to Brazil?
Yes! There is a string of my territories connected, so it’s fine.
But you can only do it once before your turn is over.
Related Reading: 5 Tips For Playing RISK Faster
Clarifying Questions About Fortify
- Can I move from one territory to multiple other territories? No. It must be 1-to-1.
- Do I have to fortify? No, you can just end your turn.
- Can I cut a deal with an ally to move my troops through their territory? An interesting twist, and you can play with your friends however you want. But according to the rules, no.
- Do your territories count as connected if they are connected over an ocean? Yes, it’s connected if there is an arrow or dotted line (depending on your board or program).
- Do I have to move all my armies when I fortify? No, you can move any amount whether partial or full. As long as every territory has at least one army, you’re good to go!
Where Should I Fortify My Armies In Risk? 5 Tips
#1 One Big Army Is Better Than A Bunch Of Small Ones
Despite what many think (and myself for the longest time), one large army is better than a bunch of small or medium ones.
This plays to the odds in the dice rolls.
In order for someone to capture a territory, they need to have 25-40% more armies than you.
So, basically, this means two 5-armies territories do NOT equal one 10-armies territory.
The 10-armies is much stronger.
After venturing out to capture some territories, consider fortifying your troops into one bigger army over time.
Further Reading: Abandoning Territories in RISK Questions and Answers
#2 Reinforce Your Borders
Sometimes you’ll end up with some 2-3 army territories strewn around a continent you control.
Those are more useful on the border, so take the time each turn to reinforce your border and maintain control of what you have.
This happens a lot of time when you trade in your cards for a bonus. You always get two extra armies if you control the matching territory.
But those two extra must go on the territory in question.
Improve your logic skills!
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#3 Don’t Block In Your Big Army
Fortifying is a great way of releasing your big army.
Sometimes, you’ll end up trapped behind your own forces.
If your bigger armies are blocked by your own territories, they won’t be able to affect the game.
Fortify at least some of your troops so they can capture other territories as needed.
Remember, one of the primary goals each turn is capture one territory so you get that bonus card.
#4 Ally Communication
If you’re playing Risk online through Hasbro’s amazing app/game (also found on Steam for FREE), then you can’t always communicate with someone you want to be an ally.
Even if you’re playing OTB (over the board), you don’t always want to say what you’re thinking; sometimes you want to be more subtle than this.
Fortifying can be a communication tool.
For example, if you move troops away from a border with an ally, it means you trust them.
They can move their border troops away too and make gains elsewhere.
If someone is getting too powerful, fortify more armies next to them, but don’t attack.
The threat may be enough to stop their spread for a few turns, allowing some other players to gain a foothold and restore balance to the game.
#5 Keep Your Core Strong
One of the biggest beginner mistakes in Risk is spreading yourself too thin and taking too many territories in a single turn.
The beginning of the game is usually a consolidation of continents, but after this, it’s all a slow spread.
Capturing territories is fine, but then you need to fortify to keep your large army or continent strong.
Don’t get overzealous or you’ll end up the first one eliminated.
Further Reading: What is the best continent in Risk? A Detailed Look
