Risk is a game meant to be played with several players, and most people say it works best for 4-6 players.
But it can be played with as few as 2 players!
It begs the question, though: Is RISK good or fun with 2 players?
Objectively, RISK is fine with 2 players, but it’s a different game than when you have more. The strategy is wildly different too! I conducted a survey and found that 47% of regular RISK players thought 2-player was no fun. 40% thought it was OK.
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Table of Contents
Why Do Some People Dislike RISK For 2 Players?
RISK is a game that provides the ideal mix of strategy, luck, and social psychology.
If you watch and listen to the top players in the game of RISK, they’ll often talk about how they need to be aware of what the other players are thinking, where they want to go, and how to encourage them to get impatient and overstretch.
With 2-player RISK, this is quite different.
There aren’t multiple people to play off one another. It’s all a game of head-to-head.
So from here, it becomes much more about luck and strategy.
The games are shorter, and once someone pulls into the lead, the shortages become insurmountable pretty quickly.
For many, the missing social aspect makes it a lot less fun and a poorer game for it.
Then again, my brother wouldn’t be able to convince my sister to crash all her forces into me and let him win the game (again), so maybe I’ll challenge him one-on-one over the holidays…
Why Do Some People Love Risk For 2 Players?
There are those in the RISK: Global Domination community who love 2 players. The reason varies from legitimate to game-breaking.
The online version of RISK by Hasbro has a ranking system and competitive community.
It’s great, but there was a real way to cheese or exploit the system. This allows intermediate players to achieve high rankings in an almost-artificial way.
Basically, they would challenge someone to a 2-player game, choose a mode or map that they knew how to use best, and just crush people over and over again.
Yes, they were great at this 2-player mode, but it didn’t translate into “real” play.
As such, people were getting the respect of being masters who didn’t deserve it in the competitive modes of play (fixed or progressive with 3-6 players).
Very recently, Hasbro released an update trying to fix this issue. They separated the two modes into:
- Free for all
- 1v1
Now, you only gain rating points and ranking for competing and demonstrating skill in a specific mode. Those who love all of RISK and the true nature of the game enjoyed this switch.
Those who lost all their ranking and can’t get it back in Free For All are upset.
Was it the right call?
Obviously, I can’t hide my opinion of 1v1 RISK as being untrue to the heart and purpose of the game. It’s meant to be the mix of strategy and social psychology it has become in Free For All (3-6 players).
Still, 2-player RISK is great for quick games and grappling with a foe in a fun, dynamic way.
What Do Regular Players Say About RISK With 2 Players?
RISK has an active community, namely on Discord and Reddit. I went to Reddit because there seem to be more…on-topic…posts about RISK and not just memes, videos, and spammers.
At Reddit, I posted the question to the audience as a poll and got these results:
I think the response speaks for itself!
By the way, if you love RISK and haven’t joined the Reddit community, please do so!
Another place with a lot of RISK content is on Twitch. There is usually a stream going on with some big (and interesting personalities).
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Rule the world and crush your enemies! (In a fun way…)
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Commonly Asked Questions
Can RISK Be Played With 2 Players Over The Board?
OTB RISK is fine with two players, though there are some changes to the game.
- Set up as if with three players. One will be a neutral army.
- Each player starts with 40 infantry.
- Draw territory cards to get your initial placement.
- After each territory gets one army (use the cards to place your armies), take turns placing one unit where you’d like. Alternate placing the army for the neutral player.
- The neutral player doesn’t take turns or get cards.
- The non-attacker rolls for the defending neutral player.
- Otherwise, play continues like normal!
How Long Is 2 Player RISK?
This all depends on a number of factors. The biggest factor is the platform you’re playing on.
When using the app or game on a desktop or laptop, a 1v1 game may end up 5-20 minutes.
When playing over the board, expect it to last between 30 minutes to 2 hours.
If you want to speed up your RISK game, check out my article at the link for some advice.
How Many Players Can Play RISK?
Unlike many board games and card games made in the modern day, there is no solitaire or single-player form of this game. You must have at least 2 players. On the high end, you can only go up 6 players.
Further Reading: Can you abandon a country or retreat in Risk? Rule Clarification
