Yes, many of us began our journey into "strategy" games via the doorway that is Risk. I still have many fond memories of nights spent rolling the dice and conquering the world! Others have given some very good suggestions. I'd chime in with the following recommendations, all of which are along similar lines as Risk, but with more strategy and depth. History of the World - re-released by Avalon Hill a few years ago. Very good game. Axis & Allies - probably recognized as a "classic" now. Several A&A games have been released, including the original, A&A Europe and A&A Pacific. All are good. A re-vised version of the original is scheduled to be released in 2004, as well as A&A D-Day. Samurai Swords (formerly known as Shogun) - this was ac-tually my favorite in the Milton Bradley GameMaster series. It was re-released a few years ago, so copies should still be available. Risk 2210 A.D. - Released by Avalon Hill a few years back, it does add new elements to the standard Risk game. I actually think the game is better, but it does suffer from a horrible end-game problem wherein the player who moves last has a definite advantage. That can be fixed with some tinkering, however. Quest of the Dragon Lords - Conquest style game set in a fantasy world. Orcs, elves, dwarves, barbarians vie for control, each with special abilities. Lots of spells, dragons and other 'fantasy' elements add flavor. Fun game, but can bog down (as can Risk). The basic game is for 4 players, but the expansion allows up to 6 players and adds new elements. Game of Thrones - Very good game from Fantasy Flight Games. Elements of Diplomacy are included, so it is not really a dice-rolling conquest style game. More planning and depth than Risk. Twilight Imperium - Conquest game set in space. Lots of different races, each with their own powers and abilities. Diplomacy, economics, military -- all play a role here. Fun game, but can bog down a bit and is rather lengthy (6 hours or more is not uncommon). Battle Mist - Similar to Twilight Imperium, but set in a fantasy world. Lots of similar elements, but has a rather flawed quest system. Eagle Games has released a number of games that fall into the Risk family. Although their concepts are neat and they contain some clever mechanisms, they sadly suffer from an apparent lack of development. Numerous flaws and problems have surfaced with the game systems. They are playable, but problems exist. Still, they might be worth checking out. The most developed in the series appears to be Age of Mythology ... and I've heard decent things about Attack, although I've not yet played that one. I would heartily recommend that you visit the Boardgame Geek website and read the session reports and reviews of these and other games folks have recommended. It should give you a good idea of what to expect. www.boardgamegeek.com Back to Table of Contents -- Game! # 2 To Game! List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by George Phillies. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com