"RISK - the board game as a TV series?" Topic

This was totally new to me tonight when it popped up in my YouTube feed.
It appears that several board games such as Monopoly and Clue/Cluedo are being planned as either a TV series or movie.
However the latest to get this treatment is (allegedly) the classic board wargame of Risk.
Not much detail here:
YouTube link
so it appears to be at the very early development stage.

However the presenter of 'Nerd Cookies' does point out the inherent flaw with Risk in that it has no central theme but a vast arena – world domination – whereas Clue/Cluedo was easily adaptable the first time around (in 1985) as it is basically an Agatha Christie-style 'whodunit' in a large house. Limited cast, limited arena, limited budget.

The only way I can see Risk working is either as a vast OTT Game of Thrones type of production or else something like Tron where Risk is a computer simulation and somehow the cast have been drawn into the matrix of the game.

Matrix? Matrix? Where have I heard of that before?

And yes I am aware of the disaster which was the adaptation of the game Battleships into the 2012 movie Battleship. The less said about that one the better!

Any thoughts?

Barry

I'm still waiting for "Hungry Hippo The Movie".

Would it work with Diplomacy?

@Mike the Analyst:
What about Kingmaker? Nah, too close to Game of Thrones.

B

Battleship was certainly a disaster so it won't be too hard to top that.

Yeah – no. Please no.

Battleship-- I read the novel/novelization and thought it was total crap; thankful that my wife was a scifi/fantasy book reviewer and received the copy for free!

I'm with Brian Smaller and aegiscg47.

Let's hope they never base a show on the farfetched game "Pandemic":

link

Although there is a novel coming out about the game…which may just be a prelude to a series.

link

Source of the Nile was fun. I made a computer game based on the system. Interesting algorithm to make realistic rivers.

I think Hollywood and the BBC have already made more TV series than I want or need, thank you. But I try to be fair. Let me know when they want to base a new series on interesting people.

Coming soon on Netflix: Iron Duke – a 4-part, 8-hour dramatisation of the life of the Duke of Wellington.

Had you going.

Risk is the stupidest game ever. There is absolutely no skill in it whatsoever. It is entirely luck. As the source material is so profoundly stupid it's inevitable that any film would be too.

So once they've finished making movies out of every old TV series, stupid comic book, and stupid boardgame they can think of, what will Hollywood start making movies of next? What about Persil: The Movie? Or Snickers: The Movie?

You give Hollywood far too much credit. There's always the History of the Frisbee, Real Custodians of Indiana, The Life and Times of a Snail Named Freddy.

Risk is the stupidest game ever. There is absolutely no skill in it whatsoever. It is entirely luck.

The skill in Risk has nothing to do with the armies or the dice or the cards. The skill in Risk is all in the misdirection— convincing the guy across the table that he's going to win and that focusing on others over you will help him do it, until you have his butt in a can and close the trap. Every good Risk player knows the game is the table chatter, not the dice.
It's not chess; it's poker.

Risk is the stupidest game ever. There is absolutely no skill in it whatsoever. It is entirely luck.

This is incorrect the game is very social and requires negotiating, team work and temperament skills. A subtle game that can draw anyone into its inclusive charm.

Coming soon on Netflix: Iron Duke – a 4-part, 8-hour dramatisation of the life of the Duke of Wellington.

This would be an interesting challenge to make him appealing to modern day, democratic sensibilities. Perhaps Americans would take to him like they take to outdated social landscapes such as those exhibited in Downtown Abbey. Or, perhaps he could be a reinvented as a modern day super hero fighting for the rights of the little guy.

IIRC in Risk you roll one die per piece in each territory and if you roll a higher total than the next guy he loses a piece.

As everyone starts with the same number of pieces and hence die rolls, the entire outcome 1/ depends on luck and 2/ is obvious as soon as one player outnumbers the others, because he will roll more dice than everyone by an ever-increasing amount. It's a demonstration for dimwits of Lanchester's Square Law, with the winner being whoever lucks into a numerical advantage first.

In this second respect Risk is as cr@p as Monopoly. In both cases the outcome is nailed on from a certain point and you then just have to slog through hours more tedium to get there.

Buccaneer or Campaign, OTOH…now you're talking. There was more than one possible winning strategy.

Risk is the stupidest game ever. There is absolutely no skill in it whatsoever. It is entirely luck.

Well it was made to for public at large. More people can play it and more people will buy it. 💰💸💳💴💵💶💷

I second Parzival and MiniPigs. Risk was a passion for me in college despite being widely known as the worst die roller in gaming history.

It's much more fun if you play it like strip poker … If you have a mixed gender crowd, IMO of course.
🎲♠♣♥♦ Or so I'm told … 🤩😎

When wads the last time these "producers" came up with an original idea. New TV shows and movies seem to be re-boots of old shows.

Ah, so we're all dimwits, eh?
Pffft.
You'd get slaughtered at our table, dice or no dice.

+1 for Hungry Hungry Hippos!

C'mon, Man!

They've already made "Candy Land" into a game show, so why not "Risk?"

Indeed, why not "Old Maid," and how's about "Celebrity Marbles?"

If it's bubblegum for the mind, it's ripe for TV/Movie exploitation.

God Forbid that any such "entertainment" would ever appeal to things that matter, or require having read a book.

They think we are swine, so they feed us slop.

TVAG

"Celebrity Marbles"? How about "Celebrity Bear Pit".

"What about Persil: The Movie? Or Snickers: The Movie?"

Already done -The Lego Movie anyone?

Cheers,
John

Being absolutely fair to Hollywood, Lego Movie's "Everything is Awesome when you're Part of the Team" was something of a mantra at work. We considered singing it at the start of one of the useless, time-wasting town halls, but we thought the Director would think we were sincere.

Anyone remember the Bright Colors Channel from Dinosaurs? Doesn't sound quite a preposterous now, does it?

They think we are swine, so they feed us slop.
<q/>

Exactly.

The original "Clue" was fun to watch, but could even Tim Curry make something light and hilarious out of "Risk?"

When we used to play, we often had hundreds of armies in countries. My, those were big battles… ;-)

@ Parzival

You'd get slaughtered at our table, dice or no dice.

Yes, I'd lose five games out of six, same as everyone else, because it's a game for six players.

What's next Candyland? Chutes n Ladders?

Coming soon on Netflix: Iron Duke – a 4-part, 8-hour dramatisation of the life of the Duke of Wellington.

The only way it would be acceptable to modern film makers would be to have the main part played by an Australian actor with a dreadful Irish accent.

DBDD

0ld Yeller!

Hadn't thought about that, but I'd watch "Celebrity Bear Pit" IF I could choose the bear and the Celebrity to be "introduced" to it.

Then again, feeding some of the BLEEPS I have in mind would actually constitute abuse of the bear….

TVAG

I liked the decisive manoeuvre in "Battleships" (if I've got the movie right) where a retired battleship, full speed ahead, suddenly has its anchor dropped and swings round faster than the Aliens can adjust their aim; in effect, a "handbrake turn".
Would this be effective, or even possible?

IIRC, then- Captain Raymond Spruance did it at low speed to prevent a grounding in the Panama Canal, but not positive.

@Robert Le Diable:
I think you will find the same tactic was used in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
It is called club hauling.

link

"…I'd watch "Celebrity Bear Pit" IF I could choose the bear and the Celebrity to be "introduced" to it."

I really miss Celebrity Death Match… ;-)

Actually I really liked the Lego Batman movie. I thought it was funny and witty. Shame a lot of other movies from Hollywood haven't been. Especially the ones that are supposed to be. :-(

Thanks for answers to tangential question. I notice that the manoeuvre is described as "risky" (for a sailing ship), and that Captain Spruance's vessel was moving at a low speed. I just wondered if the momentum of the stern might cause the battleship to split with the jolt.

You'd get slaughtered at our table, dice or no dice.

Yes, I'd lose five games out of six, same as everyone else, because it's a game for six players.

With that attitude, I'd guarantee you'd lose ‘em all. But hey, if you hate the game, don't worry— no one will invite you to play.

Back OT:
New challenge— come up with the inevitable subtitle (like Risk: The Dice are Cast

Here are some suggestions:
Napoleon and Wellington Go to Play Castle Risk
War and Pieces
Sharpe's Been Shot In the Leg Again
Australia Conquers the World (Naw… no one would believe that…)
Making Greenland Huge Again
Russia! Russia! Russia!
I'm Taking Asia (Out to Lunch)
The Longest Game
Does Anyone Know How to Pronounce "Irkutsk"?

This could be a poll! ,

Not for RISK but for the game Americans know as Clue, which is called Cluedo in the UK:

Clue D'Oh! an animated film in which the Simpsons investigate the death of Mr Burns.

Diplomacy is Risk with an IQ. There are no dice used at all, so to defeat someone, you have to concentrate against them. In effect, it's as though you were playing Risk but considered every die roll to be 3.5, which is the average roll.

Wait …. Risk … the stupidest game ever. Well sounds like the stupidest comment ever! ROFL

Risk is NOT a stupid game. And there is a lot of strategy to it. You have to know when to stop your advance and wait for the next turn. You have to decide which path to follow.

Risk got me into wargaming along with the American Heritage series of games. They were not intended to be highly detailed simulations just a way to spend an enjoyable afternoon. And they succeeded. Risk is one of the classic board games of all time.

So you also consider Wellington to be a minor player in the Napoleonic Wars as well? ;) LOL

Talk about luck: I have played many miniature and board games that rewarded the person with the hot dice. From Empire III to Wooden Ships and Iron Men. Very few games have a low element of luck involved in them. Not a lot of rules out there that are like Chess or Checkers.

Personally waiting for Bocce Ball, the movie.

Damon.

The real challenge is going to be finding a way to work the necessary level of cleavage to keep the general viewer's attention. The game of "Risk" is many things, but aphrodisiac it ain't.

Kramer and Newman took Risk VERY seriously.

It'd make a great LEGO movie.

Risk variants we tried back in the day

Tactical nuclear risk – every move one player is randomly chosen and given a nuke to use straight away. This destroys all but one unit in any single territory of the players choice.

Booze risk – drink a 'fingers worth' of your booze each time you take a territory.

As a young teen, (mid 70's), 'Risk' was OK, but I preferred 'Diplomacy'… you HAD to make alliances…though whether you kept to them… and the future game consequences if you did not… were, somehow, more 'real'! LOL!

Someone got a boardgame…based on C16 Europe and Eastern Med, which looked to be even better…BUT I never tried it as I dropped out of the crowd… OTHER teen 'interests' beckoned!