Parker Brothers launched Risk in 1959, and the name now covers boxes that play in very different ways. Some are the classic game with new art or a new map. Others keep the name and change something basic: how long a game lasts, how many people can play, or whether the board remembers what happened last time.
So this guide does not rank them. It sorts nine boxes by what they change and says which table each one suits.
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The Short Answer
- First Risk for the house? The classic Hasbro box.
- Six players, someone aged eight or nine, or the 1959 look? Risk 1959.
- The same three to five people, playing again and again? Risk Legacy, rated 13+.
- A bigger game that ends on a set turn, and more rules to learn? Risk 2210 A.D., which lasts five turns but is not a short game.
- Gods, miracles and a box full of miniatures? Risk Godstorm.
- Short on time? Risk Strike, a cards and dice game that Hasbro says can take as little as 20 minutes.
- Two players who want a game built for two sides? Risk: Dune.
- Middle-earth, for four players at most? Risk: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition.
- Six or seven adults who are Game of Thrones fans? Risk: Game of Thrones, rated 18+.
What the Classic Game Is
The rule book that Winning Moves publishes for its 1959 reproduction, and posts on its website, shows the game the others start from. The board is a world map of 42 territories in six continents. Each player spreads armies across it and attacks neighboring territories, and dice settle every battle: the attacker rolls up to three, the defender up to two, and the defender wins ties. Turning in sets of cards brings extra armies. You win by taking every territory and eliminating every other player.
Most of the boxes below keep some of that and change the rest: the map, the length, the number of players, or what carries over from one game to the next. Hasbro’s box adds Secret Mission, a variant in which each player works toward a hidden objective, so a game can end before anyone owns the whole map.
For the rules themselves, step by step, see our complete guide to how to play Risk.
Quick Comparison
| Box | Publisher | Players | Age | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Risk | Hasbro | 2 to 5 | 10+ | The base game |
| Risk 1959 | Winning Moves | 2 to 6 | 8+ | The 1959 look, wooden pieces |
| Risk Legacy | Avalon Hill (Hasbro) | 3 to 5 | 13+ | Every game changes the next |
| Risk 2210 A.D. | Renegade | 2 to 5 | 10+ | Five turns, commanders, a Moon board |
| Risk Godstorm | Renegade | 2 to 5 | 10+ | Gods, miracles, 382 pieces |
| Risk Strike | Avalon Hill (Hasbro) | 2 to 5 | 10+ | Cards and dice, from 20 minutes |
| Risk: Dune | The Op | 2 or 4 | 10+ | Two sides, a different goal for each |
| Risk: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition | Hasbro | 2 to 4 | 10+ | Middle-earth, Adventure cards |
| Risk: Game of Thrones | The Op | 2 to 7 | 18+ | Two boards, seven armies |
Players and ages come from each publisher’s own pages, read on October 10, 2026, not from retail listings. All nine had an offer on Amazon for delivery in the US that day.
The Classic Game, Two Boxes
Risk (Hasbro)
2 to 5 players | Ages 10+
Hasbro’s own version, and the default if you are buying one Risk. On its product page for Risk with Dragon, Hasbro lists five ways to play: the classic rules, Secret Mission, Capital Risk, a two-player game, and Dragon Risk, built around a dragon token.
Amazon sells the box with the dragon as a separate listing. The card below is the plain box, the one with more ratings when we checked on October 10, 2026, and its description that day listed four ways to play, including Secret Mission. If the dragon matters to you, buy the listing that names it in its title.
Best if: this is the first Risk in the house, the group is five or fewer, and everyone is 10 or older.
Worth knowing: five is the limit. For six, see Risk 1959, next. Game of Thrones, further down, is the only one of the nine that seats seven, and it is rated 18+.
Risk 1959 (Winning Moves)
2 to 6 players | Ages 8+ | Wooden army pieces
Winning Moves calls this “the classic reproduction of Risk as it was in 1959.” Its product page lists an oversized folding board and cards with art in the original style, six sets of wooden army pieces, and a rule book with a history of the game. That history traces Risk to La Conquête du Monde, a French game by the filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. Parker Brothers adapted it and launched it as the RISK Continental Game in 1959.
The rules are the original ones. There are no Secret Mission cards: the deck is the 42 territory cards plus two jokers. The rule book adds optional rules, among them capitals, which it says “can make for a very quick game,” and a two-player game in which a neutral army gets in each player’s way.
Best if: you have six players, someone at the table is eight or nine, or you want the game as it looked in 1959.
Worth knowing: of the nine boxes, it is the only one rated below 10, and one of two that seat more than five. The other is Game of Thrones.
Same Name, Different Game
These five change something basic: what carries over between games, when a game ends, what is on the board, how long it takes, or what each side is trying to do.
Risk Legacy
3 to 5 players | Ages 13+ | About an hour a game, by Hasbro’s estimate
The box that changes as you play it. In Hasbro’s words, “every game that’s played will change every future game.” Cards and stickers come into play, players’ decisions change the board permanently, some cards go out of play forever, and sealed components open as players win games. Your copy ends up shaped by the games your group has played on it.
Best if: the same three to five people will meet to play it many times.
Worth knowing: it is a risky gift for someone without a regular group, because every change belongs to the group that made it. It also needs at least three players. For two, see our guide to legacy board games for couples.
Risk 2210 A.D.
2 to 5 players | Ages 10+
Renegade Game Studios sells this as a revival: “Bringing back this beloved version of Risk for today’s gamer.” The Earth board adds water territories, a separate Moon board adds lunar ones, and there are five kinds of commander (land, naval, space, nuclear and diplomat), each with its own deck of command cards. Space stations and energy chips are in the box too.
Then there is the ending. Renegade says the game “lasts exactly 5 turns,” so it finishes on schedule rather than when one player has taken the world. The publisher also notes you “can use the components in the box to play classic Risk rules.”
Best if: your group likes classic Risk, wants a game with a fixed end, and does not mind more rules.
Worth knowing: a fixed number of turns is not the same as a short game. Renegade’s own page gives two lengths: two to three hours in one place, 240 minutes in another.
Risk Godstorm
2 to 5 players | Ages 10+ | 382 pieces
Risk in the ancient world, with the gods in the fight. Renegade’s page lists five cultures (Greek, Celtic, Babylonian, Norse and Egyptian) and a box of 382 pieces: 300 soldiers, 50 war elephants, 12 temples and 20 gods. There are also faith tokens, 66 miracle cards and four boards, among them the Underworld and Sunken Atlantis.
The box also includes the rules for classic Risk, and Renegade lists a game at 120 minutes.
Best if: your group likes mythology, or you want a Risk with a big box of miniatures.
Worth knowing: on October 10, 2026, the Amazon listing showed only 14 left in stock. If it is gone when you look, check Renegade’s own store before buying from a third-party seller.
Risk Strike
2 to 5 players | Ages 10+ | From about 20 minutes
A cards and dice game from Avalon Hill, a Hasbro brand. Hasbro’s description invites players to “Get off the board and right into the action.” You roll dice against your rivals to win continent cards, play tactics cards to rally, sabotage, bombard or spy, and earn a domination coin for each complete set of continent cards. The first player with two coins wins.
Hasbro says it “can be played in as little as 20 minutes.”
Best if: you want Risk’s dice battles in a game that fits a weeknight.
Worth knowing: it is a different game, played with cards rather than on a board, so it is not a substitute for the classic one.
Risk: Dune
2 or 4 players | Ages 10+ | About 60 minutes, by The Op’s estimate
The Op calls it a “Head-to-Head Risk game.” One side is Paul Atreides and his Fremen rebels, the other the Imperial-backed House Harkonnen, and “each side has a unique win condition.” That is the real break from classic Risk, where, in the standard rules, everyone chases the same goal.
Best if: you usually play as two, and especially if one of you is a Dune fan.
Worth knowing: The Op lists two or four players, but its product page does not explain how four play. If you are buying it for four, look up how the four-player game works first.
For Fans of the Story
Risk: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition
2 to 4 players | Ages 10+
The board is a map of Middle-earth, including Gondor, Mordor and Haradwaith. Hasbro describes Adventure cards that “can help or hinder a quest, offer secret missions, or make a difference in strategy,” and the box includes a gold-tone ring. Hasbro also says you can use the board to play standard Risk.
Best if: the person you are buying for is a Lord of the Rings fan, and the group is four or fewer.
Worth knowing: like Dune, it stops at four players.
Risk: Game of Thrones
2 to 7 players | Ages 18+
The Op lists two boards, seven sculpted armies, more than 650 pieces and three ways to play. Of the nine boxes, it is the only one that seats seven.
Best if: you have a group of six or seven adults, and the series is the draw.
Worth knowing: The Op rates it 18 and up, the highest rating of the nine, so it does not belong on a family shelf.
Other Risk Boxes You Will See
- Risk with Dragon. Hasbro’s version with a dragon token and a fifth way to play, Dragon Risk. It is a separate Amazon listing from the plain box above.
- Risk: Star Wars Edition. Hasbro’s Star Wars version. On October 10, 2026, its Amazon listing showed only five left in stock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best version of Risk?
It depends on what you want to change. For a first copy, the classic Hasbro box, for up to five players aged 10 and up. For three to five people aged 13 and up who will play together many times, Risk Legacy. For a bigger game with a fixed ending and more rules, 2210 A.D. For a short game, Risk Strike, which is played with cards and dice rather than on a board. Those last two are both for two to five players aged 10 and up.
Which Risk is best for two players?
Risk: Dune is built for two sides. Risk 1959 has a two-player game with a neutral army, and the classic Hasbro box is rated from two players. Of the nine boxes, Risk Legacy is the only one that needs at least three.
Which Risk plays the most people?
Risk: Game of Thrones, for two to seven, but The Op rates it 18 and up. For six, Risk 1959. The other seven boxes compared here stop at five or fewer.
What age is Risk for?
Hasbro rates the classic box 10 and up. Across the nine boxes compared here, ratings run from 8+ for Risk 1959 to 18+ for Game of Thrones, with Risk Legacy at 13+ and the other six at 10+.
What is the quickest version of Risk?
Of the times quoted in this guide, the shortest is for Risk Strike, which Hasbro says can be played in as little as 20 minutes. For the board games, the publisher estimates quoted here run from about an hour for Risk Legacy and Risk: Dune to two hours or more for Godstorm and 2210 A.D. And in Risk 1959, the rule book says the optional capitals rule “can make for a very quick game.”
Is Risk Legacy worth it?
If the same three to five people, all 13 or older, will play it many times, it is the only one of the nine built around that. For a group that changes from week to week, or for two players, pick another box.
Can you play the classic rules with Risk 2210 A.D., Godstorm or The Lord of the Rings?
Yes, according to the publishers. Renegade says the components of 2210 A.D. can be used to play classic Risk rules and that Godstorm includes the classic rules, and Hasbro says the Lord of the Rings board can be used to play standard Risk. In each case you play on that game’s own board or boards, not on the classic one.
What is the difference between Risk and Risk with Dragon?
Hasbro’s Risk with Dragon adds a dragon token and a fifth way to play, Dragon Risk. On Amazon it is a separate listing from the plain box, so check the title if the dragon matters to you.
Where This Leaves You
If it is the first Risk in the house, buy the classic Hasbro box.
If you have six players, or someone at the table is eight or nine, buy Risk 1959.
If the same three to five people will play it many times, buy Risk Legacy, rated 13+.
If you want a bigger game with a fixed ending and do not mind more rules, buy Risk 2210 A.D.
If time is short, buy Risk Strike.
If you usually play as two, buy Risk: Dune.
If the theme is the reason, buy Godstorm for mythology (up to five players), Risk: Dune for Dune fans (two or four), The Lord of the Rings for up to four, or Game of Thrones for up to seven adults.
For the rules of the classic game, see our Risk rules guide. If you are choosing between the boxes of another classic, our guide to which Catan box to buy does the same job. And for gifts beyond Risk, the Christmas board game gift guide covers other ages and tables.
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