Risk: The Lord of the Rings Rules

In Risk: The Lord of the Rings, the player is going to choose between joining the forces of good or evil and attempt to recover the One Ring. A winner is declared when they obtain the maximum points or when they manage to control Middle-earth.

Contents of the Game

• 1 game board
• 4 armies of different colors
• 42 territory cards
• 2 joker cards
• 40 adventure cards
• 1 ring token
• 1 ring stand
• 3 red dice
• 2 black dice
  

The Board

• The board represents the geography of Middle-earth.
• It is divided into 6 regions of different colors.
• A region is subdivided into several territories.

The Army

• There are two opposing teams: the Forces of Good and the Forces of Evil.
• Each army is made up of 3 types of characters.
• 1 character is worth a number of battalions.

• To limit the number of tokens on the board, you can replace infantry tokens with cavalry or creature tokens that have the same value.

Example: use 2 black riders instead of 6 orcs.

The Cards

The Territory Cards

• A Territory card represents each of the territories of Middle-earth.

– 9 territories of the forces of good.
– 9 territories of the forces of evil.
– 24 neutral territories.

• A card has one of the 3 character symbols on it(infantry, cavalry and creature).
• Use it to get reinforcements.

The Joker Cards

• A Joker card has all 3 symbols on it.

Adventure Cards

• A player is allowed to have only 3 Adventure cards.
• Any excess cards must be discarded and earn no points.

Mission Cards

• A Mission card allows you to receive rewards. The rewards vary depending on which side you belong to.
• To do this, have your Leader complete the secret mission.
• To complete a secret mission, your Leader must reach the Site of Power indicated on the map by attacking the territory in question or by moving there.
• Once on a Site of Power, the Leader cannot leave it during the same turn.
• The Mission cards are kept until used and placed in front of the player until the end of the game to facilitate scoring.
  

Event Cards

• An Event card contains events that can help or hinder you during your adventure.
• They are played immediately and discarded after use.

Power Cards

• They can be kept until used.
• You can play them during your Combat phase, unless otherwise specified.
• Once used, they are placed in front of you for score counting.
  

The Dice

• The dice are used during the gameplay.
• Red dice for attack.
• Black dice for defense.
  

Object of the Game

• To score the maximum number of points before the One Ring leaves Middle-earth.
• To do this, occupy as many territories and regions as possible, play your cards and capture strongholds.
  

Setting Up the Game

• Place the board in the center of the table.
• Choose your camp: green and yellow for the forces of good, black and red for the forces of evil.
• Compose your army according to the number of players:

• Sort the Territory cards into 3 separate piles (evil, good and neutral).
• Shuffle each pile and place it face down next to the board.
• Each player rolls a die.
• Whoever gets the highest number starts.
• Play moves in a clockwise direction.
• Draw Territory cards according to the number of players:

3 players

4 players

Gameplay

• The first player places a battalion on each of the drawn territories.
• Moving clockwise, the rest of the players will do the same until all of their territories are occupied.
• The first player places a battalion on one of the free territories.
• Moving clockwise, the rest of the players will do the same until all territories are occupied.
• Once all the territories are occupied by a battalion, each player can place another battalion on the territories they already occupy.
• Once all battalions are used, place a Leader on one of your territories.
• Form a Territory deck with the 2 Joker cards, the Good cards and the Evil cards.
• Shuffle the Territory deck and place it next to the game board.
• Set the Event cards and 3 cards from the remaining Adventure deck face down next to each player.
• Return the Event cards to the pile, shuffle and place the draw near the board.
• Put the One Ring on its stand and place it in the Shire.
  

How a Round Is Played

Phase 1: Reinforcement

• Reinforce your army.

Occupied Territories

• You receive 1 reinforcement battalion for every 3 territories you control.
• Important note: You always receive a minimum of 3 reinforcement battalions even if you control less than 9 territories.
  

Bonus per Region

• If a player occupies the whole of a region (same color), they win extra points according to the region in question.

Territory Cards

• Conquer territories during the Combat phase
• Territory cards obtained can be exchanged for additional battalions.
• Important note: The exchange of cards is done only during the Reinforcement phase.
• If you have more than 5 Territory cards, you must exchange 3 of them for battalions.
• To exchange Territory cards, you must have either:
  – 3 cards of different categories
  – 3 cards of the same category.

• If the Territory card you exchange corresponds to a territory you already control, you get 2 additional battalions.
• The exchanged cards are discarded.
• Once the deck is depleted, the discard pile will be shuffled to form a new one.
  

Phase 2: Combat

• To attack a territory, certain conditions must be met:
  – Either you have a border in common with the attacked territory or you are linked by a bridge or a seaport.
  – You must have at least 2 battalions.
  – You can’t attack with only 3 battalions.
  – A battalion must always remain in your territory.

How to Attack

• To attack, you must announce the following:
  • Which territory you are going to attack.
  • Which territory you are going to attack from.
  • The number of battalions with which you will attack.
• Important note: At least 1 battalion must stay behind to defend your territory.
• Roll as many red dice as you have deployed attack battalions.
  

How to Defend Yourself

• Roll as many black dice as you have deployed defense battalions.
• If you are attacked by 1 battalion, you can only defend with 1 battalion.
  

The Battle

• Both opponents roll the chosen dice.
• Dice results are compared:
  – The attacker is compared to the defender’s highest die. A winner and a loser are determined.
  – Do the same for the second and third strongest dice.

• The loser removes a battalion from their territory.
• As long as the attacker has enough battalions to attack, they can continue their attack on the territory or attack other territories.
• If the attack is successful, move at least the number of attacking battalions into the conquered territory.
• Important note: You must leave at least one battalion in your territory to defend it.
  

Leaders

• If you attack a territory where there is a Leader, 1 extra point is added to the highest die.
• If your battalion includes a Leader, they must remain on the conquered territory.
• An Adventure card can allow a player to have two Leaders.
• Important note: Two Leaders from the same army cannot be in the same territory.
• Nevertheless, a Leader can move onto a territory already occupied by another Leader during the Redeployment phase.
• If you have no more Leaders on the board, place one on any of your territories.

Strongholds

• There are 6 strongholds placed in 6 different territories.
• A stronghold adds 1 point to the highest defensive die roll

Phase 3: Redeployment

• Move as many battalions as you want, provided you leave one to defend your territory.
• The move must be between territories you control.
• You cannot cross enemy territory.
• You cannot go through the mountain.
• To cross the river you have to cross a bridge or go through the seaport.
• The Leader can be moved with or without an army.
• The Leader that was used for a mission during the turn cannot be moved.
  

Phase 4: Drawing Cards

• You get to draw a Territory card or an Adventure card. Here’s how to know which type of card you should draw:

Territory Card

• If you conquered a territory during the Combat phase.

Adventure Card

• If your Leader has crossed or conquered a territory where there is a stronghold.
• Important note: You are only allowed 3 Adventure cards per hand.
• If you draw an Adventure card, only Event cards can be played during the turn.
• Important note: Only one Adventure card can be drawn per turn.
  
  

Phase 5: Moving the Fellowship

• The Fellowship is represented by the One ring.
• At the start of the game, the One Ring is placed in the Shire.
• At the end of each turn it is moved along the path.
• If the One Ring lands on land with a die, you must roll the die and land a “3” to continue. Otherwise, you stay put.
  

End of the Game

• The game ends when the One Ring leaves the Dead Marshes or when a player takes control of all territories in Middle-earth.
• The points are then counted.
• In case of a tie:
  – The player with the most territories wins.
  – If it’s still a tie, then it’s the player with the most strongholds.
  – If a tie remains, then it’s the player who has accumulated the highest number of Adventure card points.
  – If after all of that there is still a tie, then roll the red dice. The strongest die wins.

How to Count Points

• 1 point per occupied territory.
• 1 extra point if you control a region.
• 2 extra points per controlled stronghold.
• Extra points earned by Adventure cards.
  

2-Player Variation

Game Setup

• Joker cards are not used.
• The cards are distributed as follows:
  Player 1: 9 Evil cards
  Player 2: 9 Good cards
  Neutral army: 14 Neutral cards
• Everytime a player places 1 battalion on their territory, 2 battalions are placed on the neutral territory.
  

Gameplay

• One of the players plays for the forces of Evil and the other for the forces of Good.
• The Neutral army plays defense. It cannot attack, redeploy, move the Fellowship, or receive Mission cards or Leaders.
• The non-attacking player rolls the black dice for the neutral army.

Official rules in PDF

Explore the official The Lord of the Rings rule in PDF.