Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!olivea!tymix!tardis!udwarf.tymnet.com!carl
From: carl@udwarf.tymnet.com (Carl Baltrunas & Cherie Marinelli 0.1.9)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: Re: Risk
Message-ID: <0B030501.866476@udwarf.tymnet.com>
Date: 23 Nov 90 16:58:01 GMT
Reply-To: carl%udwarf@tardis.tymnet.com
Organization: Catalyst Art
Lines: 56
X-Mailer: uAccess - Mac Release: 0.1.9


In article <2280@key.COM>, jsp@key.COM (James Preston) writes:
> 
> 
> Regarding why Parker Bros. might not be too interested in marketing the
> existing Mac version of Risk:  ...couldn't help notice that there is a
> Parker Bros. authorized version of Risk for the PC.
> 
> Since there seem to be a lot of folks here who play this game, I have a
> question.  Is it just me, or are all the variations of the computer opponents
> just plain DUMB?  I have played many times, against many different numbers
> and combinations of computer opponents, and I have almost never had any
> trouble beating them.  I mean, it's almost embarrassingly easily.  None of
> the computer opponents seem to have the slightest concept of even the most
> basic of strategies for this game, such as that continents are important to
> hold for yourself and important to take away from your opponents.  At first,
> I thought it might be because I always go for South America first.  But no,
> I can almost always quickly take and hold North America, or Europe, or even
> Asia and the stupid computer opponents don't really fight me for them!  So
> I've given up playing; there's just no challenge to it.
> 
> --James Preston
> 
I can't speak for the PC versions, but there are 3 variants of computer play
on the risk version and at least one of them seems to know about continents.
If I take a continent, they take it away. They know that their production goes
up if they have a continent... etc.  I can still beat the computer pretty
easily, (one human, 5 aggressive computer players) if I set the number of
armies from cards to 4,6,8,10,15,20,25,...

  But if the card setting is 5,5,5,5,... it's not easy at all.  In fact I don't
always win in this mode.  Even the board game against human players, certain
strategies seem to work as long as everyone doesn't gang up on you.

  If the Mac version requires strategy changes, the major change should be to
allow temporary alliances and make them based on strength or position on the
board between the computer players.  Maybe add an "alliance" option, setting up
an alliance for n moves, permanent (until only you two are left), etc.  And the
computer should take into account broken alliances.  Some other strategy types
could be added too: Continent grabbers (grab continents at all costs), card
grabbers (take a country just to get a card, regardless of position), player
killers (try to take a player out of the game, regardless of position, usually
the player with the least number of countries/men)...

 It's hard for the computer to be the winner when it is playing all-out for 5
players without alliances.  True, it has more chances, but it's loyalty is very
divided.  I don't know if the computer remembers past aggression the way human
players do, or looks at the game progress and decides that a particular player
needs to be stopped.  Again, alliances would bite into this and make for a more
interesting game.

  I play the Mac version when I want to take a break and want to kill 15 minutes
or so.  A big difference to the 2-4 hour games among 6 humans, but the attack
dice rolls go a LOT faster with the computer.

-Carl


 Carl A Baltrunas - Catalyst Art
 Cherie Marinelli - Bijoux
 {sumex, apple}!oliveb!tymix!tardis!udwarf!{carl or cherie}
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