Risk Board Game Rules 2026: Turns, Dice, Cards and Game Modes

This page follows the Hasbro Risk game guide for the core edition, as of November 2026. It's for 2 to 5 players, ages 10 and up, and the guide gives four ways to play: Secret Mission Risk, Classic Risk, Risk for 2 Players and Capital Risk. Secret Mission is the one the guide sets out in full, so that comes first.

The board, the armies and the cards

• The board is a map of 42 territories in six continents, each continent a different colour. Territories connect by a border or by a sea-line, the dashed line. Alaska and Kamchatka are connected, for example.
• There are 5 armies, each with 40 Infantry, 12 Cavalry and 8 Artillery. Infantry is worth 1 troop, Cavalry 5 and Artillery 10, so you can swap pieces to save space.
• Red dice attack and blue dice defend. There are 5 dice in all.
• The deck of 56 cards holds 42 territory cards (each showing Infantry, Cavalry or Artillery), 2 wild cards and 12 Secret Mission cards. Mission cards are only used in Secret Mission Risk.

The numbers along the sides of the board show how many troops each card set is worth, which saves looking it up mid-game.

Setting up a Secret Mission game

Players	Starting Infantry each
3	35
4	30
5	25

1. Each player picks an army and counts out their starting Infantry.
2. Elect one player as the General. The General separates out the 12 Secret Mission cards and, with fewer than five players, removes any missions that name an army colour nobody chose.
3. The General deals one mission face down to each player. The rest go back in the box unseen, even by the General.
4. The General takes the two wild cards out of the territory cards, then deals all the territory cards, starting on the left. With 4 or 5 players, two players get one extra.
5. Everyone puts one Infantry on each territory they were dealt.
6. Starting with the youngest, players take turns placing one more Infantry on any territory they hold, until all the starting Infantry is down. There's no limit on how many go on one territory.
7. The General gathers the territory cards, shuffles the wild cards back in and puts the deck face down by the board.
8. Everyone rolls one die. The highest roll goes first.

Your turn: reinforce, attack, manoeuvre

Reinforce

At the start of every turn, your first included, count your territories and divide by three, ignoring fractions. The guide's examples: 11 territories gets you 3 troops, 14 gets 4 and 17 gets 5. You always get at least 3, even with fewer than 9 territories. Add the bonus for any continent you hold in full at the start of your turn (it's printed above the continent's name), plus any card trade. Place them however you like on your own territories.

Attack, if you want to

• You can only attack a territory that borders one of yours or is joined to it by a sea-line.
• Attack one territory at a time, from one territory at a time.
• You need at least two troops in the territory you're attacking from, because you can never leave a territory empty.
• Attack as often as you like and as many territories as you like in one turn, even after a failed attack.

Manoeuvre, if you want to

End your turn by moving as many troops as you like from one of your territories into one other territory that's connected to it through a chain of territories you hold. You can't pass through enemy territory, all the moved troops end up in the same place, and you leave at least one behind. You don't need to have attacked first.

How the dice decide a battle

1. The attacker picks one, two or three troops and rolls one red die for each. Three is the most, however many troops are in the territory.
2. The defender picks one or two troops and rolls one blue die for each. Unlike the attacker, the defender can use their last troop.
3. Both roll at the same time. Pair the highest red with the highest blue, then the next highest pair. With unequal numbers of dice, the lowest are ignored.
4. For every pair where the red die is higher, the defender loses a troop. For every pair where the blue die is higher, the attacker loses a troop.
5. A tie always goes to the defender.

For example, red rolls 6, 3 and 2 and blue rolls 5 and 3. The 6 beats the 5, so the defender loses one. The 3s tie, so the attacker loses one. The red 2 is ignored. Because only two pairs ever count, the attacker can never lose more than two troops on a single roll.

If you wipe out every defending troop, you capture the territory. All your surviving attackers stay there, and you can move in more from the territory you attacked from, as long as one stays behind. If any defenders survive, your attackers go back home and you can attack again.

Territory cards and trading sets

Capture at least one territory on your turn and you draw one territory card at the end of your attack. It's only ever one card, however many territories you took. Collect sets of three: three of the same troop design, one of each design, or any two the same plus a wild card. Trade a set at the start of your next turn.

Set traded in the game	Troops
1st	4
2nd	6
3rd	8
4th	10
5th	12
6th	15
7th	20
8th	25
Each one after that	5 more than the last

The count is for the whole table, not for you. If you trade in the third set of the game, you get 8 troops even if it's your first. If any card in the set shows a territory you hold, you get 2 extra troops, placed on that territory. With 5 or 6 cards at the start of your turn, you must trade at least one set.

Knock out a player's last troop and you take all their territory cards. If that leaves you with six or more, you trade sets straight away until you're down to four or fewer. That's the only time the guide lets you trade after a battle.

Classic, two-player and Capital Risk

Classic Risk (3 to 5 players) uses the same starting Infantry, but you remove the mission cards and claim the board yourselves: the highest roller places one Infantry on any territory, then everyone takes turns claiming an empty territory until all 42 are taken, then places the rest. Whoever placed the first troop takes the first turn. You win by eliminating every opponent.

Risk for 2 Players adds a neutral army as a buffer. Set aside 40 Infantry for each of the three armies, remove the mission cards and wilds, and deal the territory cards into three piles of 14. Put one Infantry on each of your territories and one neutral Infantry on each of the neutral ones. Then take turns placing two of your troops on one or two of your territories until your 40 are used, then take turns placing one neutral troop where it'll block your opponent. Return the wilds to the deck and play as Classic. When you attack a neutral territory, your opponent rolls to defend it. The neutral army never attacks or gets reinforcements, and you don't have to eliminate it to win.

Capital Risk (3 to 5 players) is the shorter one. After deploying as in Classic, each player secretly picks one of their territories as Headquarters and puts its card face down, then everyone reveals. Capture an opposing Headquarters and you put its card face up in front of you. Lose yours and you're not out: you hand over the card and keep playing. Headquarters cards can't be used in sets. You win by capturing every opposing Headquarters while holding your own, or, for a quicker game, any 2 with 4 players or any 3 with 5 players.

Rules that get misremembered

• You only draw a territory card if you captured at least one territory that turn.
• You can't attack from a territory with only one troop.
• Ties go to the defender, every time.
• One manoeuvre per turn, not one per territory.
• If you run out of pieces, the guide says to use another colour or slips of paper.

My verdict

I'd start a new group on Secret Mission Risk, because it's the version the guide teaches first and missions give a game a finish line. I'd teach the three-part turn and the dice pairing, and I'd skip Capital Risk until everyone's played a full game. Two players should go straight to the neutral army rules. If you want more games like this, my strategy board games guide and the classic board games list are worth a look.

Frequently asked questions

How many players is Risk for?

The Hasbro game guide says 2 to 5 players, ages 10 and up, with a separate set of rules for two players.

Who wins a tie in Risk dice?

The defender. In the case of a tie, the defender always wins.

How many troops do you get at the start of a turn in Risk?

Count your territories and divide by three, ignoring fractions, with a minimum of three, then add any continent bonuses and card trades.

Can you move troops after attacking in Risk?

Yes. You can make one manoeuvre at the end of your turn, from one of your territories to one connected territory, leaving at least one troop behind.