Risk II was the official PC release of Risk in 2000. In my opinion, it is an exciting adaptation of a classic game, but it also provides you with numerous options. You can simply play original Risk with the added excitement of cheesey animated Napoleanic soldiers killing one another. But if you're feeling advenurous, this game provides many new and exciting options. First, you can change the map, adding new territories and connecting points, changing the value of continents at your discretion, play with missions, and use other rule alerations. But what makes the game most worthwhile is an ingenius new variant, poorly named "Same Time Risk." I'm sure they could have found a better name, but nevertheless, Same Time Risk tells you exactly what it is--players make all moves at the same time. I love it. It is addicting and new, yet it still retains the flavor of the original. I enjoy it far more than standard Risk, except for one detail: it lacks real human interaction. The diplomacy with computer AI is particularly lame, and I seldom encounter much of a challenge.

I once read an online review praising the game, yet commenting that its rules were too complicated to use on a real board as the computer was needed to make all the necessary calculations. I disagree. Many board games use more complicated rules and yet attain great followings. And while the rules to Same Time Risk are more complicated than standard of course, they are rather intuitive and not overly complex. I believe that perhaps using the software as a training tool, anyone could play the game easily with a proper board and set.

Which brings me to my point: there is no board or set designed for Same Time Risk! Apparently no one thought that the game which functioned so well on a computer would serve as well on a kitchen table. So I decided to create my own set. Using a very old version of the game that my older brother bought for $1 at the Salvation Army, I modified the board to reflect new territories. I bought twelve-sided dice (these are what Same Time Risk actually uses) and, with simple stickers, modified them to reflect the same numbering as in the game. I have taken the rules provided on the CD's game manual and consolidated, corrected, and clarified the rules for use as an independent game. I am still working to make new cards, but once that is done, I will have an unattractive, yet functional game of Same Time Risk. What I am hoping is that I can upload the rules, downloadable pictures, and anything else necessary so that anyone can convert their Risk sets into Same Time Risk (or as I admittedly prefer to call it Risk II, named after the computer game as a whole). I hope that anyone interested will post in this thread. I want to know that my work is worthwhile. Also, I hope that no one will sue me. My desire is not to take away from the original desigers, but rather make their excellent rules more accessible.