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Joyswag: Risk: Black Ops board game & Risk: Factions XBLA codes
Update: Risk: Blacks Ops will now choose whose home it goes to. Yes, IT will choose. To celebrate tomorrow's release of Risk: Factions on XBLA -- something the board game aficionados at Joystiq HQ have been geeking out about for months -- EA has offered up a copy of Risk: Black Ops for this giveaway. Now, if you don't know, Risk: Black Ops is the most delicious and desired version of the board game ever created -- and it's never been available for retail purchase. We're also hooking up our winner with two download codes for Risk: Factions, since it's best enjoyed with a friend -- or better: an enemy. To enter for your chance to win, follow these simple rules: Leave a comment with this oath: "Risk: Black Ops is beautiful and I promise to care for it, always." You must be 13 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). Limit 1 entry per person. This entry period ends at 3:00PM ET on Wednesday, June 23, 2010. At that time, we will randomly select 1 winner to receive two download codes (via email) for Risk: Factions on XBLA (ARV $10 each; Xbox Live account required for download) and the Limited Edition Risk: Blacks Ops board game (no ARV; promotional item not for resale). Please check your emails! For a list of complete rules, click here. %Gallery-20806% What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here.
Off the Grid: Risk Black Ops and Hasbro's wrong direction
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital.Risk: Black Ops is one of the most beautiful board games you'll never play. In anticipation of the newly updated release of Risk, Hasbro produced only 1,000 copies of this special edition game, distributing them to bloggers, journos, and gaming hobby sites for perusal and easy publicity.The response was unanimously positive. The updates to the rules -- handled by Risk 2010 designer Rob Daviau -- lower the game's initial barrier to entry, and make it possible to play through in under two hours (which is significant for Risk). Most media attention, however, was lavished on the slick, modern redesign, devised under the command of art director Lindsay Braun and visual designer Jason Taylor.Risk has always wanted to be taken seriously, but Black Ops is the first version of the game to look deadly serious. A matte black finish on the box is accented by imagery of barbed wire, dog tags, and the faintest hint of blood spatter, all rendered in a subtle gray. "History is written by the victors," the box declares in a modest sans-serif font. The game board itself is designed to look like something out of our modern war-rooms, with a visual style not unlike Introversion's apocalyptic strategy game Defcon. This is not the Risk you remember.%Gallery-20806%
