Thread: Risk: Star Wars – Original Trilogy Edition:: General:: Solo rules for a three-faction game.

by skeletorrobo

So I got this game a while back after playing Risk Clone Wars quite a lot. I wanted time to get my head around the rules before posting a proper attempt at a solo version of Risk Star Wars Original Trilogy

A stumbling block to get the game up and running can be the set up. Let's simplify this:

1. Troop ordering and planet claiming.

The game is separated into 5 colours for a maximum of 5 players but we will only need one each of the Rebel (Red) and Imperial (white) troops and the Hutt's (green) troops as well.

Taking only one colour allows for 35 troops for each faction.


In a three player game, the Rebels go first, followed by the Hutts, and finally the Empire.

Rebels start with 30 troops and can claim 15 planets at the beginning of the game.

The Hutts have 25 troops and can claim 7 planets at the beginning of the game.

The Empire has 35 troops and can claim 20 planets at the beginning of the game.


As the single colour factions have 35 troops each, we can separate and display the troops like so.



The factions are displayed in turn order, from left to right. .

The number of troops for claiming planets are in the top row, followed by the reserve troops used to reinforce planets after they are claimed in the second row , followed by the remaining unpurchased troops of the faction colours in the bottom row.

The breakdown is as follows:

R H E
15, 7, 20 CLAIM PLANETS
15, 18, 15 EXTRA
5, 10, 0 DISCARD PILE

Using the top row troops, select the Rebel faction and place a red troop to claim a planet, followed with the Hutt faction using the green troops and finally with the Empire faction with the white troops. Keep claiming planets by moving from faction to faction, left to right, until the top row is completed. Then assign the second row of troops to the board in any manner you wish. Move the third row of counters to the discard pile to your right. Finally place a Death Star on the force meter, a rancor on the resource planet counter and a Death Star on an Empire claimed planet on the board.

You might notice in the first turn the Rebel player gets the 5 spare troopers left out at the beginning as reinforcements.

2. Troop discard pile.

As the game progresses I manage a 'casualty pile' of all the troops of all the faction colours not in use. These are easy to contribute to and draw from as the game progresses, saving time.

3. Card management.

The way I manage the cards is vertically, on the side of the board. I have the card decks in order of play, with the Rebel deck first, followed by the Hutts and then the Empire.

For cards which are active and held by the faction, I leave them facedown, to the right of the respective faction deck.

For discarded cards I leave them face up above the deck.

When it is a given faction's turn, I take the active cards for the respective faction and lay them out to have a look and see what I will play.

I find this system works and is efficient enough to keep the game running smoothly.



4. Counter management.


I found when playing the game it was handy just to keep a pile of all the fighters, bombers and cruisers of the different factions together. They are a hassle to separate and store again and again so to save time I did it this way. Images and colour coding make them easy to differentiate anyway.



5. Box organisation.


I found for a lot of the time I only needed one colour to represent a faction, and I certainly didn't need the masses of Rancors, At-Ats and Land Speeders. So I have removed them from the box to save space and keep the more useful game components organized.

6. If the Rebels or the Empire gain ascendency during the course of the game, you may need to delve into the given faction's other set of troops (yellow for the Rebels and Grey for the Empire). The rulebook admits as much so just be aware.

So there it is. I found the changes streamlined the game a lot. It might help you reacquaint yourself with the rules before playing others, or be ust a way to scratch that Risk Star Wars itch. Have fun.