What is there to say about Plants vs Zombies Risk? I mean, almost everything you need to know is right there in the title. It’s Risk but in the world of Plants vs Zombies. ‘Nuff said, right?
Well… if this were Twitter, maybe. But in long form that would be a bit of a disservice to the people who actually put this together. It’s not like they just re-skinned the original Risk. There are differences. For instance, this is purely a two-player game, and the map reflects that. It’s smaller and obviously designed for two players. It’s also in the shape of a brain. (Don’t think that’s the only brain joke you’ll find. The brain puns are strong in this game.) Since the map is shaped like a brain it feels a bit more… circular, than the normal “real world†map. The games I played tended to be fought on the outer territories and the inner territories seemed more like bridges to the other side of the map than anything else. That could just be to not having played the game to death though. On the reverse side of the board you have the front lawn from the PC game which is used for a custom “siege†game using slightly different rules. It’s still Risk-like, but also a decent facsimile of the PC game. The game pieces are custom crafted. Instead of normal army guys you have green plants (Peashooters and Threepeaters) and gray zombies (a lone zombie and a group of three). They’re tiny, but surprisingly detailed for their size. They’re actually pretty cool and easily my favorite component. There are also some cardboard chips to represent the other various components, such as garden gnomes, this version’s neutral side.
Aside from that, well… it’s Risk. I’d be hard pressed to name anyone I know who hasn’t played it, but just in case you haven’t, the quick version is that every turn you get more armies depending on how many territories you hold. You place them strategically, and then attack an opponent. You do this by rolling up to three dice and then your opponent rolls up to two dice and you compare your two highest dice to the defender’s dice. Higher rolls wins, defender wins ties. This does give the defender a slight advantage, even with the extra die the attacker gets, but lady luck is fickle. Keep rolling until the attacker stops or the defending armies are wiped out. You keep playing like that until one person controls a predetermined number of territories. If you’re a hardcore player, go for the entire board. There’s no Australia here, so that should make things go a little faster.
Bottom Line: Again, it’s Risk. Slightly different Risk with a fun theme, to be sure, but Risk nonetheless. Whether or not you should buy this game really depends on what you like. If you love both Risk and Plants vs Zombies, then why do you not own this already? Go and buy it. If you’re looking for a two-player version of risk, then you’ll probably want to get it. It’s Plants vs Zombies, what’s not to like? If, however, you absolutely hate Risk and never again in your life do you want to play it again, then no amount of Plants fighting Zombies will save this game for you. If you’ve never played risk before in your life and want to give it a try, then this is a fun version that’s not too expensive. I’d say give this a try before heading into the more hardcore depths of 4-6 players.
You can find Plants vs Zombies Risk at Amazon.com as well as pretty much anywhere else that sells board games.
