Online Domination: Shareware Risk Games

By Jonathan Berohn

I love Risk. I love to conquer the world and gloat over my fallen opponents.  There’s nothing like being reigning world supremo to stoke the ego and inspire jealousy.  OK—that might be a little overkill, but Risk and Risk-type games are loads of fun, and fairly demanding in terms of strategic thinking.  No, they’re not chess, but at the same time they are much more fast paced—especially the computer-based versions.  Two recent shareware entries into the computer versions are Lux and iConquer.

Both games really capture the fun and strategic essence of Risk quite well.  And, being shareware games, they let you try out a free download before you commit to buy. Basic Game play is essentially the same in both games—and pretty much what we’ve all come to expect from Risk over the years.  Place your armies, play your cards, and attack.  As basic Risk engines, both games do a good job of crafting a playable game.  There are some differences worth mentioning, though.

iConquer

iConquer’s major difference is that is a Mac-only game.  If you have a PC, feel free to skip to the next section.  As a Mac only game, iConquer does a better job of taking advantage of the Mac interface than Lux does.  In short, it looks more streamlined and modern.  As far as game play goes, its two major differences with Lux are the drag and drop army placement and an anti-cheating measure.  In Lux, if you advance armies manually after wiping out an opponent, you can put those armies anywhere on the map if you cash cards after conquering (don’t worry—this becomes clear after you play a game or two).  On the down side, finding online opponents and additional plug-ins (different maps) is much harder with iConquer simply because the user base for Macs is a lot smaller than PCs.

Lux

Lux’s main strengths are its network play and plug-ins.  You can play everything from a Roman Empire game to WW II (both Europe and the Pacific).  iConquer does have plug-ins, and both games let you make your own, but there are currently far more available choices for Lux.  Lux also runs an online server that lets you easily find online opponents (iConquer supports network games, but you have to hook up yourselves).

In short, if you’re looking for solo play on the Mac, I like iConquer (it doesn’t hurt that iConquer is only 12.99 to Lux’s $20, either).  If you like network play and multiple maps, Lux is currently the better offering (at the higher price, naturally), but you can’t really go wrong with either game.