Since luck generally evens out in the end, Risk is a game of attrition. It's a matter of having the most armies, which means producing the most armies -- and concentrating your armies, to:

• Deter
• Defend
• Maintain counterattack capability
• Roll both dice on defense
• "God is always on the side of the big batallions" -- Napoleon

A lot of people try to do all these by having the most production and the biggest empire. But that's not the way to win, because the big empire can lead to the big battles and then to unending commitments and drains on resources.

Why not try keeping your borders short instead? Let's do a little exercise. Take two continents: Europe and Africa. Which do you want? Most people pick Europe, with its bonus of 5; I'll take Africa, with a bonus of just 3, any day. Why?

• Europe has 4 borders, Africa only 3
• If, with Africa, you take the Middle East, that army in the Middle East can threaten both Southern Europe and the Ukraine
• The army in Egypt can also threaten two European territories
• Europe borders on North America, which has the bonus of 5 armies -- a major threat
• Africa borders on South America, with a bonus of just 2 armies -- a much smaller threat

I'll take Africa any day. And I usually won with it, too