Board game “Risk”, 1975

“Risk” is one of the best-selling board games ever. The game was invented in the 1950s by French children’s film director Albert Lamorisse under the name “La Conquête du Monde” (The Conquest of the World). The first German version of the game was launched by Schmidt-Spiele in 1961, followed by Parker in the 1970s. “Risk” is still marketed in different versions today.

“Risk” is one of the best-known war games. Unlike many other games with this theme, its game principle is based less on realistic simulation or tactics and is more of an abstract game with a high luck factor. In the context of a world war, players are tasked with conquering as many territories as possible with the help of alliances and the luck of the dice.

Although the map shown in the version from the 1970s shows the continents, the country borders and, in some cases, the country names have little to do with real states. It shows regions such as “Central Europe”, but also individual countries such as Ukraine and states such as Ontario in fantasy borders.

In the 1980s, the Federal Review Board for Publications Harmful to Young Persons found the language of the game to be problematic and attempted to have the game indexed. The manufacturers prevented this step by changing military terms in the instructions and on the playing cards. “Conquering” countries became “liberating” and “destroying” armies became “defeating”. The first packaging design after the trial alluded to this: The side read “…from now on, liberate.”

Object of the month

(short) stories from the depot

Unfortunately, many objects cannot currently be shown in the exhibition for conservation reasons. Here you will find unusual objects and exciting stories of special pieces from the depot