What’s better than spending an evening with your family and friends playing a competitive board game? How about a board game that involves world domination, war, strategy, and risk? Of course I’m talking about the iconic game, RISK! This game is seriously addicting; the quest for world domination grips you and takes over your primal instincts to be on top. Risk has been around since 1959 when it was first introduced to the public. It has since grown into one of the most popular games of all time. Risk is a strategy game that is played on a board depicting a political map of Earth. Players control armies in an attempt to take over other player’s territories and eventually rule the world. There are many versions of the popular game but this family took things to an entirely new level and built an entire DIY Risk War Room.
They started off by purchasing two tubs of plastic army men from Amazon. There are 6 armies with 50 units (soldiers) each. This required 600 men total costing under $40.00 from Amazon.
They chose to use 8 tanks per army. Each tank counts as 5 units. These were also purchased on Amazon with a total cost of $30.00.
To make some stable and quality soldiers, poker chips were used. They glued each soldier to a poker chip creating a sturdy base.
A total of 300 soldiers were glued to poker chips. It was very time-consuming, but wait until you see the final product.
So much gluing! You have to watch your fingers during this process. You might want to consider some gloves.
More and more gluing.
All of the tanks were then divided up between the armies.
The glue on the left was used first for the soldiers. It worked but when they were dropped from just under 8 inches the soldiers would separate from the poker chips. They chose to use the glue on the right and it ended up working perfectly, creating a very strong bond.
They then used Valspar spray paint to individually identify the different armies. Valspar paint adheres to plastic very well and provides great color.
The map needed to be painted as well to identify the individual territories and countries. They used hand paint for this which is roughly $3.00 a can. The colors needed are blue, yellow, green, red, brown, and black. (Australia is painted purple so they just mixed the red and blue.)
You are also going to need some polycrylic to protect the game board. They used a total of 5 coats after the countries were painted to provide a lasting finish that will be enjoyed for years.
It was time to paint the armies so you can identify them from your enemies.
This chrome army is looking pretty good!
How about an opposing gold army? I liked that they took the time to paint them correctly, making sure to cover each piece completely.
The silver army and the black army are finally finished.
Still some painting to do. Painting 300 soldiers and 40 tanks can be time-consuming.
His daughter decided for a feminine army color and chose a soft blue for these guys.
Gold, silver, and black armies are all done and lined up. Now they need a world to conquer.
They decided to use a 4’x8′ sheet of plywood and had it cut down the center for easier storage. The thick piece of wood was about $40.00 from their local hardware store.
They purchased some hinges for under $2.00 so that the game board could be easily folded up.
They used a projector to get an accurate map of the world to fit onto the game board. Once aligned, everything would be traced and copied onto the game board.
They started by tracing the projected map with pencil. This would eventually be filled in with the jars of paint that the family had purchased.
There was a lot of ocean so they decided to throw in some really cool decorations to spice up the world map. This also made it their own personalized version of Risk.
Of course there needs to be a pirate ship sailing out in the open oceans.
In order to make the colors pop, they used black paint and carefully painted the country borders with a thick black line. This would separate the countries making it easier to identify potential targets.
With the borders done, they started to fill in the different countries with the appropriate colors.
Looks like they’re making some progress in Asia.
But there is still a whole lot to do.
Although it is taking its time, it is slowly coming together.
Just a few more things to paint. This game table is turning out awesome!
The whole family was involved in this DIY Risk War Room. They all had different tasks of painting and drawing to make this all come together.
Here his daughter paints in a compass rose. Every good map needs a compass.
With a table size of 4’x8′ they needed to make some push sticks. They used some dowel rods and glued 5″ pieces of trim to the ends.
With the game board painted, it was time to place the armies on the board. After the colored paint was dry on the countries, they went back and touched up the black borders, giving them a cleaner look.
The DIY Risk War Room is starting to look good. Ready for world domination.
All of the colorful territories were rightfully labeled with permanent marker.
Time to set up for the very first game in this DIY Risk War Room!
Here’s an action shot of some troops defending their territory.
It looks like it’s going to be a brutal world war for total domination! But what an awesome surface to play on!
Watch out for those tanks Chrome Army, you don’t stand a chance!
Here is a standoff that is going to have a climactic ending.
Source: Reddit
Needless to say this is one epic DIY Risk War Room. The attention to detail and the amount of care that went into this project deserves to be recognized. The sheer size of the game board would make this game so much more exciting. I love seeing some awesome DIY projects, especially when they involve the whole family. This is one that will be used for years and years to come, while these guys hone in on their Risk skills. Within no time they will be pros and conquering the world and it all started in their DIY Risk War Room.