It's different. REALLY different. Five is more of a puzzle than a risk board. In fact, it's the first map that requires NO dice in order to play. For such a nonstandard map, I think it plays really well. If this interests you, give it a try.

Credit to El Conquistador for the first live map to use capitals disjointly as an effective endgame.

Credit to Nygma and Alpha for endless conversations about making non-risk risk maps.

Credit to Risky for talking about the idea of zany nonstandard maps using the rules at hand.

Scorn for the majority of people who will hate this map.

The mechanics are pretty simple after a game or two. Scenario start. Behold,

2 attacks per turn, attack down/right- unlimited fortifies, fortify up/left, edges wrap around. No return to attack. 0 bonus per turn, 0 sided die. In the center green grid, complete a row as black or a column as white, granting a +1 to capture the opponents capital off to the side.

Given the deterministic nature, I wonder if there is a winning sequence of moves, or a forced draw. After about 10 tests of my own the answers are not clear. $5.55 to the one who can solve Five.

I can't get that damn embed images thing to work. Black starts in the right column with 1 unit in each square, white starts it the top row with 1 unit in each square.

Mongrel wrote: I can't get that damn embed images thing to work. Black starts in the right column with 1 unit in each square, white starts it the top row with 1 unit in each square.

That'd be left column.

Unlimited fortifies is important. Not understanding that was how I lost my first game.

As my friends tell me, "the other right".

Tournaments to come.

wrap-around edges important too.

I believe I have a winning sequence of moves for the starting player.

Yes! That means my handful of ranked losses will have to be vacated and I'll get my points back.

Ok, I was way off.  I need to not try and think early in the morning.

Damn! Invite me to a game and show me.

Yea! I'm worried now about hte game we're in :(.

I hate when people do this, but I'm going to go ahead...I really do think there is a winning sequence for Black.

Always bet on Black!

Yertle wrote: I hate when people do this, but I'm going to go ahead...I really do think there is a winning sequence for Black.

Especially Black playing in the bottom two rows and unlimited fortifies...

I'm still not totally convinced there's an unbeatable strategy, but it's looking like there's a very specific counter that white must use to avoid losing. What if black were only allowed one move on their first turn? This could be approximated by doing something like having the bottom black unit start in a "spawning area" where it's forced to use an extra move to move along a one-way border into its default starting position.

All are valid points (esp. Norseman) and we're considered prior to release. One way to narrow the bias with what's in place is to grant white one space in column 3 or 4 (which seem to be the key defensive columns).

Alpha said it best, that the first person to make a mistake loses, and black can force so many not-obvious, must-do-this situations that white cracks. I've been caught a couple times as well.

I like it as is, and I like that some are liking it as is.

Let's play it out.

I was thinking the same thing about having black start with one move, but hadn't thought through how to accomplish it.

Can I just say that I don't think there is a problem with a map having a strategy that people can work out, but I do have a problem with people openly proclaiming the strategy on the forums. If you can win a game doing something, you should do that and keep it to yourself and let it ride on out. You'll stop playing, new players will either figure it out or not. If you don't post it, other players will have to try and figure it out.
There was a video game when I was a kid called Crystal Castles. If you went behind a castle on the 1st level and jumped for no reason you would get 100,000 extra gems and you could just keep doing that. I learned it by watching someone do it after they crushed me in a game, other people saw me do it and started doing it and so on and so forth. That's the way it should go. Doesn't Super Mario Brothers have a bunch of those things built in for people to find?
As a map maker, I think it is cool if someone finds a strategy that works really well in my maps.
If you have a winning strategy for a map, use it, don't post it!

I'm RiskyBack and I never say "In My Opinion" because if I said it, I would think you could figure that out.

Also, the bottom two rows isn't the only option as black. I started at the top and used a sort of "controlled drop" strategy on white that turned out well.

So take that Risky.

I'm not convinced there's NOT an unbeatable Black strategy, Black has to think depending on White's move, but I really think Black can be unbeatable.

I'm not talking about having a good strategy, I'm talking about Black being unbeatable and when a board doesn't involve any dice (no random luck involved), that's when it can get into the true "Unbalanced" region.