One of the best parts of playing with toys as a kid are the crossovers. This is how He-Man teams up with Michaelangelo to defeat Shredder or Barbie marries Luke Skywalker in a wedding suddenly broken up by Superman. Companies rarely risk such combinations but sometimes it’s the most fun to pour out of the toybox.
Renegade Game Studios has a big Kickstarter going on now that combines two big brands from my childhood. Risk GI JOE Special Missions lets players use the structure of the classic board game to play out the global conflict between GI JOE and Cobra. The company sent me an advanced prototype of the game to check out as part of the coverage for this article.
How to Play Risk GI JOE Special Missions
Risk GI JOE Special Missions is a 2-4 player game where players take on the role of commanders battling around the world. In two and four player games, each side plays either a GI JOE or Cobra faction. In a three player game, two players play GI JOE against Cobra who starts out with more resources.
Players select one of five scenario cards. These give different objectives for each side and are the main way to gain objective points which win the game. Many of these are based on classic GI JOE storylines such as claiming the M.A.S.S. Device.
There are also objective cards that, when accomplished, gain objective points. This is the classic gameplay element of taking specific territories lives. Battles occur with different units in the game that reflect classic vehicles like Rattlers and Wolverines.
Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes
Each player also starts with a leader such as Snake Eyes or Cobra Commander. These leaders give a passive bonus as well as an action that’s powered by command points. Kickstarter backers get an expansion pack that features more famous characters to play.
What’s Different About Risk GI JOE Special Missions?
While the game uses the classic framework of Risk, it differs from the original game in a few ways. Sometimes when a game is paired with an IP, it’s just a cosmetic change. That’s not the case with Risk GI JOE Special Missions.
In original Risk, the different pieces are a shorthand for how many armies are in a territory. The pieces here are different unit types with different bonuses and abilities. Air units, for example, can move through occupied territories.
Units are also not permanently lost. They can be rebuilt and cycle back into play through the faction track. This mimics the feel of the classic cartoon where lasers were flying everywhere and vehicles blew up all the time but nobody ever seemed to get hurt.
The game also uses an action card system. This has been seen in a few other Risk variants but it helps speed up play. Each player plays a certain amount of actions in their turn, the round ends and after three rounds the game is over.
Risk GI JOE Special Missions Impressions
I am always a little skeptical of board games that adapt one of the classics. Risk GI JOE Special Missions kept the things I liked about the original game while also adding in elements that changed up the experience. It’s a solid balance between a new game and one everyone knows.
The limited number of rounds addresses one of my issues with old school board games. Those games would drag on forever rather than have a clear winner or loser. With two phases over three rounds, things get fast and brutal. There’s no time to hoard armies in Australia.
I like how the game leaned towards the classic 80s cartoon. GIJOE is an IP that can bend between serious and silly. The cartoon is often silly but playing through games with things like the USS Flagg and Serpentor really hit what I love about the setting.
I hope that there are expansions planned with more personalities and vehicles. They offer interesting wrinkles to the game play and also let players show their love for specific characters. I wouldn’t mind miniature packs for the personalities rather than the tokens in the base game, either.
Risk GI JOE Special Missions is on Kickstarter through August 14th, 2025. The game is expected to be released to backers in Q2 of 2026. Retail release is expected shortly thereafter.
