Explain · Like I'm five version
Battles in Risk in terms of a penalty shootout
Playing a game of Risk is just like taking a penalty shootout in the park with your friends.
You start by picking where your team stands, which is like putting your little plastic soldiers on a map of the world. Just like a penalty kick, you need a plan for where to aim before you take your big shot. You roll your dice to see how well you kick the ball, and your opponent rolls theirs to see if they can catch it. If you roll high, you score a goal and take over a new country. If you roll low, you miss the goal and stay exactly where you were.
It is very important to wait for your turn. You cannot just run up and kick the ball while your friend is still tying their shoelaces. In Risk, you have to wait for the other players to finish moving their armies before you can try to take over their land. If you try to jump the queue, everyone will get grumpy and tell you to go to the back. It is just like waiting your turn to have a go at the goal so that everyone gets a fair chance to play.
Sometimes you have to decide if you want to take a big, brave shot or a safe, small one. If you have lots of soldiers, you might try to win a whole continent in one go, like kicking the ball right into the top corner. If you only have a few, you might just move one space forward. Either way, you have to be ready to shake hands and play again when the game is over.
Where the analogy breaks downnobody cries when you lose a game of Risk, but they definitely cry when they miss a penalty.