Diplomacy is easily the most evil game known to mankind. I remember playing in a large group in high school, and the best proponents were the two most devotely Christian members of my year. These two, butter wouldn't melt in their mouths, so when they proposed an alliance, you believed them. The wopping great big dagger that you subsequently found in your back always came as a big surprise.

The worst was that one of them even had the ability to explain to you that it was all a strategic move to make the guy he had sided with to trust him. Evil guy would then backstab erstwhile ally, using YOU as the hammer. And of course you'd happily go along with it.

But that's not what's really evil about Diplomacy. What's really evil is that you NEED alliances just to survive, so you can't just blow these guys off if they are on your borders.

Evil.

Risk doesn't have that much dependence on chance, except inasmuch as particular diplomatic relationships adjust to circumstance. Games among equally strong players are quite balanced, and the strongest player will generally win.

Ah, but see...that's life. That's the beauty of a great Risk strategy - it takes into account probabilities that bad (or good) things will happen.