Stratego

1 Overview

Stratego is a two-player strategy board game of military maneuvering and deduction published by Jumbo (and licensed to Milton Bradley/Hasbro). Each player arranges 40 pieces on a 10x10 board -- the opponent cannot see their identity. Pieces attack adjacent enemies; the higher-ranked piece wins. The goal is to capture the opponent's Flag or eliminate all their movable pieces.

The hidden information makes Stratego a game of bluffing and memory. You spend the first half of the game probing, testing, and deducing; the second half exploiting what you've learned.

2 Components

• 10x10 game board with two lake obstacles (2x2 each, in the center)
• 80 playing pieces (40 per player -- one set red, one set blue)
• 2 sorting trays

3 Setup

Each player arranges all 40 pieces face-down on their side of the board (the 4 rows nearest to them). Opponents cannot see your piece identities during setup -- this is where the game is partially won and lost.

Standard setup zones: Red occupies rows 1-4; Blue occupies rows 7-10. Rows 5-6 are neutral starting positions (some variants allow placing in these rows).

The two lakes (2x2 impassable squares) in the center of the board create chokepoints that heavily influence strategy.

4 All 40 Pieces Explained

5 Gameplay

Players alternate turns. On your turn, move one piece one square in any orthogonal direction (up, down, left, right) -- not diagonally. Pieces cannot jump over other pieces or enter lake squares.

Exception: Scouts can move multiple squares in a straight line in one turn. Moving a Scout multiple squares immediately reveals it as a Scout to your opponent -- a useful trade when you need to probe or attack from range.

Bombs and Flags cannot move at all.

6 Combat

When you move a piece onto a square occupied by an opponent's piece, combat occurs. Both players reveal their pieces simultaneously.

• Higher rank wins. The losing piece is removed from the board. The winning piece stays on its original square (the attacker does not advance after winning).
• Equal ranks: Both pieces are removed.
• Spy vs. Marshal: The Spy wins only if the Spy attacks the Marshal. If the Marshal attacks the Spy, the Marshal wins.
• Any piece vs. Bomb: The attacking piece is destroyed. Exception: Miners defuse Bombs (the Bomb is removed, the Miner survives).
• Any piece vs. Flag: The attacking player wins the game.

7 Winning

Win by capturing the opponent's Flag. You win immediately when any of your pieces lands on the opponent's Flag square.

You also win if your opponent cannot make a legal move (all their movable pieces are surrounded or eliminated).

8 Strategy Guide

Setup: Flag Placement

The Flag is the most important placement decision. Common strategies: back corner with Bombs surrounding it (slow and obvious but hard to breach), or a non-corner back-row position with a decoy cluster elsewhere. Hiding your Flag in plain sight among other pieces near the middle occasionally works at the casual level.

Surround your Flag with 3 to 4 Bombs. Keep at least 1 Miner in an aggressive forward position so your opponent fears your Miner -- this dissuades them from probing your Flag aggressively.

The Probe Game

In the early game, use low-value pieces (Scouts, Sergeants) to attack enemy pieces and reveal their ranks. Each combat gives you information. Track what your opponent's pieces are by position and you'll build a picture of where their Flag and high-value pieces are.

Scout Usage

Scouts are your best probing tool. Moving a Scout far reveals it, but lets you attack from distance. Use Scouts to check suspicious corners (where the Flag often hides) and to threaten pieces you've already identified as weak.

Marshal vs. Spy

Your Marshal is your most powerful attacking piece but it has one weakness: your opponent's Spy. Keep your Marshal behind other pieces until you've identified or captured your opponent's Spy. Once the Spy is gone, unleash the Marshal to decimate their back rows.

Miner Priority

Never lose all your Miners early. Bombs around the Flag are impenetrable without them. Preserve at least 2 Miners until the endgame when you need to breach the Flag cluster.

9 FAQ