Stratego

A classic two-player strategy board game of hidden information and deduction. Command an army of 40 pieces, bluff your opponent, and capture their Flag to win.

How to Play

Setup Phase

Each player secretly arranges their 40 pieces on their half of the board (4 rows × 10 columns). Red places on rows 7–10, Blue on rows 1–4. Pieces face away from your opponent — they can see where your pieces are, but not what they are.

Play Phase

Red moves first. On your turn, move one piece one square orthogonally (up, down, left, right). Scouts can move any number of squares in a straight line (like a rook in chess), but cannot jump over pieces or lakes.

Bombs and Flags cannot move.

Combat

When you move onto a square occupied by an opponent’s piece, combat occurs. Both pieces are revealed, and the lower-ranked piece is removed:

• Equal rank: both pieces are removed.
• Spy vs. Marshal: the Spy wins only when it initiates the attack.
• Miner vs. Bomb: the Miner defuses the Bomb and survives.
• Anything else vs. Bomb: the attacker is removed; the Bomb stays.

Lakes

The four 2×1 lake zones in the center of the board are impassable — no piece can enter or cross them.

Winning

You win by capturing your opponent’s Flag or if your opponent has no valid moves on their turn.

Strategy Tips

• Protect your Flag with Bombs, but don’t make the pattern too obvious.
• Use Scouts to probe your opponent’s defenses — their long range reveals information.
• Keep your Miners alive to clear Bomb defenses around the enemy Flag.
• Bluff with your piece positioning — an aggressive Bomb placement might look like a Marshal.
• Watch which pieces your opponent has moved — unmoved pieces in the back rows are often Bombs or Flags.