Example of Stratego starting set-up.
General rules:
Preparations:
Lay the game board down on the table. The players draw lot to determine who plays red, since red always goes first.
Both players have an army of 10 (Stratego Duel) or 40 (Stratego Original) pieces, including a flag. You must try to capture
your opponent’s flag while protecting your own. You first put together a secret formation by placing your playing pieces
on your half of the game board in such a way as to conceal their rank from your opponent. In other words, you place your
pieces with the image facing you and their back to your opponent. The pieces have a specific sequence: the higher the
number, the higher the rank. If a piece with a higher rank takes a piece with a lower rank, the piece with the higher rank
wins and the piece with the lower rank is taken off the board. The flag can be conquered by any of the enemy’s pieces
that can be moved.
The playing pieces and formation:
The players take the sorting table that matches the colour of their pieces. Each piece has its own illustration and number
indicating its rank. The field Marshal has the highest rank and has been assigned the number 10, the General has a 9,
etc., down to the Spy with the number 1. Only the bombs and flag do not have a number because they have a special role
in the game. You position your pieces on the bottom four rows of the game board. You place them with their back to your
opponent so that you alone can see the illustrations. The two middle rows (with the lakes) remain empty. No playing
pieces may be placed here when setting up the game. Setting up the board is an important part of the game.
It determines whether you win or lose. You will find some useful tips at the end of these instructions.
Once the players are ready after setting up their playing pieces, the screen is removed. The sorting tables are placed
next to the board. The pieces that are removed from play during the game must be placed here so that your opponent
can also see which pieces you have already taken. The sorting tables are numbered so that you can see where to place
the pieces taken during the game.
Course of the game:
Red starts. The players then move their pieces in turns. You move a piece to an empty field or to a field occupied by one
of your opponent’s pieces. The latter option is called an attack. Each player may only move a single piece during his or
her turn!
Moving:
You can move a piece one place to the left or right, or one place forwards or backwards. The Scout (number 2) is an
exception to this rule; more details below.
Each field can accommodate one piece only; the pieces cannot jump over other pieces and they may not be
moved diagonally.
The playing pieces may not be positioned in or jump over the two lakes in the centre of the board.
You may not continuously move a piece back and forth between the same two fields. The limit here is set at three moves.
It is important then to determine which player began moving to and fro. This player has to stop first too, and this could
