The object of the game is to capture your opponent's flag.
To Start the Game
1. Place the board between the players so that the name STRATEGO is facing each contestant.
2. One player takes the Red and the other the Blue playing pieces. Red starts first.
3. Each player gets an army of 40 pieces, in order of rank from high to low consisting of these moveable pieces:
1 Marshall
1 General
2 Colonels
3 Majors
4 Captains
4 Lieutenants
4 Sergeants
5 Miners
8 Scouts
1 Spy
Note that the moveable pieces have a number in the upper left corner to designate the order of rank. Thus, the Marshal is ranked 1 (highest), the General 2, the Colonel 3, and so on to the Spy who is marked with an "S".
Each army also has 6 Bombs and 1 Flag, which are not moveable.
6 bombs
1 flag
4. The player places one piece in each square on their half of the board. All squares are to be filled from each end. That is, 10 per row, 4 rows deep. The two middle rows are left unoccupied at the start of the game.
5. The pieces are places with the notched end up and the printed emblem facing the player in such a way that the opponent does not know the arrangment of the pieces.
6. Read the rules for Movement and Striking in order to plan placement of the pieces.
Rules for Movement
1. Turns alternate, first Red then Blue.
2. A piece moves from square to square, one square at a time (Exception: Scout- See rule 8). A piece may be moved forward, backward, or sideward but not diagonally.
3. Note that there are two lakes in the center of the board, which contain no squares. Pieces must move around lakes and cannot move where there is no square.
4. Two pieces may not occupy the same square at the same time.
5. A piece may not move through a square occupied by a piece nor jump over a piece.
6. Only one piece may be moved in each turn.
7. The Flag and the Bomb pieces cannot be moved. Once these pieces are placed at the start of the game they must remain in that square.
8. The Scout may move any number of open squares forward, backward, or sideward in a straight line if the player desires. This movement, of course, then reveals to the opponent the value of that piece. Therefore, the player may choose to move the Scout only one square in his turn, so as to keep the Scout's identity hidden. The Scout is valuable for probing the opponent's position. The Scout may not move and strike in the same turn.
9. Once a piece had been moved to a square and the hand removed, it cannot be moved back to its original position in that turn.
10. Pieces cannot be moved back and forth between the same 2 squares in 3 consecutive turns.
11. A player must either move or strike in his turn.
1. When a red and a blue piece occupy adjoining squares wither back to back, side to side, or face to face, they are in position to strike. No diagonal strikes can be made.
2. A player may move on his/her turn or strike on their turn. He/she cannot do both. The strike ends the turn. After pieces have finished the strike move, the player who was struck has his/her turn to move or strike.
3. It is not required to strike when two opposing pieces are in position. A player may decide to strike, whenever he/she desires.
4. Either player may strike (on his/her turn); not only the one who moved their piece into position.
5. To strike (or attack), the player whose turn it is takes up his/her piece and lightly strikes the opponent's piece while at the same time declaring their piece's rank. The opponent answers by naming the rank of his/her piece.
6. The piece with the lowest rank is lost and removed from the board. The winning higher-ranked piece is then moved immediately into the empty square formerly occupied by the losing piece.
7. When equal ranks are struck, then both pieces are lost and removed from the board.
8. A Marshal removes a General, a General removes a Colonel, and a Colonel removes a Major and so on down to the Spy, which is the lowest ranking piece.
9. The Spy, however, has the special priviledge of being able to remove only the Marshall provided he/she strikes first. That is, if the Spy strikes the Marshal on his/her turn, the Marshal is removed. However, if the Marshal strikes first, the Spy is removed. All other pieces remove the Spy regardless of who strikes first.
10. When any piece *(except a Miner) strikes a Bomb (Bank!) that piece is lost and is removed from the board. The Bomb does not move into the empty square, but remains in its original position at all times. When a Miner strikes a Bomb, the Bomb is lost and the Miner moves into the unoccupied square.
11. A Bomb cannot strike, but rather must wait until a moveable piece strikes it.
12. Remember, the Flag also can never be moved.
When a player strikes his/her opponent's Flag, the game ends and he/she is the winner.
Note: If a player cannot move a pieve or strike in his/her turn, they must give up and declare their opponent the winner.
From the above it is clear that the original placement of the pieces can determine the outcome. It is therefore good defensive tactics to surround the Flag with a few Bombs. However, to mislead the opponent , we recommend that you place a few Bombs at some distance from the Flag.
A few high-ranking pieces in the front lines is a good plan, but the player who rapidly loses his/her high officers stands in a weak position.
Scouts in the front lines are useful to probe the strength of the opposing pieces.
Miners are very important near the end of the game so it is good strategy to place some in the rear ranks.
Here are three rule variations for the STRATEGO game player who wants an added challenge. Feel free to add one or any combination of these rules to your game:
Aggressor Advantage
When pieces of the same rank battle, the attaching piece wins.
Silent Defense
When a strike is made, the attacker is the only player who has to declare the rank of his/her piece. The defender does not reveal the rank of his/her piece, but resolves the strike by removing whatever piece is lower ranking from the gameboard. Players keep their own captured pieces. Exception: when a Scout strikes, the defender must reveal the rank of his/her piece.
Rescue
When you move onto a square in your opponent's back row you have the option of rescueing one of your captured pieces. Immediately pick any piece from the pieces your opponent has captured and return it to the gameboard. Place your rescued piece on any unoccupied space on your half of the gameboard and your turn is over.
Restrications: Scouts cannot make a rescue You cannot rescue a Bomb Each player can make only two rescues. The same playing piece cannot make both rescues.