# Stratego (board game) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [February 20, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091 "2023-02-20T16:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/21 "2023-02-20T22:45:39Z")
It’s the one game I still play with my grandson. He’s never beaten me yet. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/22 "2023-02-20T22:47:08Z")
Starting with all of the pieces icons-up would result in a completely trivial game. But you could still remove the memory aspect by turning a piece icon-up once it’s revealed. Well, most of the memory aspect, at least. It wouldn’t help with “He’s never moved that piece, so it might be a bomb, but he’s moved that one, so it isn’t”. But that’s not much of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/23 "2023-02-20T23:01:51Z")
You can jack up the secrecy portion with [Electronic Stratego](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3513/electronic-stratego). In that version, you do not show your attacking piece to the opponent; you rely on the computer to inform you the result of the attack. There is a bit more twist, too. From the Boardgame Geek link above: > An electronically enhanced version of Stratego from back before personal computers were commonplace. Game play is the same as the classic board game except for a few interesting twists: > > · When you attack an opponent’s piece, the computer tells you whether you have won, lost, or tied. So you do not know the exact strength of the opposing piece, only its strength relative to your own piece (and so too your opponent does not know the exact strength of the piece you used to attack with). This feature makes the game quite a bit more interesting than standard Stratego. > > · Instead of moving one of your pieces on your turn, you can “probe” an opposing piece to find its strength. You will not be given its exact strength, but instead what “class” it is in (8-9, 5-7, or all else) > > · Bombs are no longer playing pieces but are hidden features on your side of the board that are programmed into the game. You secretly select six spaces in which to place the bombs. Your own pieces can move through these spaces unharmed, but any enemy pieces (except a Miner) landing on these spaces will be destroyed! > > · Scouts can move and strike diagonally, and can strike from a distance. > > The player who finds and captures his opponent’s flag first wins the game. There is a similar game in China, [Army Chess](https://www.ancientchess.com/page/play-luzhanqi.htm). Your pieces are hidden from your opponent, there is the showdown when attacking an opponent’s piece, there is the special long move for one piece, and the goal is to capture the opponent’s flag. And there is also an electronic version of this in which the computer tells you the result of an attack. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/24 "2023-02-20T23:33:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Starting with all of the pieces icons-up would result in a completely trivial game. No more trivial than chess or checkers. It becomes a game of movement and blocking, rather than probing and memory. Although, I think we allowed bombs and flags to move. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/25 "2023-02-20T23:58:18Z")
FWIW, a quick Google search reveals several online versions of the game. > **[Stratego | Play game online!](https://playclassic.games/games/turn-based-strategy-dos-games-online/play-stratego-online/)** > > The board game Stratego is a more elaborate version of Capture the Flag. Each player starts with 40 pieces. Play Stratego online! > **[Play Stratego Online: Master of the Flag](https://www.jayoogee.com/masteroftheflag/)** > > Play Stratego online free against a computer. Master of the Flag is a free online strategy game similar to the board game Stratego. The goal of the game is to capture the flag of the opponent or capture all of his pieces. > **[stratego.io](https://www.stratego.io/)** > > Open source HTML5 app that is a recreation of the classic game of Stratego > **[Stratego Online - MegaJogos](https://www.gamevelvet.com/stratego-online)** > > GameVelvet Online Games! Come try our online games for free! A great collection of classics such as Chess, backgammon, battleship and the new 3D Pool await you! ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/26 "2023-02-21T02:56:18Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > And the #9s (Scouts) seem kinda useless. Would it be correct to say that their only utility is to go after your opponent’s Spy? One gambit in the endgame would be to have a scout (which you have been careful to not move more than 1 space) following the enemy Marshal around, and make the enemy think that is your Spy. Meanhoo your actual Spy is pretending to be a Bomb. When the Marshal finally makes a beeline for your flag, your Spy can ambush him. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/27 "2023-02-21T11:21:39Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I always went with the flag in one corner surrounded by bombs and by a couple pieces which were one rank higher than miners, so your miner would be sacrificed right after clearing the bomb. I did the same setup without the flag in the other corner for a decoy. So you had a 50/50 chance of knowing where my flag was- if you chose wrong you lost a lot of moves, pieces and effort for nothing; even if you chose the correct corner you had to work for it. I used to do it in _both_ corners without the flag, putting the flag somewhere out of the way in the middle but not obvious (and next to a 2, not a bomb). It was quite successful in wasting the other player’s time and pieces. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/28 "2023-02-21T14:57:14Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > One gambit in the endgame would be to have a scout (which you have been careful to not move more than 1 space) following the enemy Marshal around, and make the enemy think that is your Spy. Yep, the ol’ scout bluff. I would also keep at least one scout that I wouldn’t move more than one space. It worked great as a higher-piece bluff-- if my opponent picked one of my pieces off with say, a 3 (in the old numbering system, where a 3 was the third-highest) and was heading in a dangerous direction with none of my high number pieces in the immediate area, I’d come at him aggressively with a scout as if it were a 1 or 2 and back him off, possibly toward one of my actual high-number pieces and get him. > [@Gyrate](#): > > I used to do it in _both_ corners without the flag, putting the flag somewhere out of the way in the middle but not obvious (and next to a 2, not a bomb). It was quite successful in wasting the other player’s time and pieces. Ah, the ‘hide in plain sight’ gambit with the flag. I had opponents try that on me and it did make things tricky; almost lost a few times to that gambit. But I was hesitant to try it myself-- just seemed too easy for a low-skill player to blunder onto my flag that way. Also, if you use a 2 to protect the flag you’re taking a key piece out of the action-- I’d use my 2 to mow through a swath of my opponent pieces and get their 1 to show. When a piece started coming at my 2 I’d hit it with a scout to determine it was the 1 and not a bluff, then retreat my 2 away from their 1…right past my waiting spy. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/29 "2023-02-24T01:25:29Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I just ordered a classic version of the game from a seller on eBay. It was manufactured in 1962. It just arrived! [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52707828448_80a211e066_z.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52707828448_80a211e066_z.jpg) [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52707754055_6a37fa278b_z.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52707754055_6a37fa278b_z.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/30 "2023-02-24T01:28:08Z")
On the cover it says, “_Wonderful father-son game… GREAT FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY_.” Gotta love the sixties. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/31 "2023-02-24T01:30:34Z")
That was my first set. That box and cover. Very cool. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/32 "2023-02-24T01:52:23Z")
Wow, seeing those pictures just triggered nostalgia. I always loved how shiny the silhouettes on the game pieces were. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/33 "2023-02-24T12:09:30Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > On the cover it says, “_Wonderful father-son game… GREAT FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY_.” Gotta love the sixties. 😆 See also: Battleship [![](https://external-preview.redd.it/kmmxmLmN7NSpaeaAvVLNNlCANhdaXD46L3dIY543yIE.jpg?auto=webp&v=enabled&s=3bed8ccc020d660309a511b50099ac54b91c4160) ](https://external-preview.redd.it/kmmxmLmN7NSpaeaAvVLNNlCANhdaXD46L3dIY543yIE.jpg?auto=webp&v=enabled&s=3bed8ccc020d660309a511b50099ac54b91c4160) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/34 "2023-02-24T13:11:45Z")
Holy shit! That makes the Stratego cover progressive by comparison since the mom and daughter are shown playing the game instead of _washing the fucking dishes_. Jesus Christ. EDIT: I zoomed in as far as I could and it kind of looks like the mom is also barefoot while washing those dishes. And pregnant, arguably. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/35 "2023-02-26T05:57:08Z")
Our Stratego board and pieces looked just like that, but the box cover c. 1974 or so was slightly more modern. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/36 "2023-02-26T07:06:15Z")
Mine is the one with the smiling field marshal guy on the cover: [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/7009/6552787981_76098d99e7_b.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/7009/6552787981_76098d99e7_b.jpg) Yours too? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/37 "2023-02-26T08:59:28Z")
Those are the plastic pieces, the classic gray box had the wooden ones. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/38 "2023-02-26T17:50:00Z")
Field Marshal on the box with plastic pieces is the one I grew up with. Such nostalgia seeing that picture. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/39 "2023-02-26T18:03:51Z")
Close up of a wooden piece, Red Bomb [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/j1kAAOSwXp9iEDAB/s-l1600.jpg) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/j1kAAOSwXp9iEDAB/s-l1600.jpg) > **[The History of Stratego | UltraBoardGames](https://www.ultraboardgames.com/stratego/history.php)** > > All information about boardgames. Reviews, tips, game rules, videos and links to the best board games, tabletop and card games. The Predecessor to Stratego: L’Attaque > **[L'Attaque Pictures | UltraBoardGames](https://www.ultraboardgames.com/stratego/lattaque.php)** > > All information about boardgames. Reviews, tips, game rules, videos and links to the best board games, tabletop and card games. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091/40 "2023-02-26T18:06:42Z")
That doesn’t look very uniform. I don’t think I would have been able to resist cheating if I grew up with wooden pieces like that. That picture makes it look like it may as well be a deck of marked cards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stratego-board-game/980091.md?page=3)