Stratego Conquest
Stratego Conquest Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- Game board
- 42 special action cards: Deploy x6, Rapid Advance x13, Surprise Attack x4, Redeploy x11, Secret Information x5, Traitor x1, New Spy Master x2
- 24 territory tokens (one per territory)
- 76 shielded unit markers (18 each in four colors)
- 4 opaque reserve bags
- Unit markers with inserts
Assembly
Place all identity inserts into unit markers of the corresponding color.
Unit Rank
Below is a list of all the units in the game. They are listed in order of rank, with Spy Master being the lowest and King being the highest.
| Rank | Unit |
|---|---|
| 10 | King |
| 9 | Queen |
| 8 | Prince |
| 7 | Duke |
| 6 | Count |
| 5 | Earl |
| 4 | Barron |
| 3 | Sorceress |
| 2 | Scout |
| 1 | Spy Master |
| Cursed Land | Cursed Land |
| Flag | Flag |
Note: the printed rulebook shows the quantities "(X2)" for one group of units, "(X4)" for another and "(X2)" for a third under the rank list, without naming each unit beside its count; the counts are not reproduced here. The printed rulebook spells the fourth-rank unit "Barron" and gives "18 ea. in four colors" beside "76 shielded unit markers"; both are transcribed as printed.
Setup
Lay out the game board and place each territory token on its respective territory. The map contains 24 territories, each divided up into three zones.
Note: 8 of the territories contain cities whose benefit is described below. The City territories include: North Hold, Rocky Wild, Lookout Ledge, Keyfort, Ravenfall, Castleburg and Mammoth Bay.
There are several mountain ranges on the board which are impassable to all units. The mountains cannot be moved into or attacked from.
Remove the Traitor card from the special action deck, shuffle the deck and then place the Traitor card on the bottom. Place the special action deck in the "Draw" area on the board.
Players sit around the game board, with each player allocated one side. Each player chooses a color and puts all of his or her unit markers in his or her reserve bag. To determine starting player, each player randomly draws a unit from their reserve bag. The player who drew the unit with the highest rank is the Starting Player (Cursed Land counts as 0, Flag counts as 11, and Spy Master beats King).
Beginning with the Starting Player, players choose territory tokens from the board one at a time until all the territories are evenly distributed. Every territory is controlled by one player in the initial set up. All the territory tokens are placed in front of the player who controls them.
Place Your Units
Place all of your units on the board in every territory you control. The unit markers are designed so only the player owning the unit can see its identity when it is on the game board. You are required to place at least one unit in every territory you control. During initial setup, players may rearrange their units on the board as much as desired. Only one unit may be placed per zone, three maximum per territory. The game begins when everyone has finished placing all of his or her units. The Starting Player goes first.
Object
Defeat your opponents' armies by capturing their Flag.
Territory Control
A territory is considered controlled when it is occupied solely by units belonging to one player. The controlling player keeps that territory's token as long as he or she has control of the territory.
A territory is considered contested when it is unoccupied or occupied by units belonging to more than one player. Place that territory's token in the Contested Zone as long as it is contested.
Every Turn
Every turn a player must do two things: First DRAW then MOVE.
Draw
Begin your turn by counting how many territory tokens you have. You get a territory's token if you control that territory. You control a territory if you have the only unit(s) in the territory. Divide the number of territory tokens you have in half and draw that many action cards from the draw pile (round down). Place the drawn action cards face up on the table and make a decision as to which single card you want to play. After you choose one card, perform that card's action, and then discard all of the cards to the "Discard" area face up. The amount of cards left in the draw pile is always public knowledge. When the draw pile is depleted, shuffle the discard pile to create a new draw pile.
The Cards
Deploy: Draw a unit randomly from your reserve bag and place it in any unoccupied zone on the board that shares a border with one of your other units. This card cannot be played if a player's reserve is empty.
Surprise Attack: Draw a unit randomly from your reserve bag and place it in any unoccupied zone on the board. This card cannot be played if a player's reserve is empty.
Rapid Advance: You may make two additional movements this turn. Additional movements are optional.
Redeploy: Choose any three of your units and switch their locations. The three units chosen can be moved between the three spaces in such a manner that opponents don't know if all three, or none of the units switched locations. The Flag and Cursed Land units may be redeployed. The Redeploy is helpful if you are trying to hide the position of a unit whose identity has been discovered, such as a Flag or Cursed Land.
Secret Information: You must have your Spy Master on the board to play this card. (Show your reserve to prove it is not there). Pick two adjacent territories on the board and look at all units in those territories. You cannot reveal to any other player information relating to the identity or location of any unit you see.
Traitor: Guess the identity of any unit on the board and then look at it. If you guessed correctly, the unit is immediately defeated and placed in that player's reserve bag (or captured if it is a player's Flag). If your guess was wrong, return the piece to its location. As with the information card, you cannot reveal the unit to the other players. Whenever the Traitor Card is played (or discarded) all the cards in the discard and draw piles are immediately shuffled together to form a new draw pile.
New Spy Master: This card allows you to retrieve your Spy Master unit from your reserve and place it on any empty zone on the board.
Move
Move one of your units to an adjacent zone. If that zone contains an enemy unit, resolve combat. You also receive an additional movement for each City territory you control at the beginning of your turn.
Rules for Moving
- You receive a minimum of one move per turn, no matter what your situation in the game*. This movement is not optional. Units can only move from one zone to another adjacent zone for their movement (except Scouts, see "Special Units" below). Units can move to any adjacent zone as long as it shares a border with the unit's current zone.
- Two units of the same color cannot occupy the same zone at the same time. Units of different colors can occupy the same zone only for the purpose of combat, and then only until combat resolves. Note: up to three units of any color may occupy a territory, one for each zone.
- Units cannot jump over other units or move through occupied zones.
The Flag and Cursed Land cannot move. These units remain where they are and cannot move.
* If you only have a Flag or Cursed Land you cannot move.
Combat
When you move one of your units into a zone occupied by an enemy piece, combat begins. Both players reveal their units to all players.
- If your unit's rank is higher than your opponent's rank, you defeat that unit. Your opponent places the defeated unit into his or her reserve bag.
- If your unit's rank is lower than your opponent's rank, your unit is defeated. Place the defeated unit into your reserve bag.
- If your unit's rank matches your opponent's rank, both units are defeated. Each player places the defeated unit into his or her reserve bag.
Cursed Land: When a unit attacks Cursed Land, the attacking unit is defeated and placed into the reserve bag. Only a Sorceress can attack and defeat Cursed Land.
Scout (Special Movement): The Scout can move across any number of unoccupied zones. Using this special movement will reveal the Scout's identity. You may choose to move your Scout only one zone per turn to keep its identity hidden.
Spy Master (Special Attack): The Spy Master is the only unit that can defeat a King. If the Spy Master attacks a King, the King is defeated. However, if the King attacks the Spy Master, the Spy Master is defeated.
Flag
Any unit can capture a player's Flag. If your Flag is ever captured, you may no longer draw action cards, even if you occupy multiple territories. The captured Flag is placed in front of the player who captured it. To recapture your Flag, you must capture that opponent's Flag (which is still on the board) with one of your remaining pieces. If this happens, you may return your Flag to any open zone on the board and place your opponent's newly captured flag(s) in front of you. A player cannot control a captured opponent's flag if they do not possess their own flag. If you don't possess your own flag, and you capture an opponent's flag, possession of the captured flag goes to the player who possesses your flag.
Winning the Game
You win the game when you have the only remaining Flag on the board. All of the other players' Flags have been captured.
Strategy Hints
- Try placing Cursed Lands on city territories to help hold them.
- Use a Scout or Surprise Attack to move a unit near enemy units. Attack on subsequent turns using a Redeploy card with a more powerful unit.
Optional Rules
- Reserves can be placed in front of the players who own the units so as to make it easier to see which units are in reserve. When units are deployed from the reserves, an opponent randomly draws the unit.
- Players may agree how much "advising" is allowed between players.