Stratego Quick Battle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Stratego Duel Rules
  • Set-Up
  • The Playing Pieces
  • Taking Turns
  • Moving
  • Attacking
  • Special Ranks
  • The Winner
• Stratego Barrage Rules

Contents

• 10 red playing pieces
• 10 blue playing pieces
• 1 game board
• 1 screen

Stratego Duel Rules

To be the first to capture your enemy's Flag.

Set-Up

• Place the game board between the players so that each faces three rows of eight spaces.
• Decide if you will play Duel or Barrage Stratego. We recommend you start with Duel. The rules for the Barrage game are at the end of these instructions.
• Now decide who will play with the Red Army and who with the blue. Red always starts.
• Each take the 10 playing pieces of your colour. Place the screen onto the two middle rows of the game board between you and your opponent. The screen ensures that your opponent cannot see where you position your pieces.
• Players should each place their 10 pieces on the three rows at the back of the board. Therefore, they will each have 24 spaces available for their 10 playing pieces.
• Make sure you place each piece with the picture side facing you. This way, ranks will be kept secret.

The set-up is important; it can make the difference between winning and losing. Be sure to read carefully all the way through these instructions before you begin to set-up your Army.

The Playing Pieces

The following pieces are allowed to move:

Rank	10	9	3	2	1
Piece	Field Marshal	General	Miner	Scout	Spy
Quantity	1x	1x	2x	2x	1x

The remaining pieces CANNOT BE MOVED after the game begins:

Piece	Bomb	Flag
Quantity	2x	1x

Most playing pieces display a number. The higher the number, the higher the rank. During an attack the higher number will defeat the lower number. The Flag, the Bomb and the Spy do not carry a number. Special rules apply for these pieces (see below).

Taking Turns

Players take turns to play the game. The red player goes first. On your turn, choose between two options:

• Moving one of your pieces
• Attacking an enemy piece.

You cannot do both on the same turn. (The only exception applies to the Scout, which has special rules). If you cannot move or attack on your turn, the game is over and your opponent wins.

Moving

On your turn, you can only move one playing piece one space (except for Scouts). You can move forwards, backwards or sideways, but never diagonally. Two playing pieces cannot share the same space. Pieces can never jump over occupied spaces.

The lakes in the middle of the board are impenetrable no-go areas. Pieces must go around them; you cannot move or jump over a lake.

Playing pieces may not continuously move back and forth between the same two spaces. You can move a maximum of three times between the same two spaces. You may not also endlessly chase an opponent's piece. If a situation arises that has happened before, the aggressor must stop the chase at once.

Attacking

If there is an enemy playing piece on a space in front, behind or next to you, you may attack that piece. You can never attack diagonally. Attacking is never compulsory. The Bomb and the Flag cannot attack. Special attacking rules apply to the Scout. Here's how to attack: pick up your piece and tap the opponent's piece that you want to attack. Call out the rank and number of your piece. Your opponent calls out the rank and number of their piece.

If yours has a HIGHER rank, you win and the enemy piece is removed from the board. Your playing piece moves into the space where it stood.

If yours has a LOWER rank, you lose and your playing piece is removed from the board. The enemy piece stays where it was. If both pieces are the SAME rank, both are removed from the board.

Special Ranks

The Flag: You cannot move your Flag during the game. The Flag can be captured by any enemy playing piece (even by a Scout at a distance).

Bomb: Bombs cannot be moved. If you discover a bomb when you attack, your playing piece loses and is out of the game. The Bomb stays in place. Only a Miner can destroy a Bomb.

Miner: Only a Miner can neutralise a Bomb. He removes the Bomb from the game and takes its place.

Scout: The Scout goes ahead of the troops. They can travel over an unlimited number of EMPTY spaces forwards, backwards, left and right, but only in a straight line. They cannot jump over the lake. They can move and attack on the same turn, but again – only in a straight line.

Note: By jumping several spaces, a Scout will give away his identity. You can also move a Scout just one space in the normal way to keep his identity a secret.

The Spy: This dangerous piece has just one mission – to capture the Field Marshal. The Spy has the lowest rank and will lose if attacked by any enemy piece. But the Spy has one Special Power: If the Spy succeeds in attacking the Field Marshal (10), the Spy wins. However, if the Field Marshal attacks the Spy, the Field Marshal wins (as normal).

The Winner

You win the game if:

• You capture your opponent's Flag;

OR

• Your opponent is unable to move or attack on their turn.

Stratego Barrage Rules

The rules for Barrage are the same as for Duel; the only difference is that players only have one Bomb and one Miner. Each starts with: 1 Flag, 1 Field Marshal, 1 General, 1 Miner, 2 Scouts, 1 Spy and 1 Bomb.

Because you cannot protect your Flag with Bombs on all sides, a game of Barrage will play out quite differently from a game of Duel.

In a game of Barrage, you also set up your pieces on the three rows at the back of the board.

Attack and capture the Flag!