Stratego Original
2
8+
30+
Two armies clash…who will be victorious? Stratego is the classic game of battlefield strategy that has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. For over 50 years, Stratego has thrilled strategy game fans by inspiring them to challenge an opponent and attempt to lead their army to victory. Two players command Napoleonic armies and devise plans to deploy troops, using strategic attacks and clever deception to break through the opponent’s line and capture the flag!
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INTRODUCTION
Stratego is a long time classic game that needs no introduction as almost everyone has heard about it or come across it in some way. The original version of Stratego has a Napoleonic army theme; however, this game has seen its share of reskins from Samurai to science-fiction themes. The object of the game is to capture the enemy flag or eliminate all enemy army playing pieces. Stratego is for 2 players ages 8 and up and plays in about 45 minutes.
COMPONENTS
The components are excellent. The components consist of a large mounted board with colorful artwork and plastic playing pieces. The playing pieces depict images of soldiers along with a number which indicates the playing piece rank (1 through 9). The rulebook is only a few pages and very clear. Some of the anniversary sets have special components such as a tin storage box or fancier playing pieces. No complaints with the components.
SET UP
Set-up for Stratego takes about 10 minutes and is easy. Each player secretly places their army, bomb and flag playing pieces on the back four rows of their respective side of the board. Playing pieces are placed such that the rank is hidden from the opponent. Once the players are satisfied with the starting position of their respective playing pieces the game begins.
GAME MECHANICS
Nothing fancy about the game mechanics. Players take turns moving a playing piece. Playing pieces can be moved only orthogonally within the grid of squares on the board. Most playing pieces move only one space. Bombs and flags cannot be moved. Scouts, the lowest rank playing piece, can be moved any number of open spaces in a straight line.
Players attack by moving a playing piece into a square occupied by an enemy playing piece. Each player reveals his playing piece and announces its rank. The playing piece with the higher rank (lower number) is placed back on the board and the other is eliminated from the game. If both playing pieces are the same rank, then both are eliminated.
The most complicated rule in the game is related to the use of the Spy. The Spy is the only playing piece which can eliminate the Marshal, the highest ranking playing piece. However, the Spy can only eliminate the Marshal if the Spy attacks the Marshal. If the Marshal attacks the Spy, then the Spy is eliminated.
The game immediately ends upon capture of a flag or if a player has no more playing pieces to move.
THOUGHTS
Stratego is an easy game to learn and play. I like to think of it as a rethemed, lighter version of Chess with hidden playing pieces. Similar to Chess, there is some strategy but Stratego is a fast paced play with virtually no downtime.
Go figure, there is strategy in Stratego and minimal luck! There are no dice or card hands in Stratego. It’s all about how you place and maneuver your playing pieces. There is no shortage of written material on initial placement of playing pieces and strategies for using these set-ups.
Stratego is an enjoyable, quick playing, light game. It is the perfect game to pull out when waiting for others to arrive or at the end of a long gaming session. This classic game has withstood the test of time because it is suitable to casual and avid gamers alike.
Much more replay value than checkers or chess since you have the strategy of placing your own pieces and certain parts of the board are inaccessible. My wife and I played a 4-hour game on our first go-around, but I don’t think that’s necessarily how each game will be now that we understand the mechanics better. Depending on what version of the game you buy determines the quality of your components. We opted for the cheaper and easier-to-find version which comes with plastic pieces which you have to manually place the stickers on the first time you play. But do it once and you’re set for life, so it’s not that big of a deal. Simple gameplay, easy to learn, but fun and replayable due to the various setups and tactics you can employ. Plus it’s a great 2-player game, which can be hard to come by. We are excited to have finally got our hands on this game!