Stratego the rules

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Two hidden armies of 40. You see only your own pieces. Capture the enemy flag — or leave the enemy with no piece that can move.

The pieces

Each army has 40 pieces. The higher the rank, the stronger the piece:

Piece	Rank	How many
Marshal	10	1
General	9	1
Colonel	8	2
Major	7	3
Captain	6	4
Lieutenant	5	4
Sergeant	4	4
Miner	3	5
Scout	2	8
Spy	S	1
Bomb 💣	B	6
Flag 🚩	F	1

Setting up

Both players place their 40 pieces on their own four rows at the same time, without seeing the other side. Hide your flag well — behind bombs is a classic. Red moves first.

Ready to play: your pieces at the bottom, the enemy's backs at the top, and the two lakes in the middle.

Moving

One piece moves per turn: one square across or down, never diagonally, never into a lake. The Scout may run any number of empty squares in a straight line (and attack at the end). Bombs and the Flag never move.

A piece may not move back and forth between the same two squares more than three times in a row.

Most pieces: one square.

A Scout runs as far as the way is free — but not over the lakes.

Attacking

Move onto an enemy piece to attack it. Both pieces are shown. The higher rank wins and the loser leaves the board; equal ranks both go. The winner stays on the square it fought on (an attacker moves in).

A Major (7) attacks a Lieutenant (5): the Lieutenant goes.

The Spy takes the Marshal — but only when the Spy attacks.

A Bomb takes every attacker except a Miner, who removes it.

What you see

Enemy pieces show only their backs until they fight, or until a Scout gives itself away by running. A small dot marks enemy pieces that have moved (so they are no Bomb or Flag); an 👁 marks your own pieces the enemy has seen.

How the game ends

Win: capture the enemy flag, or leave the enemy with no piece that can move.
A player who cannot move loses. 200 moves in a row without an attack end the game in a draw.

Playing here

Set up by hand, at random, or start from a ready set-up; press Ready.
Click a piece, then one of the dots.
Resign gives your opponent the win; End game stops the game without a winner.
Logged in with Discord, a win against the computer unlocks rewards: Easy — piece colours, Medium — 3D pieces, Hard — a crown on your HAKOO avatar.

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