Line #27 TabletopGame/Stratego


1	''Stratego'' is a board game featuring a 10 × 10 square board and two players with 40 pieces each. Pieces represent individual officers and soldiers in an army. The objective of the game is to either find and [[CaptureTheFlag capture the opponent's Flag]] or to capture so many of the opponent's pieces that he/she cannot make any further moves. Players cannot see the ranks of each other's pieces, so disinformation and discovery (and last but not least, memory) are important elements of the game.
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3	When it's your turn, you may move one of your pieces one square in any of the cardinal directions. If an enemy piece is next to one of your pieces, you may "strike" it with your piece, and both pieces have to declare their rank. What happens then depends on your piece's rank and that of the enemy piece. You capture the enemy piece if it ranks lower than your own; the enemy captures your piece if it ranks lower than his. If both pieces have the same rank, [[MutualKill both are captured]].
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5	Each player's army consists of the following pieces, ranked from high to low:
6	* 1 Flag (can't move, captured by anything that strikes it)
7	* 1 Marshal
8	* 1 General
9	* 2 Colonels
10	* 3 Majors
11	* 4 Captains
12	* 4 Lieutenants
13	* 4 Sergeants
14	* 5 Miners (can defuse Bombs)
15	* 8 Scouts (can move any number of squares in a straight line as long as there's nothing in the way)
16	* 1 Spy (can strike and capture the Marshal, but is captured if the Marshal strikes first)
17	* 6 Bombs (can't move, but capture anything that strikes them except the Miner)
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19	Captured pieces are taken out of play. Capturing pieces move into the square of the piece they just captured; thus the Flag and the Bombs, which can't move, can't strike anything, either.
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21	Both players get 40 squares to place their pieces on, but they may arrange them in any way they sees fit. Smart piece placement is ''crucial'' to victory. At the start of the game, a "privacy screen" is put on the board between the two players, so neither can see what the other is doing. When both players have finished their formations, the screen is removed and the game begins.
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23	For special versions based on other works, see ThemedStockBoardGame.
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26	!!This game contains examples of:
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28	* ActionBomb: In some variations of the game, the bombs can be moved like regular pieces.
29	* BavarianFireDrill: You can trick your opponent into believing one of your pieces is much stronger than it actually is - for example, by making it look like it's "going after" one of his stronger pieces. If your opponent is gullible enough, you can block off a significant section of the battlefield with a Scout. A quite literal version of ImpersonatingAnOfficer.
30	* BlockPuzzle: Gameplay can sometimes resemble this; especially in the early stages, a piece you want to move may be surrounded by a lot of other (friendly) pieces. You'll have to shuffle them around carefully to get that piece where you want it.
31	* CannonFodder: The Scouts rank so low that almost everyone else can defeat them. Still, especially in the early stages of a game, they're often used to strike enemy pieces just to find out their rank (which is why they're called, y'know, ''scouts'').
32	* CaptureTheFlag: The entire point of the game.
33	* CartoonBomb: The Bombs are often depicted as such.
34	* CopyProtection: The video game adaptation provides the page image; it falls under the "feelies" type.
35	* DastardlyWhiplash: The usual Spy piece looks like one of these.
36	* FacelessGoons: You can't see who's who on your opponent's side. There is also an option where the defender does not have to declare their piece, only who wins.
37	* FalseFlagOperation: No, not really. That would be impossible in this game. But for the LiteralMinded: The Flag is usually placed on the back row, surrounded by two or three Bombs. When placing the pieces, it's standard procedure to put up a decoy Flag, usually a Sergeant or another low-ranking piece, also surrounded by Bombs. When your opponent strikes one of the Bombs, he may believe your Flag is there and devote considerable effort to getting at it - thus buying you time to search for ''his'' Flag.
38	* FemmeFatale: One version of the Spy piece.
39	* FrontlineGeneral: The Field Marshal and the General are [[RankScalesWithAsskicking the two most powerful pieces on the board]], and are often placed on the front lines for this reason. (Of course, it's dangerous for them to get too aggressive because of the risk of hitting a bomb.)
40	* HighlySpecificCounterplay: The Spy's ability to capture the Marshall.
41	* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: After the initial stages, each player will know the ranks of some of the other's pieces. This, of course, influences strategy.
42	* InstantWinCondition: The Flag. Even if you've only got a handful of weak pieces left while your opponent still has most of his army, if you capture the Flag, you win.
43	* NonActionGuy: The Sergeants, Lieutenants and, to a lesser degree, Captains are likely to fall victim to this; they are too low in rank to pose a credible threat to your opponent, but contrary to the Miners, Scouts and Spy, they likewise lack any special abilities to make up for it. So they don't have much use on the opponents side of the field and are usually resigned to staying on your side and defend your own bombs against enemy Miners.
44	* OnlyMostlyDead: The optional rescue rule.
45	* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: The Spy can capture the Marshal if he strikes first. If the Marshal strikes the Spy, though, the Spy goes down.
46	* OvertOperative: Picture the scene, the Marshal has surfaced and is destroying everyone around him. Over the next few moves, the opposing player begins to make a "path" on the opposite side to the Marshal, then a single piece makes its way through. No prizes for guessing who that is!
47	* RankScalesWithAsskicking: In any duel, the higher-ranked piece wins. With equal ranks, either each destroys the other or the aggressor wins, [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on which rule you play by]].
48	* SchmuckBait: Putting a high-ranking officer next to the enemy Marshal... with your Spy behind it. (Only a real schmuck would take this bait - once your Marshal has been revealed, your opponent will ''never'' deliberately put another piece next to it unless the Spy has its back).
49	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: One version of the game has the Spy as a female.
50	* StuffBlowingUp: There are six bombs per side. Only the Miner can defuse them.
51	* TakingYouWithMe: Without the optional aggressor advantage rule, this is how equal pieces fight.
52	* VariantChess: In a drawn-out endgame, the focus of gameplay can shift so heavily to clever manoeuvering that it almost resembles a game of [[TabletopGame/{{Chess}} chess]].
53	* WeakButSkilled: The three weakest pieces all have a special skill: the Miner defuses Bombs, the Scout can move any distance in a straight line, and the Spy kills the Marshal.
54	* WheresTheKaboom: Miners can defuse enemy Bombs.
55	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: The Spy once the enemy Marshal is gone.

Context TabletopGame / Stratego