Q&A for How to Play Stratego

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  • Question
    Can we move sideways?
    Community Answer
    Yes. All pieces (aside from the flag and bombs, which cannot move) can move sideways.
  • Question
    Who does a Spy beat?
    Community Answer
    A Spy beats the Marshall, which is the highest ranked troop. If the Marshall attacks it, however, it dies.
  • Question
    Can a Spy eliminate any piece other than the Marshal during Stratego?
    Community Answer
    No, it can only beat the Marshal.
  • Question
    A scout can move and attack on the same turn and move more than one space. Does the piece it attacks move into the position previously occupied by the scout, even if it is on the other side of the board?
    Community Answer
    If you attack with any piece and lose, your opponent's piece does not move up.
  • Question
    Can I keep looking at my opponent's pieces after I take them?
    Community Answer
    No, you only get to look once.
  • Question
    What does the spotter do?
    Community Answer
    The spotter is treated as a spy, so it can take down another spy or a nine.
  • Question
    Can my pieces go forwards and backwards?
    Community Answer
    Your pieces may go in any direction, but they may not jump over one another. It is helpful to have a mixture of troops everywhere so you are ready for anything.
  • Question
    Do the bombs move, and what happens when the spy attacks regular pieces?
    Community Answer
    Bombs cannot normally move. The spy is defeated if he tries to take on a piece other than the 1/9 piece.
  • Question
    Our copy of the game has no #1. Does that mean there is no spy? There is no spot for a #1 in the organizing tray either. So how is #1 the spy?
    Community Answer
    It looks like you might have an older edition of the game. The Spy is a fairly recent addition to Stratego, so if there isn't one then it's probably just an old copy of Stratego that someone put a newer copy of the rules with.
  • Question
    How does the scout find out what a piece is?
    Community Answer
    They can find out what the piece is when the enemy attacks another piece. When the enemy says what their number is, you can attack them with a scout on the opportunity. Also, they can use the process of elimination if there are only a few pieces left.
  • Question
    Can the bomb move four spaces forward?
    Community Answer
    The bomb cannot move at all using the official rules. You might be using an unofficial set of rules though, in which case the answer would depend upon what you and the other player decide.
  • Question
    Can a scout defeat any rank, or not?
    Community Answer
    The scout only beats the spy, but its special ability is to move however many squares you want in any direction. It may not hop, and it is helpful not to use its ability, since it gives away that it's a scout. These were included to help you see what is on your opponent's front lines.
  • Question
    What if two pieces of the same rank attack each other?
    Community Answer
    The winner of the battle is whoever attacked first.
  • Question
    What are the two blank pieces?
    Community Answer
    The two blank pieces are used to split the board into three pathways. This prevents you from losing the entire game immediately if you lose one.
  • Question
    Where are the numbers on the sorting table?
    Community Answer
    They are there to help organize the pieces. When you take a miner, number 3, for example, put it in the number 3 spot. The rankings (numbers) of the pieces are shown in the top right of the pieces.
  • Question
    If any other piece besides a marshal, attack a spy does the spy die?
    Community Answer
    The spy only lives in combat if the spy attacks the marshal. If the marshal (or any other piece) attacks, the spy dies.
  • Question
    Can a bomb live on if a piece (not including the miner) attacks it?
    Community Answer
    In standard Stratego, the bomb lives. In a variant called "exploding bombs" the bomb is also taken off the board.
  • Question
    When can I cross the river that's on the board?
    Tom De Backer
    Top Answerer
    Never. No piece is allowed to step off the board, including into the rivers. They serve as a way to create bottlenecks, forced pathways, as well as to use the natural terrain as a defensive obstacle. To be clear, a standard 10 x 10 board has 40 pieces for each opponent, placed at will by each player on the first 4 rows of their side, where the remaining two rows have two 4 x 4 water areas spaced evenly between the edges, leaving three pathways. Those water spaces cannot be walked on, not by any piece.
  • Question
    After you defeat a piece, do you get another turn?
    Joshua Walsworth
    Community Answer
    No, you do not. The other person gets to make his or her next move as normal.
  • Question
    How many bombs are there?
    Haileeangel1234
    Community Answer
    Five bombs per person, ten bombs in the whole game. Also, you can look in the instructions and see how many there are.
  • Question
    "Place the winning piece on the space that was occupied by the losing piece". Is someone going to correct this error?
    Community Answer
    This is not an error. It means that the piece that wins (for example lieutenant beats miner) will go where the losing piece was. If the winning piece attacked the losing piece, it would take its place, or if the losing piece attacked the winning piece, the winning piece would remain in its place.
  • Question
    Can any piece defeat a bomb?
    Tjomas
    Community Answer
    The only piece that can defeat a bomb is the miner. Any other character is defeated, including the marshal.
  • Question
    Can I play this game on paper?
    Community Answer
    Absolutely! All you have to do is draw a Ludo board, take two or one dice and get four of each color pawns.
  • Question
    What does a scout beat?
    Community Answer
    The only piece a scout beats is the spy because the spy can be beaten by any piece except the flag.
  • Question
    Am I supposed to tell the other player which piece is my rescued piece?
    Community Answer
    Yes, when one player attacks, both players must state the number of his or her piece.
  • Question
    Can pieces hop over any other pieces?
    Community Answer
    No, pieces cannot jump over other pieces.
  • Question
    What happens if I get the same piece as my opponent when playing Stratego?
    Community Answer
    Both pieces are eliminated. For example, if two scouts collide, both are defeated.
  • Question
    Would picking my flag up and putting it down in the same spot be considered cheating?
    Haileeangel1234
    Community Answer
    No, it makes the other player think it's a person. It is a very good strategy too.
  • Question
    What are the blank pieces in Stratego?
    Community Answer
    Extra pieces in case you lose one. There also should be extra stickers.
  • Question
    What happens if two of the same rank attack in Stratego?
    Community Answer
    Then both pieces will leave the board and can no longer be played for the rest of the game?
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