Gameplay:
The setup of the board is very important in Stratego. When placing their army, each player must decide three things: First, where to hide the flag; Second, which pieces should defend the flag; and Third, which pieces should attack the enemy.
Most pieces have a number ranging from 1 to 9. In a fight, the lower number always wins -- if there is a tie, both pieces are removed. So, the piece with the number 1 (the Marshall) is very strong and won't lose often in a fight -- and a 9 (a scout) is at the mercy of every piece.
There are a few other pieces that are on the board that don't have numbers. There is the Flag --the object to be defended -- there are bombs, which destroy any piece that touch them (except an 8), and there is a Spy marked by an "S". Bombs and Flags cannot move, but a Spy has a special value. Spies can kill the Marshall (the #1), but if any other piece finds the spy, the spy loses the fight.
Two other pieces have special abilities -- as noted above, an 8 (a Miner) can defuse bombs; And a 9 (Scout) can move any number of spaces in a straight line on one turn and still attack (a good way to discover where your enemy's strong forces are hidden.)
All of the other pieces can move 1 space forward, backward, left or right -- no diagonal movement is allowed.
The Red Army moves first. Players alternate moves, attacking each other and repositioning their forces until a flag is captured.
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