ISK - Stratego Game Rules

• Rules for Stratego Classic
• Rules for 4 player Game
• Rules for Barrage
• Strategy and Tactics

 The following text is taken from the booklet from the Jumbo Travel Stratego and edited. My personal remarks are linked to it.  
 The game in brief 

 Both playershave an army of 40 pieces which includes a flag. The object of the game is to capture the opponent's flag. Before play starts, the players deploy their troops in secret. 
 Preparation 
 Decide who is to play with which colour. The pieces are set up on the four rows nearest to each player, one to each square, with the backs of the pieces towards the opponent. Setting up is an impotant part of the game; victory or defeat can depend on it. A few tips are given at the end of these rules.The marshal holds the highest rank, followed by the the general etc. 

 Playing the game 

Red begins! A turn consists of either moving a piece or attacking an opponent's piece. The flag and the bombs are never moved. 

 Moving 

1. Pieces are moved one square at a time either forwards, backwards, to the right or to the left. The scout is an exception to this rule as explained below.
2. No more than one piece may stand on a squre, there is no jumping and no diagonal movement. The two lakes in the middle of the board may neither be entered nor crossed.
3. Pieces may be moved between two squares no more than five times after which the player who initiated the sequence must vary.
4. Scouts can move across any number of vacant squares. 

1. A piece, other than a bomb or a flag, may attack an opponent's piece that stands immediately in front of, behind, or to the right or left of it. The action involves picking up the the attacking piece, tapping the piece attacked, and declaring the rank (and also the number, if desired) of the attacker. The attacked player must then disclose the rank of the piece attacked. The lower ranking piece is removed from the borad. If the attacker wins, the pieces occupies the square vacated by the captured piece; if the defender wins, there is no movement. If both pieces are of equal rank, both are removed.
2. A scout (2) can attack from any distance provided the squares between itself and the attacked piece are vacant.
3. Attacking is always optional.

1. Any piece that attacks a bomb, other than the miner, is destroyed. If a miner attacks a bomb it it defused and removed from the board, the miner then occupying the vacated square.
2. The spy's mission is to capture the opposing marshal which it does by attacking it. The spy is lost if attacked by any enemy piece, including the marshal.
3. Any piece can capture the flag.

You win if you succeed in capturing your opponents flag. You also win if your opponent is unable to move, because he has only the flag or flag and bombs left.