Stratego

HMTKSteve

I just picked up a used copy of stratego minus the instructions for $2 from the thrift store. I know I can get them off of the Geek but why are the numbers on these guys backwards? I thought a lower number was better. Who are the new miners because 8 used to be the miner.

The previous owner must have been a kid because the stickers are not put on very well and some corners jut above the battlements. I will have to do some surgery on this set.

I also picked up a copy of the horrible Lost TV Show boardgame for $2. It is bad but $2?

Apreche

Yes, this is something I hated about the new Stratego. We bought a new set a year or so ago, and 10 is now the strongest unit instead of 1. I believe that 3 is the miner instead of 8. It sucks.

williammathis2

Once you get the numbers figured out,it's not so bad. though.... The strategy is still always the same: you set up your sides with bombs, hide your flag behind two bombs on the right or the left, and have something that can kill minors behind all bombs. This gives you two options to win the game: kill all of their miners, in which case and they can never win, andor wait until they reveal their most powerful piece, do your best to kill there second most powerful piece then use your most powerful piece to kill theres now your second most powerful piece is the most powerful piece on the game board, then use it only to kill things that move thus never losing it on one of there bombs and you win...every time..

Mr. Period - This isn't worth fixing. Post properly or you will be banned.

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kill allof theirminers, in which caseandthey can never win

WTF!? Mines are one shot pieces! If you kill all enemy miners the enemy can't defuse bombs, but can just send the cannon fodder. One explosion per bomb.

As for the numbers... what numbers? The stratego games I always play(ed) had images. They were awesome. But to find out you could try to check the internet for how many of each sort there is in the game.

Rym

WTF!? Mines are one shot pieces! If you kill all enemy miners the enemy can't defuse bombs, but can just send the cannon fodder. One explosion per bomb.

You're wrong, and you're playing Stratego wrongly. Bombs can only be removed from the board if they are attacked by miners. There is no other way to remove them from the board. The rules state this quite clearly.

Techparadox

WTF!? Mines are one shot pieces! If you kill all enemy miners the enemy can't defuse bombs, but can just send the cannon fodder. One explosion per bomb.

Rym is right. You're doing it wrong if you're playing by the official rules. From the Wiki page on Stratego:

"The Bombs remain on the board even when hit. The only exception to this rule, is in the game of "Ultimate Lightning Stratego" where the Bombs are "one time bombs" and are removed from the board when hit"

The "Ultimate Lightning" rules are apparently an official variant. As for the numbering, the old-school set my parents own has the wooden pieces with metallic paint and the pieces are all numbered, with the higher ranks holding the lower numbers. That thing is surely an antique, because I remember it looking old and battered when I was a young pup.

Infinity

It's not a terribly great game, but it's not bad for being in the group of casual well-known board games.

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*checks his rule book* Ah yes, my bad. Haven't played it in ages, last time was during breaks at school when I lived in the southern of Belgium. We played with one hit bombs to speed the game up. My apologies.

Flare

I'd have to say that the strategy given by "Captain Grammar" is much too simplistic. Kill all their miners? Yeah, that'd work, except that if you're playing a smart person, they're in the back guarded by a bunch of other units, and you don't know which ones are miners and which ones are things that kill you! And going aggro with your second-strongest piece doesn't work, either. Have you forgotten already about those bombs?

If you're playing a formidable opponent, Stratego is quite the challenging and complex strategy game. So much so, in fact, that finding a formidable opponent is difficult because all your friends have stopped playing out of frustration or apathy. At least, that's my personal experience.

Magnum_Opus

That sounds like a 'big fish small pond' kind of comment Flare. And all the red suprised me. the fact that Mr. Period personally left a comment is awesome.

As far as I can tell Stratego is the best 2 player board game.

VentureJ

As far as I can tell Stratego is the best 2 player board game.

I'm giving that award to Go.

Rym

And going aggro with your second-strongest piece doesn't work, either. Have you forgotten already about those bombs?

You only attack pieces that you have seen move. Your opponent will be forced to move a non-bomb every single round, thus always giving you a target.

If you're playing a formidable opponent, Stratego is quite the challenging and complex strategy game.

It's just a complex paper-rock-scissors. Strategy in Stratego is akin to strategy in Minesweeper: you play optimally, and then it all comes down to chance beyond the wall of knowledge. Assuming optimal play (bluffing and the like don't work if you play optimally), the game comes down entirely to the initial positioning, which is effectively just the mutual and arbitrary assumption of risk.