Field manual
Stratego Rules
Last updated November 2026
Stratego rules at a glance
Stratego is a two-sided game of hidden ranks on a 10 × 10 board. Each side starts with forty pieces: one Flag, six Bombs and thirty-three soldiers across ten ranks. You can see where the enemy pieces stand. Combat reveals the ranks of both pieces, and a move of more than one square identifies a Scout.
You win by capturing the enemy Flag, or by leaving your opponent with no legal move. On Kryptyr, you command the red army and move first against the blue computer army.
The board and the two lakes
Each army deploys on the four rows nearest its own edge. The two middle rows, 5 and 6, contain two lakes with four squares each. The lakes occupy columns C–D and G–H.
The lakes cannot be entered by any piece. They cut the board into three corridors: a left lane, a center lane and a right lane. A piece committed to one lane may need several turns to reach another, which is what makes the opening layout matter so much.
Setting up your army
All forty pieces start in your four deployment rows. During setup you can rearrange all of them, including the Flag and Bombs. Those seven pieces stay on their starting squares once play begins.
Place a Scout where it can reach an open lane and keep a Miner close enough to follow it. A Bomb can protect an approach to the Flag while also limiting how your own pieces move. Leave at least one movable piece near the Flag if you want to intercept an enemy Miner.
In the browser edition the deployment phase lets you swap any two of your pieces, or shuffle the whole formation, before you start the match. Select Start match to lock the formation. On a phone, tap a piece and a destination. With a keyboard, use the arrow keys to reach a square and press Enter or Space to select it.
Rank order
Higher numbers beat lower numbers. Equal ranks remove each other.
| Rank | Piece | Per army | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Marshal | 1 | Highest rank; vulnerable to an attacking Spy and to Bombs |
| 9 | General | 1 | Second-highest rank |
| 8 | Colonel | 2 | Ranks below General and above Major |
| 7 | Major | 3 | Beats a Captain in ordinary combat |
| 6 | Captain | 4 | Beats a Lieutenant in ordinary combat |
| 5 | Lieutenant | 4 | Beats a Sergeant in ordinary combat |
| 4 | Sergeant | 4 | Beats Miners and Scouts in ordinary combat |
| 3 | Miner | 5 | Only piece that defuses Bombs |
| 2 | Scout | 8 | Moves any distance in a straight line |
| 1 (S) | Spy | 1 | Beats the Marshal when attacking first |
| — | Bomb | 6 | Immobile; stops all attackers except Miners |
| — | Flag | 1 | Immobile, losing it ends the match |
The special pieces
Spy and Marshal. The Spy has the lowest rank. If your Spy attacks a Marshal, the Spy wins. If a Marshal attacks your Spy, the Marshal wins. Two Spies remove each other under the usual equal-rank rule.
Miner and Bomb. A Bomb destroys any piece that attacks it. The Miner is the exception: it defuses the Bomb and takes its square. Against a ranked piece, the Miner fights as rank 3. For example, it beats a Scout, ties another Miner and loses to a Sergeant.
Scout. The Scout moves any number of empty squares in a straight line, horizontally or vertically, and may attack a piece at the end of that path. It cannot jump over a piece and cannot cross a lake. Because a multi-square move immediately identifies a piece as a Scout, long-range movement also leaks information.
Bomb and Flag. Both are immobile. A Bomb may not attack and cannot be swapped once the match begins; the Flag behaves the same way. A piece that has moved at least once can never be a Bomb or a Flag — one of the most useful deductions in the game.
Moving and attacking
Most pieces move exactly one square, horizontally or vertically, into an empty square or onto an enemy piece. No piece may move diagonally, jump over another piece, or enter a lake. A piece may not move onto a square occupied by a friendly piece.
When you move onto an enemy square, both ranks are compared. The higher rank survives and occupies the square; the lower rank is removed. If the defender wins, it stays on its square. If the two ranks are equal, both pieces are removed and the square is left empty. The battle report names both units and gives the result. For example, a Scout that attacks a Miner is removed, and the Miner stays where it was.
How a match ends
A match ends in a win for one side when the enemy Flag is captured, or when the side to move has no legal move available.
Kryptyr declares a draw after 100 consecutive moves without combat, counted across both sides. Any clash resets that count. If a move captures the Flag or leaves the other side with no legal move, it wins even if it also reaches the draw threshold.
The two-square rule applies to each side’s own turns. If a piece goes A4 → A5, A5 → A4 and A4 → A5 on your last three turns, it cannot go A5 → A4 on your next turn. You can move it to another legal square or move a different piece.
Moves that are not allowed
- Moving a Bomb or a Flag, at any point in the match.
- Moving diagonally, or more than one square with anything other than a Scout.
- Jumping over a piece, friendly or enemy.
- Entering one of the two lakes.
- Making a fourth consecutive move with the same piece between the same two squares.
Reading the board
The computer starts with one Marshal and one Spy. Once either is captured, you can rule out that rank for every remaining hidden piece. A piece that has moved cannot be a Bomb or Flag. Use those clues when choosing whether to send a Miner into an occupied square or save it for a route where you have already found a Bomb.
Play these rules now
Play Stratego Online free against the computer. Keep the default formation for a quick start, or move your Scouts and Miners during deployment to try an opening.