Beginner: Basic Tips

## Introduction

These are edited versions of forum posts from Stratego.com's forums

## Tilor's Stratego.com forum post (edited)

### Always bomb in your flag

Lower level players are not nearly as protective of their miners as they should be, so you can often win or at least tie if you have a bombed in flag simply because they can't get your flag. It also allows you to be more aggressive in the middle and end of a game, as you only have to protect the flag from miners.

### Don't use normal bomb patterns

Low level players tend to use the same old bomb setups. Learn what they are and then don't do them yourself. They are usually very easy to spot and not very effective.

### Don't give up too early

Many low level players quit if they lose the Marshal or General. Just play the whole game and see what you can learn. You may even come back and win.

### Experiment with setups

Don't count on your setup to be good forever. As you advance your setup will become obsolete with higher level players. Go ahead and experiment in the Bronze and Silver Stratego.com levels so you can have some idea what works and what doesn't.

### Watch YouTube Games

You can learn an awful lot watching advanced players. Be careful that you don't try to play exactly like them when in the lower levels. For example, bluffing will work differently with beginner vs. advanced players.

### Use your brain instead of brawn

Many lower level players charge in and park the Marshal right inside your lane to clog your movement. Develop both sides, and use the threat of attack to force the Marshal to retreat.

### Never show a high piece until you have to (with exceptions)

A known piece is only as powerful as it's rank. All unknown pieces can be the Marshal if the Marshal is unknown. Once you see an opponent's high ranking pieces, avoiding them is easier.

### Ask Questions

I remember playing a couple Platinum level players when I was still Bronze or low Silver. I asked them for advice and to tell me where I was weak in my play. They were very helpful while they trounced me

### Have fun

Remember, we're here to enjoy a game. This isn't real life. It doesn't really matter. You won't make more money, be more successful in your career or schooling, or become more glamorous by winning a lot at Stratego. Just do your best and have a good time.

## Sir\_Richard's Stratego.com Forum Post (edited)

### Exchanging unknown for known

Refrain from exchanging an unknown piece, especially an unmoved piece, for a revealed piece.

### Moving unmoved pieces

Don't move a previously unmoved piece without a specific objective for it that other moved pieces cannot do - pieces known to have moved are targets. Try to keep less than 6 movable pieces in play at any given time.

### Attacking unmoved pieces

Don't strike an unmoved piece with a Marshal, General, Colonel or Major (last one debatable)
Revealed pieces are vulnerabilities and need to be exchanged or expended ASAP, or hidden away.

### Defending pieces under attack

Move a piece that's under attack to a position where it's adjacent to at least one and preferably two friendly pieces (it's ok if they can't actually guard it - a bluff is just as good), except when you're intending to strike anyway.

### Guarding pieces

Attempt to keep low ranking pieces guarded by an officer that's two ranks higher except when you feel the opponent will likely respond to a bluff.

### Capturing pieces with much lower rank

Attempt to capture a revealed piece with a piece just one rank higher, but don't capture with a piece four or more ranks higher, because the revelation value of the high piece is greater than the value of the captured piece. If the capturing piece is three ranks higher, whether the capture should be made depends on the situation.  This rule changes as you get closer to the end.

### Capturing revealed pieces with strong risk of recapture

It may make sense in some attack situations to capture a revealed piece with a piece one rank higher even when it is likely to be recaptured - we're willing to sacrifice the exchange value of the small pieces to reveal the recapturing piece; this is especially true if we're expecting the recapturing piece to be two or more ranks higher then the piece sacrificed.  For example, capturing a lieutenant with a captain, and expecting to be recaptured by a colonel.

### Defending vs Attacking

It's often more favorable to keep a piece guarded and wait for the opponent to strike, than advance it and strike on its own, especially when there's great uncertainty of the rank of the opposing piece.

### Supporting attacks with high piece or bluff

When striking an opponent's piece, it's favorable to have two pieces adjacent to the opposing piece, so that the opponent fears recapture (even if the non-striking piece is low rank - a bluff works just as well).

### Defending opponent scouting of high pieces

In the opening, don't let a piece wander through your setup behind a lake - it's probably a low rank like a scout or miner probing for your marshal, general, etc - strike it or block it as soon as it comes into an entry space.  Even if there's nothing behind the lake to find, those pieces can be used to bluff if the opponent doesn't know what they are.

### Miner not a scout

Don't use your miners as scouts (beginner error). If you exhaust your scouts early in the game, you played them poorly.  It may be convenient to keep a miner in the first two rows somewhere.  Bring out a miner only when one or more bombs have been revealed.  Not all bombs are targets, only ones that obstruct an attack (like blocking an entrance) or could be adjacent to the flag.  Other bombs should be ignored.

### Abandoning pieces

Don't abandon pieces, particularly revealed pieces, by themselves where they could become targets - bring them back into the setup and place them in close proximity to one or more pieces that can defend them

### Scouting front row

Since most of the opening pieces pieces (10-12 out of 12) will be expended and disappear from the board in the first ~150 moves or so, obtaining information about them, i.e. striking them with a scout, is unproductive. I'd say the primary focus of the opening is to clear these pieces away, so scouts can be usefully deployed, while seeking to enter the middle game with some advantage in small piece count if possible.  If the middle game is free of blunders, the small piece advantage from the opening will decide the game in the endgame.

### Rationing scouts

Advanced players ration their scouts throughout the game, and often have one or even two left over in the endgame.  Retaining a scout until the end of the game has substantive advantages - if the opponent runs out of miners, it is difficult or impossible to capture the scout to win the game if the flag is bombed in.  In the middle game, having a scout restrains the marshal, general and spy - they have to remain behind the lines or risk being exposed by the scout. In situations where the opponent has the high piece, and it is unknown, a scout may be able to find it. The scout is the best piece to capture a spy and can also make a big difference in capturing an open flag (whether always open or opened up by a miner).

### Useful information to gather with scouts

I consider that a scout is more valuable than the knowledge that some movable piece is a miner, sergeant or lieutenant.  That is, I'd rather have a scout (or capture one) than know some piece is a lieutenant.  But I feel justified to expend one to tag a captain (but just barely).  So it seems to me, that expending two or even three scouts in the first few moves by advancing and striking is not a good tactic.  The usual result is exchanging one or two pairs of scouts, and discovering one or two low ranking officers, not a useful result.

## Despy's response to Sir\_Richard

### No bombs in front row?

I think this is only somewhat true for very defensive opponents. If we categorize player aggression from 1 (very defensive/shuffler) to 5 (hyper aggressive/blitzer), the best pieces that a front 6 bomb can capture will probably follow a progression similar to:

1: Sergeant

2. Lieutenant

3. Captain

4. Major

5. Marshal

This is just a back of the envelope approximation, but I think it makes sense - your average balanced play-style player will probably be willing to open with and attack an unmoved piece in the front with a captain, but nothing higher.

Of course the above only applies to normal gameplay conditions, assuming the bomb is hit in one of the opening moves. Memory will be a factor in how this changes as the game progresses. I was chatting with a top player a while back (I won't say who so as not to reveal setup information) who said he likes to keep a bomb in the front row opening against silver/gold players. He'll move pieces around it and focus movement on that section of the board, and later in the game, those players will often think that everything there has moved, and attack it with a strong piece)

### Defensive play advantage

One thing I wanted to elaborate on here was the "it's often more favorable to keep a piece guarded and wait for the opponent to strike" point. In general it's must easier to defend than to attack, so the number of players who can attack effectively is relatively low. That means, and I've said this somewhere before, that a very defensive style is a quick/relatively easy way to climb the ranks/get to platinum. I strongly believe that players in high silver/low gold have a sufficient foundational understanding to get to platinum in a couple of weeks if they just employ a very defensive style.

### Use of miners for other than attacking appropriate known bombs

Certainly true for your last 2-3 miners, but when you still have 5 on the board, you can afford to be a little more creative. In mid-late game, when mid-ranked pieces are traded off, sometimes a miner can be a good bait piece to waste off your opponent's last scout (or one of his last few) to help keep your power hidden. And then of course as you touched on earlier, a miner bluff can be effective to get some information on your opponents back rows in the early-mid game.

### Additional thoughts on using scouts at the beginning

I agree that having a scout is generally more valuable than finding lieutenants or below, but I don't think it's 'wrong' to use them in the front row and hit an unknown piece. In the beginning of the game, you have 40 squares, and 20% of them are filled with scouts. So using them in the beginning doesn't only get you a little information (trade, or find a sergeant/lieutenant/captain) - it also gives you a little more space to move around. Again it's a spectrum - for me the first two scouts are relatively worthless, but the last two are very important - and the value of the rest probably follow some sort of sigmoid function (pasted below for those who hate math).

Hopefully the above somewhat addresses your question at the end; if not, maybe post some specific scenarios and it might be easier for I and others to advise

Ultimate Stratego Guide

See this guide for further info

http://www.ultrastratego.com/tactics.php

http://www.ultrastratego.com/tips.php