What are good placement strategies for Stratego?

Question

How would I set up a good placement in Stratego, especially with bombs and the flag? What is a good strategy for varying the placement?

Answer 1

NOTE: this is an old school set so bare with my strategy if you have the new ones.

All of y'all's strategy is good, but I have a good one too :)

~ guard your flag with an X of bombs ( make an X out of bombs, have the flag below the middle bomb, your marshal to the right of the middle bomb, have your 3 left of the middle bomb, and your 4 ontop of the middle bomb then have your 4 to the right and left of the bottom X corners )

~ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have your spy with your general, this way when your gen is taken out by a marshal (obviously) take your spy ( next to your gen wich is now next to the marshal ) and kill him.

~A lot of people actually have there 9s in the front wich is not a bad idea, but it's also not a bad idea to have a number like 4-7 as infantry.

~ Never attack a non moving piece. Even though it could be a bluff ( like the non movin piece could be a bomb or 1-S ) just don't attack them. Instead, have your scout see what the piece is then determin to take your miner or 4-7 to attack that piece.

This may not be good for you but it's how I roll and how I win xD

Btw it's an old school set so bare with my strategy :D

All I can say now is enjoy the strategy and the game ;)

Answer 2

This will work with all versions:

• Put bombs as decoys, so 2-3 bombs can protect your flag, as for the decoy, put the next strongest guy, so that you can kill the miner
• Try placing most of the bombs in the front row and leave 1 or 2 spaces with movable pieces (I recommend the scout) so the opponent will have to get all his miners up front who can then be destroyed so the opponent could never reach the flag
• This is pretty obvious but remember never to put the flag up front Thanks for the reading!

Answer 3

If you play the same person more than once, the most important setup strategy is to avoid being predictable. If I play someone who always surrounds their flags with bombs, I'll beat them almost every time because discovering the location of a bomb (or better yet several bombs) means there's a good chance the flag is nearby.

In order to avoid being predicable, I tend to rotate between the following types of setups:

• 2-3 bomb clusters located far from each other (flag behind only 1 of them)
• 2-3 bomb clusters located far from each other but flag NOT behind them, so opponent wastes a lot of time and effort cleaning up bombs that protect 7s.
• semi-random bomb placement where no 2 bombs are placed adjacent or diagonally.
• a single bomb cluster protecting the flag with the rest placed semi-randomly
• One bomb protected side of the board that has lots of poor ranking pieces, leaving me free to concentrate my attack on the other side of the board.
• I also occasionally do something truly wacky like place the flag in the front row NOT behind a lake. I've won most times I've done this because it is unexpected and is assumed to be a bomb, which is then usually ignored/avoided, though I'm usually also protecting it with a strong piece or two.

I've found that more important than flags/bombs is the placement of the 1, 2, 3, 3, and Spy. If your best pieces are too far back and separate from each other, you'll be at a big disadvantage to the player who comes barreling through your front ranks with a concentration of good pieces.

If you're playing someone for the first time, it's important to get a sense of how much they've played and what bomb strategies they employ, if they're willing to tell you. For example, if you're able to determine they've never used or played against the semi-random bomb setup, you're very likely to win if you use that set up.

Answer 4

• Use a diagonal of bombs backed by sevens to protect your flag. I go back and forth between a pyramid toward the middle or a diagonal on each corner, with a six or above instead of a bomb on one side.
• Use your one for one aisle, your two and spy for another, and at least one three for the last. Try to keep enough space clear that you can maneuver these pieces around. Once you've really pinched all three aisles, it's hard to lose.
• Save some spies for later.

Answer 5

[B][5][6][3][1][7][6][6][6] 
[7][B][6][S][2]
[B][7][B][F][3][4][5]
[7][B][7][B][9][9][9][9] 

Above you have a classic 6 bomb matrix - your opponent will have no choice but to position 8's and 6's to get through it. This should give you plenty of moves to attack. Use the top row 7's and 6's to test enemy units. then use the row nearby 1,2,3... to kill enemy units once you know what they are. Leave the spy near the flag as a failsafe. Keep the nines close to each other to make a little 9 highway, they can get out of the way of each other very quickly.

Answer 6

I find that the key to Stratego lies in-

1. Cover your flag with bombs
2. Kill all enemy miners.
3. DO NOT MOVE a new piece when moving an old one will suffice.

Of those, I find that #3 is the most crucial. Most players have a very hard time attacking pieces about which they have no information; every time you touch a piece, or even visibly consider moving it, you inform your opponent that that piece is NOT a bomb.

Answer 7

There is no hard and fast answer for a good placement in Stratego, in part because as soon as someone learns your regular setup they can easily counter. Many good strategies can work once but not regularly.

In general, common logic is to keep the flag in the back of your field surrounded by bombs. Corners are also great because they only require two bombs instead of three to cover. Both are excellent strategies with the weakness being predictability. It is still a good idea to protect a flag on as many sides as possible with mines. Setting up dummy flags with a Sergeant in wait for a miner is also common.

One of my favorite ploys is to leave the flag behind one of the lakes unprotected, or protected only on one side or both as not to be conspicuous. Many players will assume that the flag is in the back row and go charging past that ignored Lieutenant or Sergeant.

I also commonly pick one of my three entrances and double bomb it off. If the other player is set to attack all three fronts evenly it can throw a kink in their plans as they need to move a miner in to clear the way. Also the miner is sure to be gobbled up as soon as it defuses one of the mines to clear a path.