Opening Strategy

The opening is mapping, not a Marshal duel. Send Scouts down empty files. Do not spend the Marshal on the first unknown standing on the front row.

A common, not official, shape: Flag in a back corner with two Bombs touching it and one Bomb elsewhere as a decoy. Miners one row behind the front, not all glued to the Flag. Spy in the Marshal’s neighborhood. See setup for the mechanical constraints.

When a Scout dies on a Bomb, remember the square. That is a map for a later Miner, which is midgame work. If you want the full rank table while you place, open Stratego pieces. Play the idea on the board rather than memorizing a diagram. More notes sit on strategy and the homepage.