About Strategus

This is Strategus web app, a free online multiplayer Stratego -like game.

Stratego is a copyrighted game concept and trade name by Jumbo Games. This web site is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the copyright owner.

You need to sign-in to be able to play. There are two sign-in options:

Anonymous sign-in:
You'll be able to play immediately but casual matches only. Match results won't be saved and won't count for stats or rankings.
Email verified sign-in:
A link will be sent to your email for verification; you won't be asked for a password. You'll be able to play ranked matches.

Once signed in, you can try to join an open game or create a new game and wait for an opponent. If playing ranked you can use the "match" option to let the system find an opponent.

Game rules

Rules are the same of classic Stratego game, including additional rules as defined by the International Stratego Federation (namely: two-squares rule and more-squares or continuous chasing rule).

If you never played before please review the Stratego game rules first.

Setup phase

Before jumping into your first game it is recommended to have a few prepared setups; you can manage them in the setup editor.

Once in game select one of your setups, and do some tweaks by exchanging pieces on the board. If there is a clock running make sure to be ready before it expires. If you are not ready in time, or decide to leave the game during this phase, you will be penalized with a forfeit loss.

Game phase

A clock will be running during the game. This clock consists of:

Buffer time (regular 15 minutes): to be used throughout the game; you lose on timeout if it goes down to zero
Free per-move time (regular 3 seconds): time to perform your move without consuming buffer

Some special games (typically for tournaments) might have an overall maximum duration (for example, 60 minutes). Once this timer is over the game will be automatically draw.

The following extra rules apply in regular games (without an overall maximum duration):

No move can take longer than 3 minutes; you lose on timeout if you fail to move before this time
Game will be automatically draw if there are 200 consecutive moves (100 per player) without pieces being attacked.

Match options

You can play ranked (Elo-rated) games or just casual games. Ranked match results are used to compute the leaderboards.

You have the option to play in "incognito" mode. In this case opponent names are undisclosed until the end of the match.

If you want to play with a specific opponent (or a friend) use the "private" option so the game is not publicly listed. Share the game code or link with the person you want to play, so he/she can join.

The "memory helpers" option will keep track of revealed and moved pieces. This can be used only for casual games.

A few game variants are supported:

Classic: 40 piece game (ranked or casual; clock choice of regular, slow or fast)
Barrage: 8 piece game (casual)
Duel: 10 piece game (casual)
Free: choose the pieces you want (limited to the classic 40 piece set); you should arrange piece selection with your opponent (for example, you can exchange general for two majors)

Strategus Studio: watch live and replay

Ongoing games can be watched live and previous games can be replayed at Strategus Studio. All games are automatically saved for replay.

Players can opt-out from public game visibility (either live game watching or recent game replay). Please note that all players are able to replay their own games under any circumstances.

Strategus Workshop: self-play scenarios

You can deploy custom game scenarios and self-play them in Strategus Workshop. This feature works offline and sign-in is not required.

Note that continuous chasing is not detected while self-playing (only two-squares rule is enforced).

Strategus Podium: tournaments

Besides the regular games, verified players can also compete in tournaments at Strategus Podium. There is a dedicated ranking for tournament players; champion and runner-ups earn a badge.

There is no regular schedule for tournaments. Check for in-site announcements, or join the community for updates.

In-game chat and mailbox

To prevent unwanted trash-talking, in-game chat needs to be explicitly enabled by typing "hi" and can be disabled by typing "bye".

You can send direct messages to other verified players using the mailbox system. If receiving offensive messages, you have the option to block the sender.

Fraud and abuse prevention

Although it's difficult to avoid all possible frauds or abuses of the system, there are some online checks and the site is actively monitored to detect "alias" accounts (i.e. the same player using two or more accounts to play):

Games with opponents sharing the same IP or network address are automatically flagged (no points rewarded).
Playing ranked behind a VPN is not allowed for new players (players with some background may bypass this check).
Usage patterns and IP address history are analyzed and used as evidence for alias account disclosure.

Alias accounts are removed from the ranking and appear in a footnote. Player accounts may be disabled or banned for ranked games in some cases like:

Self-playing using an alias.
Bogus games, game spamming or losing on purpose.
Multiple and repeated account creation.

Contact and support

You can contact the site admin by sending a direct message to strategus (verified player account is required to use the mailbox system).