Very simple, and possibly a terrible, terrible idea. A game of Risk exactly the same except that, when attacking a territory a game of Stratego is played for every army until one is defeated. Would make a four hour game a four year game, though I'm certain all but the most hardcore would surrender out of boredom unless...

An online version was made, with Generals of each color recruiting other players worldwide to command an army. The battling would be instaneous and simultaneous, making for a (slightly) quicker game.

I had this idea while drunk playing Risk in college and was promptly chased from the room.
-- JeremiahBritt, Dec 03 2004

Stratego. http://www.edcollins.com/stratego/
A fansite for the game, detailed, with rules. [JeremiahBritt, Dec 03 2004]

Risk Dice Throw Odds http://www.plainsboro.com/~lemke/risk/
[Wily Peyote, Feb 03 2009]

I do like the idea of a global, virtual army type game. Though it is the sort of thing you'd expect to find in some cheap thriller novel.
-- Detly, Dec 03 2004


Anyone other than Jeremiah and I actually know what Stratego is? (can't find link)
-- david_scothern, Dec 03 2004


My brother and I played Stratego for years and had coevolved a strange and convoluted strategy having played only one another for that long. It's a great game.
You have a number of pieces (40?) each with a rank. The rank of each piece is hidden from your opponent. Each piece moves 1 square forwards, backwards or side-to-side per turn except the low-ranking 'Scouts' (Rank 9)that can move as far as they like in any cardinal direction, and the Bombs that don't move at all. If a piece chooses to attack another, it moves onto its square (as in chess) and if it is of the same, or higher rank it wins and replaces the attacked piece, otherwise it is removed from the game.
The Marshal (Rank 1) can only be killed by another Marshall, or a Spy (which can be killed by anyone else) or by walking into a Bomb (the bomb remains in play). The Bombs can be safely defused only by Sappers (Rank 8) and prove deadly to anyone else.

The object of the game is to capture the other side's flag (another piece) but first you have to work out where it is.
Playing the game requires second-guessing the other player while trying to throw him off the scent with your own moves. Memorising the identity of revealed pieces (after an attack, they are made anonymous again) is also necessary. A common rouse would be to move a low ranking piece aggressively so as to imbue him with more authority in the eyes of your opponent. Placement of bombs is also highly important with some laid out defensively (around the flag normally) or interspersed between the other pieces randomly, or by blocking off an access route.
I remember seeing a Naval version of this game that might have dated from the 40's so it may be better known under that guise (though I don't remember what it was called)
-- zen_tom, Dec 03 2004


My favorite fact about Stratego is that the box of my copy (produced during the cold war) says: "while the pieces are military in origin and moved across a battlefield, this is NOT a war game."

Thank you half.
-- JeremiahBritt, Dec 03 2004


This would be a viable alternative to the puzzle prison.
-- Cuit_au_Four, Dec 07 2004


What was the online version of this called?
-- Cuit_au_Four, Sep 01 2006


Never played either, but would play this!
-- simonj, Feb 02 2009


[JeremiahBritt]: I'm a big Risk fan from way back - (I even designed my own 'World' to play on, once.)

The thing I don't understand here, though, is that in Risk - as it is played now - when one Country attacks another Country, the odds are Never even - even if the amount of Armies are equal (link). The attacker can roll 1-3 6-sided dice, while the defender can only roll 1-2 (but wins all ties). To make it equivalent, are you proposing some kind of Stratego handicapping rule that I'm missing here?
-- Wily Peyote, Feb 03 2009



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