Two zones in the middle of the board, each 2×2, cannot be entered by either player's pieces at any time. A player must move a piece in his turn there is no 'pass' (as in the game of Go). Players alternate moving red moves first. Such pre-play distinguishes the fundamental strategy of particular players, and influences the outcome of the game. Players may not place pieces in the lakes or the 12 squares in the center of the board. The ranks are printed on one side only and placed so that the players cannot identify the opponent's pieces. Before the start of the game, players arrange their 40 pieces in a 4×10 configuration at either end of the board. Typically, color is chosen by lot: one player uses red pieces, and the other uses blue pieces. A few versions have wooden boxes or boards.

Some versions have a cardboard privacy screen to assist setup. More modern versions first introduced in Europe have cylindrical castle-shaped pieces. The pieces are small and roughly rectangular, 1 in (25 mm) tall and 3⁄ 4 in (19 mm) wide, and unweighted. The early sets featured painted wood pieces, later sets colored plastic. The game box contents are a set of 40 gold-embossed red playing pieces, a set of 40 silver-embossed blue playing pieces, a glossy folding 15 1⁄ 2 in × 18 1⁄ 2 in (39 cm × 47 cm) rectangular cardboard playing board imprinted with a 10×10 grid of spaces, and instructions printed in English on the underside of the box top. It has been licensed to manufacturers such as Milton Bradley, Hasbro and others, as well as retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Target stores, etc. The United States trademark was filed in 1958 and registered in 1960 to Jacques Johan Mogendorff and is presently owned by Jumbo Games as successors to Hausemann and Hotte, headquartered in the Netherlands. The name Stratego was first registered in 1942 in the Netherlands. The International Stratego Federation, the game's governing body, sponsors an annual Stratego World Championship. There are also variant pieces and different rulesets. There are now two- and four-handed versions, versions with 10, 30 or 40 pieces per player, and boards with smaller sizes (number of spaces). It has been in production in Europe since World War II and the United States since 1961. The game is a slightly modified copy of an early 20th century French game named L'Attaque.

Stratego has simple enough rules for young children to play but a depth of strategy that is also appealing to adults. The objective of the game is to find and capture the opponent's Flag, or to capture so many enemy pieces that the opponent cannot make any further moves. Each player controls 40 pieces representing individual officer and soldier ranks in an army. Stratego ( strə- TEE-goh) is a strategy board game for two players on a board of 10×10 squares.

Stratego online