Continue if you are looking for games like Stratego and are curious about what similar games to play next. You have a secret force of soldiers that all have different strengths and weaknesses; your opponent has the same. You are going to have to move against each other and the key is that you put your guys in certain places that are going to take down your opponent’s guys when they are matched up. It is fast-paced, a lot of fun and a literal and metaphorical showdown.
To determine this list we broke down Stratego to what it is. This is a secret unit deployment game where you need to strategize where you opponent might put certain troops, but also heavy memory in remembering what is where. It recreates war strategy with the different troops all playing their role in the bigger task of capturing your opponent’s flag. If you are looking for something similar, you have come to the right place. We took all this into consideration and came up with this list of the 5 board games like Stratego.
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#05 | Blood Rage
Blood Rage makes the list of board games like Stratego because it is another great combat strategy and territory control title that has less than perfect information. This broadens out past two players and is much less linear, but if you want to expand into a larger combat strategy arena, this is a good choice.
Each player controls their own Viking clan’s warriors, leader, and ship. Ragnarök has come, and it’s the end of the world! It’s your last chance to fight an epic battle and secure your place in Valhalla at Odin’s side! You have many pathways to glory, you can invade and pillage the land for its rewards, crush your opponents in epic battles, fulfill quests, increase your clan’s stats, or even die gloriously. For 2 – 4 players, games run about 60 – 90 minutes.
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#04 | Hive
Hive makes the list of board games like Stratego because it is another 2 player showdown game that has specialized characters that have special strengths and weaknesses. Everything is out in the open here, with no memory component, but it has that abstract strategy back that makes you have to think three moves ahead.
The object of the game is to totally surround your opponent’s Queen Bee whilst at the same time trying to stop your opponent from doing the same to you. The pieces surrounding the Queen Bee can be made up of a mixture of both your pieces and your opponent’s. The first player to surround their opponent’s Queen Bee Wins. For 2 players, games go for about 20 minutes.
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#03 | Shadows in Kyoto
Shadows in Kyoto makes the list of board games like Stratego because this is another war game that has you marching towards your opponent in a quest for victory. This is another abstract strategy game that has both sides controlling different factions of secret spies needed to protect the Shogun warriors.
Players take control of the Oniwaban, a group of undercover spies, secretly protecting the Shogun, or an intelligence agency of the Meiji Government, funding with the advanced technology of the Western Industrial Revolution. You win by either capturing 2 enemies, letting your opponent capture 3 operatives holding fake information or have 1 operative escape with key information. This is done by moving your different secret operatives across the board. For 2 players, games run 15 – 30 minutes.
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#02 | Confusion: Espionage and Deception in the Cold War
Confusion: Espionage and Deception in the Cold War makes the list of games like Stratego because it uses the exact same hidden character grid system, except reversed. Instead of each player only seeing their own figures, here players only see their opponent’s figures.
At the start of the game, neither player knows how their own pieces move. Via performing attempted moves, each player tries to deduce the movement of their own pieces. As you determine how to move your pieces, your goal is to capture the neutral piece, initially located in the center of the board, and deliver it to your opponent’s side of the board. For 2 players, games run 30 – 45 minutes.
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#01 | Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation
Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation takes the top spot on the list of board games like Stratego because it recreates the same grid filled with hidden characters with different abilities, and then it adds some more gameplay mechanics and the Lord of the Rings theme on top.
Each player controls a force of 9 unique characters (light vs. dark) whose identities are hidden from their opponent at the beginning of the game, as well as, 9 unique cards, which are used in resolving combats as the characters move out across the board. The Fellowship player wins by moving Frodo into Mordor, while the Evil player wins either by killing Frodo or by moving 3 Evil characters into the Shire. For 2 players, games go for about 30 minutes.
