NOTE: ALL was written by FPN - I've just copied & pasted his original posts to make them easier to find as some haven't received much replies lately causing them to be harder to be found.
 
WAR ROOM 1
 
I'd like to take a few minutes of your time and start a new feature I'd like to try. I call it "The War Room" and in it I'd like to offer a few ideas and strategies on the game. The purpose is to have a healthy sharing of ideas and opinions in order for new players to pick the brains of the talented players that play here.  I thought I would start a discussion and open the floor to everyones opinion. I only ask one thing: be nice. Debate is good for learning and can spring new ideas to life. But using this avenue to roll someone under the bus or attack someones ideas not only retard the learning process but gives the idea a black eye.  
   My reply to this post will start the discussion and hopefully we can get some ideas on the table and see where it goes.  
 Thanks  
 
Lotto by definition ( thanks to MaxHauke for creating the term) is any "higher ranked officer" hitting an unmoved piece. The first issue is what defines a "high-ranking officer"? IS a Captain hitting an unmoved piece lotto? Or does lotto occur if a Major or higher hits. Clearly you can't call it lotto if a miner or sgt. hit, hell that's their job. I say the Captain or higher is lotto regardless of where in the game the unmoved piece gets hit..............Which brings up the next issue: Is it Lotto if the game is all but over and you just go in randomly and hit anything in the feeble hope of getting an unexposed flag?  YES YES YES. But no one will give the game back if they win that way. It sucks to be on the losing end but that's the risk you take by not protecting the flag.  
   So 2 topics or issues to chew on. What is your definition of LOTTO and when is it ok to LOTTO  
 
 
 
 
WAR ROOM 2
 
Can't find it
 
 
 
 
 
 
WAR ROOM 3
 
TRASH TALKERS  
 
    I suppose everyone likes to talk a little smack every now and then. Heck, even the worst players like to mix it up with the best even if it's all in fun.  
   Trash Talking comes from a position of power and in a certain aspect, a position of fear. Everyone at some point can boast of their skill level especially if you have the game to back it up. While one player told me the site wouldn't be the same without a little trash talking, I wondered what it would be like if there was no trash talking. Would players go through a sort of withdrawl without being able to spew a little zingers? Or would the site fade away into oblivion due to the lack of interest generated in the chat room?  
   Trash Talking does have positive attributes and can have an effect on a game. Suppose that you knew a certain player was in the Top 10 and you were not. You could start talking a little trash to get the Top 10 player interested in playing you. Or maybe he would ignore you as a horse ignores the annoying flys.  
   Either way I get bothered by the "rubbing it in" after a game. Especially by a player that , when he loses, leaves the game room without so much as a "gg". If the trash talker wins, he rubs it in. Especially painful is that most of the time, his "victims" are newer players or players that don't have a winning record.  
   Can trash talking be a good strategy or is it just poor taste?  
 
 
 
 
WAR ROOM 4
 
The Trade ( or hacking )  
 
    Nothing hurts a player that is down a piece or two worse than trading pieces or hacking. Hacking is the senseless trade of a player to take the piece off the board but lose the same value at the same time.  
   I've seen players that have a major or captain advantage and just hack the rest of the game away until the opponent has no choice but to forfeit. Other times I've seen players that are DOWN a man and hack anyways without thinking that they are hurting their own cause.  
   Trading a player can be the only choice one has in a defensive situation. Suppose your spy was captured. The only way to take his Marshall is to trade. Sure you'll lose your MArshall but your opponent won't have his on the board either.  
   Experienced players know that trading players IF you have the advantage is justified since you need just a 3 player advantage in order to securely defend an attack on any lane. When your opponent has bombed in a lane the magic number is just 2 players. But is this strategy a popular one or is this a "lazy" way of winning? I've always assumed that finding the flag is not my primary purpose in winning a game. I've always felt that controlling the enemies army and leaving him or her no choice but to submit is the better way to win. Finding the flag out in the open on a fluke is sometimes a cheap way to win, especially if you're down and your opponent has left his flag unprotected ( hmmmmm, subject 5 for the next War Room ?)  
   A little trick I have used to reveal a "protecting" piece is to trade the front man in order to find the protector. Let's say you have a player than reveals the 5 in the front row. He may move a player behind it in order to protect it. He sits back and , like a Venus Fly Trap, waits for you to capture the 5 while nesting a 3 or 2 or even a 1 behind the 5 taking the attacking piece out. Try trading 5s in order to reveal the "protecting piece". If your enemy parks pieces behind his front row men, trade the front row men and reveal his officers, or reveal his bluff. I get lucky every once in a while as some players park their spy behind the 2, with the 2 in the front row. Put a 9 in line and trade 2s. The next move you have you should be able to "hit" the spy and catch the Venus Fly Trapper off guard. Hehe, I love that move.  
   Your thoughts are next.  
Thanks  
 
 
 
 
WAR ROOM 5
 
Can't find it
 
 
 
 
Offense and Defense  
 
    Stratego is different from many other board games due in large part to the fact that you must have a balance between offensive and defense. However, unlike football, you can play defensive and get away with a win without ever finding the opponents flag.  
   The European players are a crafty bunch in that they play patient. If you are looking for a quick game with a European player, well good luck. The defensive strategists know that capturing the flag is only one way to win. Capturing the entire army is another. Sometimes you can just sit back and pick off your opponents ranks one by one and still win the game. The "Venus Fly Trap" method of Defensive Stratego is not only frustrating but also very hard to penetrate since the bluffer can make you take more risks in calling the bluff.  
   Either way the balance between offense and defense makes the game much more interesting and more fun for both players. IN a game that is rich in tradition of sportsmanship and honor including the other players desire to have fun can make you think more about the balance.  
    The style you choose, offensive, defensive or both, is only predicated by your desire to have fun. Sometimes it's good to just go balls to the wall when your opponent is expecting you to play defensive and vise versa. As long as you both leave the game at the end with a "gg" it's all good.  
 
 
 
 
WAR ROOM 6
 
Can't find it
 
 
 
 
WAR ROOM 7
 
Most and Least Valuable  
 
    It's been said by many that the Marshal is the most valuable man on the board. Since no other piece is higher that theory may hold some validity. However since the Marshal is vulnerable to an always unknown piece one could argue that while he is indeed valuable, he has certain limitations.  
   I've always said the General is the most valuable since he can hit anything that moves ONCE the Marshal has been identified. But one could argue that the Colonel would be equally as valuable once the General and Marshal have been identified and so on and so on down the line............  
   Can a scout be more valuable than the highest ranking men? At the end of a game when the flag is open and your last few pieces are trapped, the scout can zip across and capture the flag from the back of the field. Or maybe the Miner is the most valuable since he is the only one that can defuse a bomb and potentially win the game.  
    The value of any piece is directly related to the particular point of any game. Yet the Seregant, in in my opinion, the least valuable. Sure you can say all you want abuot how he can defeat a 9 and an 8 and even a spy but who minds losing a 7?  
    Veteran players know that it's not always the quality of the player advantage you have but it's in the quantity of the players in the advantage. Having a General advantage is not going to win you any games if you're down a few Majors and some Captains.  
    Proper Army management and adapability to the conditions of the field will win more games than the pettyness of who is more valuable. Time and time again a good player will win more games when he or she is down a rank but yet maintains field position and works the board. Whether you capture the flag or beat your opponent into submission, in the end no one single piece is more valuable than YOUR flag. Try not to lose it.