Stratego: Legends is a strategy board game created and released by Avalon Hill in 1999. Set in a mythical world called "The Shattered Lands", the game pits the forces of good (represented by beige-back pieces) against the forces of evil (represented by gray-back pieces). Gameplay and rules are similar to the original Stratego game, and also somewhat similar to chess. The game was discontinued by Avalon Hill in 2004.
Backstory
The backstory of Legends is as follows: The Valorians and the Ancients had an alliance and used their powers for good. The Manes and the Gargans also had an alliance and used their powers for evil. The forces of good and the forces of evil waged constant war against each other for decades, until one day, a mythical group of creatures called the "Celestia" used their magical powers to form a barrier called The Divide. The Divide was positioned so that the lands held by the forces of good were isolated from the forces of evil. According to the official rule book, The Divide "could not be flown over, dug under, gone around, or forced through." With no way to reach the other, the Valorians and Ancients ceased the wars against the Gargans and Manes. The Celestia swore that if anyone brought down The Divide and restarted the wars, they would fight against the Celestia in the new wars. Neither army wanted to do so, after witnessing the creation of The Divide. After their vow, the Celestia vanished and were not seen again. Eventually, the Gargans and the Manes discovered a new race, the Qa'ans. The Qa'ans dwelled deep underground, where they had developed new kinds of magic. They promised the forces of evil that they would destroy The Divide and fight alongside their new allies if they received a piece of the land that would be conquered. The Gargans and Manes accepted, and the Qa'ans ended The Divide. When it was determined that The Divide was down, the leaders of the Valorians and the Ancients prepared for war. However, true to their word, the Celestia returned. The Qa'ans had brought down The Divide, so the Celestia allied against the Qa'ans, and extended an alliance to the forces of good. Both good and evil had new, stronger allies. With no Divide, the wars began again. The battles that followed are played out in the game Stratego: Legends.
Gameplay
The goal is to destroy the opponent's castle, similar to capturing a flag in the original game. The game is won when an opponent is unable to move any pieces. The gameplay mechanics of Legends closely resemble those of the original Stratego. Players take turns performing actions until one player emerges victorious.
If a piece moves into a space occupied by another piece, a battle occurs, with the piece with the higher number emerging as the victor. In the event of a tie, both pieces are removed from play.
In Legends, there are also Magic pieces, which act as the equivalent of Bombs in the original game. When a piece attacks a Magic piece, the magic piece is destroyed, and its corresponding magic ability is activated.
Unlike Stratego, where a piece's strength is better when the number is lower, Legends assigns greater strength to the higher numbers. An assembled army for Legends is as follows: One piece with a base strength of 10 One piece with a base strength of 9 Three 8s. Three 7s. Three 6s. Three 5s. Three 4s. Three 3s. Three 2s. One 1. (Like the Spy from Stratego, 1s destroy only 10s and sometimes 9s) Five Magic pieces. One Castle.
Changes from the original game
In the original Stratego, a piece moves regardless of whether or not it attacked. In Legends, only the attacker moves, and only if it attacks successfully. In Legends, there are many kinds of terrain, which may affect the strength of a piece. The original game has no such variants. In the original game, only the Spy, the Scouts, and the Miners have special powers. In Legends, all pieces have some kind of special power. Stratego allows players to set up their army any way they want. In Legends, an army could become nearly invincible if a player were allowed to set up as they wanted (because all pieces have special powers). For this reason, the pieces are "shuffled", and set up randomly, as are the terrain spaces.
Armies
There are six armies in Legends, divided into two teams. When playing the game, one player chooses the forces of good, the other chooses the forces of evil.