How to Play Pirates of the Caribbean Stratego

Decide whether you will use the Pirate's Code rules or the traditional rules. If you have never played Stratego before, you may wish to try the traditional rules first, but the Pirate's Code rules are a lot more fun.

Pick a side, and arrange your pieces on the three rows closest to your side of the board, with the backs of the pieces facing your opponent. Take the three magic chits if you are playing as the tan side, or take the compass chit if you are playing as the black side.

On your turn, pick up one of your soldier pieces (not a bomb or flag) and move it one space north, east, south, or west to an adjacent space. If you land on an opposing piece, each player reveals his piece, and the lower number piece is destroyed. If the two pieces are the same number, both are destroyed. If a soldier piece lands on a bomb, the soldier is destroyed unless it was a three, in which case the bomb is destroyed instead.

Reveal a piece with special Pirate abilities to use the ability instead of your normal move. Each piece is labeled with the special abilities it can use. Reveal a Spyglass piece to force your opponent to reveal a piece one or two squares away in any direction, but keep in mind that using this power takes your turn and you will not get to move.

Reveal a Fleet of Foot piece to move two spaces in a row with that piece. The two moves do not have to be in the same direction, so you could move north and then east. Reveal a two to move as many spaces as you like in a straight line with that piece, but it must be all in the same direction.

Reveal a piece with Swordsman to move it one space into an empty square. You may then select up to three opposing pieces that are adjacent north, east, south, west, or even diagonally. Your piece enters combat with all three pieces at once, destroying lower pieces and being destroyed by higher pieces, as per Step 3.

Reveal a piece with Forced Surrender to attack a piece one or two squares away without moving. Your opponent must reveal the piece you attack, and if it is a soldier with rank lower than an eight, it is removed from the board.

Reveal your ten piece to use the special ability chit. Captain Sparrow may use the Compass ability, which allows you to name any piece, and your opponent must truthfully tell you whether the named piece lies north, west, east, south, or some combination thereof. Davy Jones may use the Magic ability, which allows him to reveal himself and move any number of spaces in a straight line, as if he were a two. Using either ability costs you the appropriate cardboard chit, so the compass may only be used once, and the magic three times.

If you attack with your Spy on your turn and land on the opponent's ten piece, that ten piece is destroyed. Any other combat in which a spy participates results in the spy being destroyed.