Issues/Challenges

Below are some of the challenges with Stratego that cause disputes and frustration, primarily related to the main site Stratego.com

Double Chasing
This is when two sets of pieces are at a diagonal to each other. The one player has the dominant pieces (or of equal rank and wants to trade) and the weaker player has the weaker pieces. The player with the dominant pieces can continue the chase indefinitely until one player gives up the chase (either the player with weaker pieces give up a piece, or the player with the dominant pieces gives up the chase). It is possible for this to be programmed in the game, but most online versions do not have this in their system, which creates frustrations.

Draw Refusal
This is when a game is clearly a draw, but one player refuses to draw and can continue moving around the board until someone gives up. the picture above on double chasing could also be a draw refusal situation if those are all the movable pieces on the board and the red players flag is bombed in.

Stratego.com has a moderation team that returns points to players who have been victims of draw refusal, and disciplines the draw refusers. See the forum topic for more information.

Abusive Behaviour
This is when a player is "abusive" on the forum or game chat, including using foul language, insults, etc. This is particularly noted as a problem in relation to kids who play the games who can be the recipients of this abuse.

On Stratego.com, penalties are given for certain types of abusive behaviour, which can ultimate result in banning from the site. See the forum topic for more information.

Multiple Accounts
This is when players open multiple accounts in Stratego and don't declare to a player that they have played before that they have played before on another account. As Stratego is a game that involves gathering information (intel), it gives an unfair advantage to the player who is unknown and playing the player that is known.