This week’s free game: ‘Stratego’
Are you a gamer? Do you like free things? Of course you do!
We here at the Tech Deck are just like you: poor gamers looking for cheap entertainment. And nothing's cheaper than cost-free gaming. Each week, we'll bring you a title (or two or three) you can legally play at home without plopping down a single dollar. If you see games you think we should be featuring on the blog, email us at dang@spokesman.com or kiph@spokesman.com.
Don't laugh. Stratego is the strangely addictive board game that started the most fights among me and my friends as a kid, and now it's available to play free in your browser! Click below to dive in to Stratego from browserchess.net.
There are some really cool Stratego apps out there for your iPad and other devices that allow you to play with friends, but if you're looking for a quick and dirty experience, this Java-based game can't be beat. There are options for quick play and to set up your board automatically, speeding up gameplay considerably. And just in case the boss comes around the corner, if your browser allows cookies you'll be able to save your board for the next time you log in.
If you need a guide to Stratego's rules, here's a good primer.
Go inside the blog to learn more about Stratego's history, in board game and video game form.
Milton Bradley introduced the Stratego board game to the United States in 1961. It has its origins in the Japanese boardgame "Jungle" and a number of European offshoots from the early 20th Century. Federations have sprouted in countries such as England and the Netherlands, where the game is particularly popular and high-level players tend to hail from. It appears a team world championship will be held in Waterloo, Belgium, this year to mark the 200th anniversary since Napoleon's famous defeat.
The earliest version of a video game version I could find was released in 1990 for the Atari ST home computer. It retains the Napoleonic imagery of the board game and only featured a single-player mode. There's a single-screen, simple board that features a river running through the middle. Stratego.com hosts the most recent versions of the game, for tablet computers and PCs.
Did you have a favorite board game growing up? Did it ever translate well to a video game? Let us know in the comments below!
