Parker Brothers Vintage Game Collection Exclusive Wooden Book Box Stratego

This Best Selling Parker Brothers Vintage Game Collection Exclusive Wooden Book Box Stratego tends to SELL OUT VERY FAST!!

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B00285LPMC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: 82,442 in Toys ; Games (See Top 100 in Toys ; Games)
  

Price : $87.00

Product Description

Target Exclusive, Limited Edition game with wooden game board

Product Features

• Target Exclusive

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Customer Reviews

Stratego was introduced in the United States in the early 1960s. Offering strategic elements of chess on a familiar board game motif, it became a very popular game in American households during the 1960s and 70s. By 2000, no doubt caving to constant reports of how stupid American children were becoming, Hasbro changed the numbering system on the pieces, completely inverting the familiar 1-9 scale. Historically, the most powerful piece (Marshall) was marked "1" while the least powerful piece (Scout) was marked "9." More recent editions contain pieces marked in the opposite manner, with higher ranked (i.e., stronger) pieces displaying higher numbers. This decision was not met with universal applause, and in response (or perhaps it was planned all along to generate multiple streams of revenue?), Hasbro released a "Vintage" edition. So if you wish to own the same Stratego game you grew up playing, you are forced to find an older game or else purchase the more expensive Vintage edition. Another pitfall for would-be buyers is that Hasbro recently capitalized on the popular fantasy theme, releasing a version of Stratego which replaces the classic Napoleonic army with medieval themed pieces (i.e., dragon, dwarf, slayer). Confusingly, this version is NOT named Stratego--the D;D Battle or Stratego--the Fire and Ice Edition or any other moniker that might be helpful in distinguishing among them. Note also that this version also reduced the number of pieces from forty to thirty.
To recap, there are three current Hasbro (Milton Bradley) offerings. They are all offered on Amazon (at varying price levels) and I will cross reference the manufacturer's part numbers and also provide the relevant links to the games on Hasbro's Web site, although you cannot purchase directly there.
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Stratego Nostalgia
Hasbro Item 40836
(See Comments section below for link.)
The Vintage edition (confusingly titled "Nostalgia" by Amazon) offers the proper (in my opinion!) numbering system, and comes in a keepsake wooden box.
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Stratego-Milton Bradley Board Games
Hasbro Item 04714
(See Comments section below for link.)
The basic Stratego (post-2000) edition offers the proper number of pieces (40) but the inverted ranking system. This last and most important point is not obvious until you scrutinize the Product Details. ("This new, updated version of Stratego is slightly different than the original, though the gameplay is the same.") Plus you need to apply the stickers yourself! Ouch, Hasbro cheaped out.
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Stratego
Hasbro Item 45068
(See Comments section below for link.)
The fantasy-themed version with 30 pieces. Again, Amazon has failed to adequately label the game, simply titling it "Stratego." However the Product Features make it clear. ("Choose to lead warriors from an ancient arctic realm or a fierce army from a land of fiery molten lava.")
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Your best bet? If you simply want the same game you grew up playing, just look for a cardboard boxed set from the 70s or 80s. For example, this version (Stratego - The Classic Game of Battlefield Strategy 1986 Edition) is the same one I have. I have owned it for many years with no complaints. Finding one for yourself, however, might be trickier than you think. Unless you buy it here from a Amazon Marketplace vendor--which is not recommended, given the ridiculous prices--you are left to your own devices to find it in a used game store or at a garage sale. Alternatively, you can buy one of the currently offered versions. But as I have demonstrated, they are not all the same as one another, and indeed very few are identical to what you may have grown up playing.
P.S. After much further research, I believe either of these two sets (Stratego Vintage Wood Book Edition) or (Library Stratego Game Set) are equivalent to the Vintage edition described above, and at least one may be available inexpensively at Target.

Son has figured out a game he can beat his mother handily in - and we run each other close every time, and he can win as often as he loses :)
Outstanding for his happiness - chess was not cutting it because it takes too long to be truly competitive - and Stratego has been brilliant in many ways - it is less experience and formula driven than chess, and the variations in strategy are complex enough to keep everyone interested... quite a freaky game.
The vintage wooden box version looks fantastic, and the pieces and board look highly durable - we've been playing this on the beach as well as at home, and there are no issues at all.
Overall, highly recommended, simple to learn and hours of fun and complexity.

 

Parker Brothers Vintage Game Collection Exclusive Wooden Book Box Stratego