Working out hidden ranks

Enemy ranks stay hidden after combat. Watch how pieces move and which pieces survive, then use those clues to narrow down the possibilities. Keep confirmed facts separate from guesses in your notes.

What the rules tell you

• A piece that has moved cannot be a landmine or the flag. Neither can leave its starting square.
• A piece that turns on a railway in one move is an Engineer.
• If your numbered piece attacks and is removed while the enemy survives, the enemy has a higher rank. Equal ranks, bombs and attacks on mines would remove both pieces.
• If both pieces are removed, the enemy may be the same rank, a bomb or a mine you attacked. You can rule out a mine if your attacker was an Engineer, or if the enemy had moved earlier.
• Any piece that enters headquarters cannot move again.
• A piece placed on the front row at setup cannot be a bomb or a mine. A bomb can move there later, so remember where it started.

What behavior might suggest

These are clues, not proof of a rank.

• A piece that stays in the back rows could be a mine or the flag. It could also be a numbered piece or a bomb held in reserve.
• A piece your opponent keeps retreating may be a Field Marshal, a General or their last Engineer. They might also be saving a low rank or a bomb.
• A piece beside a high rank may be a bomb waiting to counterattack.
• A piece that avoids your Captain but not your Lieutenant may be a Lieutenant or an Engineer. Your opponent could also be choosing not to attack.
• A piece advancing deep into your territory is not necessarily strong. Your opponent may be bluffing with a Lieutenant to test your response.

Count what remains

Each side starts with one Field Marshal, one General, two of each rank from 7 to 4, three of each rank from 3 to 1, two bombs, three mines and one flag. Track confirmed losses to narrow down what remains. Keep captured pieces of unknown rank separate from confirmed losses.

Even after both enemy bombs are gone, your Field Marshal can still be removed by its equal or a mine. If you lose every Engineer, other numbered pieces and bombs can clear mines, but are removed too. Count what each side would have left before making a trade.

Write observations such as “attacked and beat my Brigadier.” You can record a guess like “probably the Field Marshal” too, but mark it as a guess.

Common mistakes

Winning one fight does not make the surrounding squares safe. The next piece could still be a bomb or a higher rank. Mines around a headquarters do not prove the flag is there; the setup may be a decoy protecting the other headquarters.

When testing a guess with an attack, use a piece you can afford to lose. Look for more clues before risking your last Engineer or your only piece that can still move.

Use your opponent's guesses

Your opponent reads your moves too. You can advance a Lieutenant as though it were a high rank, or leave a General at the back to look like a mine. To keep an Engineer's identity hidden, use straight railway routes until you need to turn.

Practice narrowing down ranks in the deduction lesson and Unmask the piece.