How to position your pieces

Your six Privates are the only pieces that beat a Spy, which makes them the shield for every officer you own. A Spy beats everything from a Sergeant up to your 5-Star General, so an officer with no Private nearby is an easy target.

Put Privates on your front row and directly in front of your top Generals. An enemy Spy hunting your 5-Star then has to get past a Private first, and a Spy that challenges a Private loses.

Put your Flag on the back row, either behind a cluster of strong pieces or tucked into a corner, where only two squares touch it and both can be held by Privates or officers.

Directly in front of the Flag, a Private is better than a General. Generals draw the enemy's Spies, and whatever wins a fight on that square is then standing right next to your Flag.

Don't move the Flag early unless it is part of your plan, such as a decoy or a run for the back row. And keep a few other pieces still too, so the Flag isn't the only piece that never moves.

Your two Spies beat every officer, but they lose to a Private, and two Spies that meet remove each other. Where they stand decides what they can catch.

Keep one Spy near the centre, a row behind your front line, to hunt officers that push into your side. Keep the other deeper in reserve for a late push, or for an enemy General that breaks through. A Spy alone on the front row is what enemy Privates are looking for.

Your three home rows have 27 squares and you have 21 pieces, so six squares stay empty. Leave them in your middle and back rows, so your Generals and Spies can step sideways without blocking each other. A back row packed solid traps the pieces in it.

Your opponent can see where your gaps are. If every setup you use leaves the same picture, the gaps tell them nothing. That's why all six formations fill the same squares.

The Fortress uses all four: a Private in front of both top Generals and the Flag, Spies a row behind the front line, and all six gaps in the back two rows.