Probe Overview

Probe is a strategy board game pitting you against the computer. The objective is to capture Probe's Flag before Probe captures yours.

The game board is centered with your piece tray on the left and Probe's tray on the right. Pieces still on the board display as dimmed in the trays. The identities of Probe's pieces remain hidden until after attacks, just as the identities of your pieces remain hidden from Probe. Pieces may not move into the two areas in the center of the board that display as lakes in the game board design shown below.

Piece movement and captures are explained in the Rules of Play, but, in general, pieces attack by attempting to occupy the square of the opponent. Captures are determined by the rank of the piece, with lower ranked pieces defeating higher ranked pieces.

Notice your Flag is protected by a Bomb shield. You also have a fake Bomb shield in the bottom right corner as a decoy. Mostly likely, Probe's Flag is also protected by a Bomb shield. Bomb shields are effective because only a Miner (8) can capture a Bomb.

As the game progresses, the board thins out from captures, and you will begin to detect patterns among Probe's remaining pieces. Here is a snapshot of the same game at a later stage. How many likely Flag locations can you find?

Probe games typically consist of three stages:

• Opening, where you develop your pieces according to the logic of your setup.
• Mid game, where you attempt to establish piece superiority and control over the board.
• End game, where you send out search parties to find and capture the Flag.

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