The document summarizes the wargame The Game of the Generals (also called GG). It was invented in the Philippines in 1970 and simulates armies maneuvering to capture each other's flags. Each of the 2 players controls 21 hidden pieces of varying ranks from private to 5-star general. Players take turns moving one piece and can challenge opponents' pieces through an arbiter who removes the lower-ranked piece without revealing ranks. The objective is to capture the opponent's flag or maneuver your flag to the other side of the board.

1. Game of the Generals
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nerals_box_cover.jpg
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nerals_box_cover.jpg
Box cover of the 1981
version
Players 2 + 1 arbiter
Age range All ages
Setup time 2 to 3 minutes
Playing time 30 to 120 minutes (player-dependent)
Random chance Yes
Skill(s) required Strategy, tactics
The Game of the Generals, also called GG as it is most fondly called, or simply The
Generals, is an educational wargame invented in the Philippines by Sofronio H. Pasola,
Jr. in 1970. It can be played within twenty to thirty minutes. It is designed for two
players, each controlling an army, and a neutral arbiter or an adjutant. It needs the use of
logic. The game simulates armies at war trying to outflank and outmaneuver each other.
As an actual warfare, the game allows only one side's plan to succeed. Certain strategies
and tactics, however, allow both sides the chance of securing a better idea of the other's
plan as the game progresses. Players can also speak with others during matches, hoping
to make a false impression on where the flag is.
History[edit]
This game was invented by Sofronio H. Pasola, Jr. with the inspiration of his son Ronnie
Pasola. The Pasolas first tried the Game of the Generals on a chessboard. Even then, the
pieces had no particular arrangement. There were no spies in the experimental game; but
after Ronnie Pasola remembered the James Bond movies and Mata Hari, he added the
spies. [1] Making the pieces hidden was the idea of the Pasolas after remembering card
games. The Game of the Generals' public introduction was on February 28, 1973.[2]
After the game was made, it angered many chess players thinking that Pasola was trying
to remove chess out of fame.[3]

2. Objective[edit]
The objective of the game is to eliminate or capture the flag of the opponent, or to
maneuver one's flag to the other end of the board.
The Pieces[edit]
The player's set of pieces or soldiers with the corresponding ranks and functions consist
of the following 21 pieces. A higher ranking piece will eliminate any lower ranking piece,
with the exception of the spy, which eliminates all pieces except the private. The pieces
are bent at an angle in order to hide the piece's rank or insignia from the opponent.
In plastic sets, the colours commonly used in the pieces are black and white. There are
also sets composed of wooden boards and steel pieces. Those pieces have insignias that
are either coloured red or blue. In metal sets, the color of the board is commonly brown
and the pieces are aluminum colored. The pieces are still bent.
Apart from the flag (the Philippine flag) and the spy (a pair of prying eyes), the insignias
used in the game are those used in the Philippine Army.
Pieces No. of
Pieces Function
Five-star
General 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
Four-star
General 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
Lieutenant
General 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
Major
General 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
Brigadier
General 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
Colonel 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
Lt. Colonel 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
Major 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
Captain 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
1st
Lieutenant 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
2nd
Lieutenant 1 Eliminates the sergeant, the private, and the flag.

3. Sergeant 1 Eliminates the private, and the flag.
Private 6 Eliminates the spy, and the flag.
Spy 2 Eliminates all officers from the rank of Sergeant up to 5-Star General
& the flag.
Flag 1 Eliminates the opposing flag as long as it takes the aggressive action
against the enemy flag.
Note: If both soldiers are of equal rank, both are eliminated.
Moves and gameplay[edit]
The game is played on a board with 9x8 plain squares. The pieces are placed in various
locations in the first three rows of each player's home side. Unlike chess or its variants,
there is no predetermined layout for the pieces, allowing each player to place the pieces
to his advantage. There is also no predetermined order of play. The players can decide
who goes first; afterward, the players take their turns alternately.
All pieces have the same move: One space forward, backward, or sideways. Each player
can move only one piece per turn.
Challenging[edit]
A challenge is signaled by placing one's piece on top of the opposing piece occupying
one of the squares. The arbiter then examines the ranks of the opposing pieces and
removes the lower-ranked piece off the board and returns it to the owner regardless of
who initiated the challenge. The arbiter must take care not to reveal the ranks of the
pieces to the opposition. The game can also be played without an arbiter. In this case,
when a challenge is made, both players must state the ranks of their pieces before
removing the lower-ranked piece. Therefore, the presence of the arbiter, though not
compulsory, is especially important to ensure secrecy until the game is over. It should be
noted, however, that official games are conducted with an arbiter.
Determining who wins the challenge[edit]
Regardless of who initiated the challenge, their ranks determine which one is to be
removed.
· Any one of the player's pieces can capture the opposing flag. This includes the
player's own flag.
· Any piece eliminates the private except the spy and the flag.
· Officers eliminate other officers that are ranked below it (e.g. a four-star general
eliminates a lieutenant-colonel).
· A spy eliminates all officers (including the five-star general). Only the private can
eliminate the spy.
· If both pieces are of the same rank, both are removed from the board.
· If a flag challenges the opponent's flag, the challenging flag prevails.

4. If a flag reaches the opposite end of the board, the opponent has one turn left although it
is not announced. After the turn, the player reveals the flag. If the flag was not
challenged, the player wins the game. If it was challenged, the player loses.
The Generals Electronic Strategy Game[edit]
In 1980, Ideal released The Generals Electronic Strategy Game. The rules and piece
ranks are the same as above, except that the "Spies" are "Agents", and an electronic
arbiter determines which piece wins in a confrontation; neither player sees his opponent's
pieces. The plastic pieces have selected notches on their bases, which depress certain
indentations in the electronic arbiter's twin slots. The lights flash and a short musical
phrase plays before a light labeled "battle winner" is illuminated. The losing piece is
removed from the board, while the winning piece is placed back on the board. If the flag
is placed in the arbiter, it plays "Taps" after the initial musical phrase.
Unlike the original version of the game, if a player's flag reaches the back row in The
Generals Electronic Strategy Game, that player wins, even if an opposing piece occupies
an adjacent square on the back row.
Unlike the somewhat similar game of Stratego, Generals does not have any bombs, nor
miners to defuse them, nor scouts to zip several spaces across the board in one move. Nor
does Generals have any immovable pieces (both the flag and the bombs in Stratego are
stationary). In addition, unlike Stratego, which features two "lakes" in the middle of the
board, all the squares on the board are accessible. Also, each player has two Agents in
Generals, while each only has one Spy in Stratego. Finally, Generals inherently requires
a third-party arbiter to maintain the game's uncertainty