Game of the Generals

Infobox_Game | subject_name = Game of the Generals
image_link =
image_caption = The initial layout in the "Game of the Generals". Since the players are free to place the pieces according to their strategy, notice that the white pieces do not have the same formation as the black ones.
players = 2
ages=8 and up
setup_time=2 to 5 minutes
playing_time=30 to 120 minutes (player dependent)
complexity=medium
strategy=high
random_chance=none
skills=tactics, strategy|

The "Game of the Generals", also called "Salpakan" and 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 and requires the use of logic. The games simulates armies at war trying to outflank and outmaneuver each other. As in actual warfare, the game allows only one side's plan to succeed. Certain strategies and tactics, however, allow both sides the chances of securing a better idea of the other's plans as the game progresses.

Objective

The objective of the game is to eliminate or capture the flag of one's opponent, or to maneuver one's flag to the other end of the board.

Moves and gameplay

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; afterwards, the players make their moves alternately.

All pieces have the same move: one space forward, backward, or sideways

When a player's piece attacks an opposing piece, a third person, the arbiter, examines the ranks of the opposing pieces and removes the lower-ranked piece off the board regardless of who made the attack. The game can also be played without an arbiter; however, in this case, when a piece attacks an opposing piece, 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 fair play. Care must be taken in not revealing the ranks of eliminated pieces to opponents.

Challenging

Ending of game

The game ends when either:
*A player captures the opponent's flag.
*A player's flag reaches the opposite end of the board.
*A player resigns.
*The players agree to a drawn position.

In the case of a flag reaching the opposite of the board to win, it must be separated from any opposing piece by at least an empty square or a square occupied by a friendly piece. If a flag reaches a square at the opposite end of the board that is next to a square occupied by an enemy piece, that enemy piece can still capture the flag.

The Generals Electronic Strategy Game

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 place back on the board. If the flag is placed in the "electronic 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, while in "Stratego", he only has one Spy.