Doc. Ref. No.

PED-Module
Kalinga State University
Effective Date 02-08-2021
Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Revision No.
Page No. Page 1 of 7

General Objectives:
1. Describes the nature and characteristics of an indoor game

2. Discuss the rules and regulations in playing the game of the generals.

3. Show competitiveness on how to play the game of the generals and scrabble by giving good tactics on
the board.

GAME OF THE GENERALS

Game of the Generals is an original Filipino board game developed to test its
players' strategical and tactical skills by using "modern-day" pieces as their pawns
for "war." Its Filipino name is "Salpakan," from the Filipino root word "Salpak,"
which is literally translated to "to crash," "to clash," or "to collide."

The game simulates armies at war trying to overpower, misinform, outflank,

outmaneuver, and destroy each other. It optimizes the use of logic, memory, and
spatial skills. It also simulates the "fog of war" because the identities of the
opposing pieces are hidden from each player and can only be guessed at by their
location, movements, or from the results of challenges.

A Brief History
At least 40 years ago, Game of the Generals game made a commotion in the
world of chess before making its way to be one of the renowned and popular board
games in the Philippines. It was controversial to most Filipino board gamers back
then, especially avid Chess players, because they thought that the game was
meant to replace or "remove" chess. Chess was big and popular during that era in
the country, especially in schools and competitions.

The Game of the Generals is often shortened for GG or GOG. 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. Making the pieces hidden was the idea of the Pasolas
after remembering card games.
 Doc. Ref. No. PED-Module
Kalinga State University
Effective Date 02-08-2021
Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Revision No.
Page No. Page 2 of 7

Rules of the Game of the Generals

1. The Board

The board consists of a rectangular board with 72 plain squares arranged in

8 rows and 9 columns. It is a "battlefield" in which, unlike Chess's alternating
colors, all tiles of the player are colored the same (four rows of white, four
rows of black). The color of the tiles may also vary depending on where it
was made or bought. The player's side is the "friendly" side, while the
opponent's side is the "enemy's."

2. The Pieces

The 21 pieces are placed in various locations within the nearest three rows
to each player's home side (a total of 27 squares). The fourth row of each
player is called the "trench" or "no man's land" where their pieces would
often meet and challenge, or just move and leave it there as it is. The
decision of putting the pieces on the board is decided by the player. There is
no particular order or orientation to where to place them.

3. The Players

This is a board game commonly played by three people: two opposing sides
and an "arbiter" or "adjutant." The arbiter is the only neutral player and the
judge of the game. The arbiter's task is to overlook the battlefield, memorize
the ranks of the pieces, and remove pieces that are challenged by either of
the players. Knowing who to go first is decided by a toss coin, a rock-paper-
scissors, or any condition. There's also a case where two players can battle
against each other, but the overall gameplay has a few catches.
 Doc. Ref. No. PED-Module
Kalinga State University
Effective Date 02-08-2021
Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Revision No.
Page No. Page 3 of 7

Each piece can only move up, down, left, or right.

PREPARING THE TROOPS

There will be two to three players. In the case of three players, the third
person will become the arbiter while the two other players become
"enemies at war." Knowing who will battle who, or will become the arbiter,
depends on the decisions of the players. Each player, including the arbiter,
has their specific duty to fulfill before, during, and after the game.

Similar to chess and other board games, both enemies at war players will sit
facing one another while the arbiter overlooks the entire battlefield. If you
were a player who's at war with another player, you'll only be able to see
your pieces but not the other player's. The arbiter, however, sees all the
pieces and judges when a battle is between two pieces (usually a piece with
a higher rank than the other) is happening.

 Each "at war" players will choose their desired color (black or white, there
are other colors too).

 Each opposing player will prepare their "troops" by randomly and/or

strategically placing them in their nearest three rows.

 Knowing who to go first is determined by any condition.

 Each player will take a turn by moving one piece, one battlefield square tile
at a time. This is a turn-based game where players only have one move to
make every turn. Time limits can be imposed if all players decide to do so. A
move of a player could either be properly moving a piece to another
battlefield square, a challenge, a retreat, surrendering to his or her opponent,
or showing his or her flag to her opponent at any given time.

 Only one piece can move one battlefield square tile on each turn and all
pieces are not allowed to move diagonally. They may, however, return to
their former positions at any given turn should the player decides to do so in
his or her turn.

 Each player has 21 pieces, or soldiers, to command on the battlefield. The

arbiter, if there is one, will only act as the judge, mediator, and overseer of
the battle. Arbiters cannot choose sides, cannot commit cheating, had
 Doc. Ref. No. PED-Module
Kalinga State University
Effective Date 02-08-2021
Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Revision No.
Page No. Page 4 of 7

memorized all the piece's ranks, and knows how to either alleviate or
aggravate conflicts between the two opposing players.
At the beginning of each battle phases, the initial phase begins when each "at war" player is
tasked to place their current pieces on their respective territory (as seen from Figure
A above).

Unlike Chess, there is no particular order to where a player will place a specific piece; the
pieces are placed randomly, depending on the players' strategies. It's a game of
psychology, disguise, infiltrating, tricking, deceiving, winning, and losing after all.

The very lowest ranking piece of each player is the flag while the very highest
piece is the spy. To make the overall game fair, some conditions that are needed
to be remembered are:

1. Any piece can capture the flag once it has been challenged. A captured flag
means victory for the player that captured it.

2. The "Spy" can eliminate any piece on the board.

**However, they can only be eliminated by "Privates." The ratio of Privates VS
Spies per player is six against two respectively.
**The "Private" can be eliminated by any piece, except for the "Flag" and the
"Spy;" the "Private" can still capture the enemy's flag. In some cases, if a
private reaches the any of the opposing players' bases (any of the very end-
square tiles of the opposite bases), it will be promoted as another Spy.

3. To know more about the whole mechanics of every piece, direct your attention to
the table below. These pieces are sorted from the highest-ranking pieces to the
lowest-ranking pieces. The highest-ranking pieces are the only ones capable of
eliminating lower-ranking pieces. The Spy, Private, and Flag follows the same rule
but with added twists and rules that every player should remember.

THE SOLDIERS

Name of the
Number of
Piece and
Pieces per
Hierarchy Power/Description
Player (Except
(Highest to
for the Arbiter)
Lowest)

Eliminates all lower ranking officer and the flag, but can only
Spy 2
be eliminated by the private.

5-Star Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
1
General

4-Star Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
1
General

3-Star Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
1
General

2-Star Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
1
General

1-Star Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
1
General

Colonel 1 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
 Doc. Ref. No. PED-Module
Kalinga State University
Effective Date 02-08-2021
Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Revision No.
Page No. Page 5 of 7

Name of the
Number of
Piece and
Pieces per
Hierarchy Power/Description
Player (Except
(Highest to
for the Arbiter)
Lowest)

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 Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
1
Lieutenant

2nd Eliminates any lower ranking officer, the private, and the flag.
1
Lieutenant

Sergeant 1 Eliminates the private and the flag.

Eliminates the flag and the only piece that can eliminate the
Private 6
spy.

Can eliminate the enemy's flag when challenged by the

Flag 1 player. Any piece can eliminate this piece once it has been
successfully challenged.
 Doc. Ref. No. PED-Module
Kalinga State University
Effective Date 02-08-2021
Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Revision No.
Page No. Page 6 of 7

WAR OF THE GENERALS

As the game progresses, a time where each player is either moving to the "trench"
(the empty rows) or beyond enemy lines, challenges can be made by either of the
players.

Each player will decide which of their desired pieces can move and challenge from
one square to another and can only move or challenge one square forward,
backward, left, or right given that it cannot move to any boxes or challenge any
piece diagonally.

Each "at war" players will take one turn at a time while the arbiter overlooks the
whole battlefield.

A "challenge" is then made when a player (on his or her turn) moves his piece
above the square of the enemy's piece.

All of the pieces can only occupy one square at a time/turn. One move is
equivalent to a piece changing its square (moving to a new location) or challenging
an opponent's piece by placing it above that piece's square.

In the case of three players, the arbiter will sometimes ask the challenger if the
challenge made is final.

In a case where there are only two players, both players will publicly declare that
piece's hierarchy if the challenge is made.

Once a challenge is made:

1. When a piece outranks the other piece, the lowest-ranked piece is eliminated and
the winning piece will remain in that eliminated piece's position.

2. When two pieces are of the same rank, both pieces are eliminated from the
board and are placed from the sides of the players, with each discarded piece
facing away from the visibility of each player.

And, in some rare cases, when a player's flag (on his or her turn) successfully
challenged the other player's flag, that player automatically wins the game (because
the flag is captured).

All eliminated pieces are to be placed on the player's graveyard (beside the player),
facing away from the enemy's views. This adds the challenge and turmoil to the
winner, and loser, of the battle of trying to guess the enemy's discarded pieces and
remaining pieces.
 Doc. Ref. No. PED-Module
Kalinga State University
Effective Date 02-08-2021
Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Revision No.
Page No. Page 7 of 7

END OF THE WAR

The entirety of the game will end if and only if:

1. The Flag is eliminated or captured by any player. This is done by a successful

challenge. The player who "captures the flag" will be the winner.

2. When a player, except the arbiter, resigns or surrenders. The player who does
this will automatically lose the game and will show his or her flag's position on the
board/battlefield if it's not shown during their match.

3. When both opposing players agree on a drawn position (a truce).

4. When a player's Flag reaches the opposite end tile of the board of the player.
BUT when the Flag successfully reaches the opponent's home base (any square
tile at the home base of the opponent), it has to survive one more turn without
being challenged or eliminated before the arbiter declares a decision (victory for
the flag-owner player, defeat for the flag-landed player).

5. A player's Flag reaches the opposing back rank and there are no nearby or
adjacent enemy pieces that can possibly challenge it. The player wins the game
after one more turn.
Any player may reveal his Flag at any time and for any reason, before, during, or
after the entire game. They will continue playing the game until that revealed flag
is captured by the opponent or if the overall game meets one of the above
conditions.

Most often, a player reveals his or her Flag after it has already secured victory at the
opposing back rank (Victory) or if it has successfully been challenged by the
opponent (Defeat).