Generals Order
Encyclopedia
Generals Order or 将军令, is a strategy trading card game developed by Strategy Entertainment Pte Ltd of Singapore and introduced in 2007. Generals Order is the first Chinese strategy trading card game developed by a Singapore
company and despite its humble beginnings, has a player base in the hundreds and growing. Generals Order can be played by two or more players each using a deck of printed cards. The number of cards in one deck can vary from forty to sixty cards.
. In this game, a player takes on the role of a commander-in-chief
of an army, with warriors, weapons, and the gift of intelligence at your disposal. The gameplay comprises many features adopted from other TCGs, being a medley and a combination of a multitude of other TCGs in terms of gameplay. The game starts by having both players draw 5 cards from their deck and drawing one card per turn from then on after determining the starting party. The player to start first is denied his first draw.
, commonly referred to as the resource deck. Victory is gained when a player ensures that their own resource deck outlast their opponents'. This is achieved by removing all of the enemy's deck either to the discard pile or graveyard. This is similar to WWE TCG, which also use the deck as resources, victory conditions and survival.
There are two common ways of achieving this; one is to attack the opponent's resource deck, or fortress, with warriors, the other is to build up a strong enough defense to ensure that the opponent draws himself to death.
Other areas include the resource stack, which is actually the area between the inside own city/fortress and the outside own city/fortress. The deck is effectively the wall of your city/fortress. There is also the discard pile, where discarded cards go, and the dead zone/graveyard, which is similar to the discard pile except that the cards placed in the graveyard are removed from play altogether and cannot be returned to the deck in the middle of the game. Another area for higher level play is the command zone.
The position system is important as generals(see character cards) are only allowed one action per turn, which is either an attack or a movement, but not both unless the general uses a special effect or if the player uses certain event cards(see Event\Strategy cards). Generals are able to move directly from within own city/fortress(自城内) to outside enemy city/fortress(敌城外) if the number of enemy generals outside own city/fortress is equal to the number of friendly generals there.
For a character/general to be successfully summoned, the player must discard an equal number of hand cards as the summon cost of the character. All characters are summoned within own city/fortress unless stated. A character summoned on this turn cannot attack or move until the next turn unless stated otherwise(they still can activate special effects/特效 though).
Military attack is most commonly used and is the determining factor in direct combat(commanding your general to attack an enemy general within the same zone). The general with the higher military attack wins in this situation, in which case the general with the lower military attack is placed in the graveyard of that player. In the case of equal military attack, both generals die simultaneously. Characters do not have any hp and they die on impact, similar to Yu-Gi-Oh TCG. Intelligence attack is usually only used in conjunction with a strategy card. It has no set mechanics instead refers to the strategy card that initiates a strategy attack.
On top of the basic statistics, all generals have either a special effect(特效) or specialty(特点). The only difference between the two is that special effects have to be activated and they usually cost a certain number of hand cards to do so. Specialties are passive and innate, like an aura effect. Special effects are not considered as an action the general takes, however one can only use any special effect from one general once per turn.
A special thing to note about Generals Order is that once a general is dead, the same player cannot summon the same general again, or summon any character having the same name as the dead general(in the case of the different cards bearing the same character in different factions). This makes Generals Order very different from other TCGs.
, this is one of the 3 main factions in history. Being portrayed as the main protagonists in history, they are known to be benevolent, stoic, loyal and righteous. In the game, this faction comprises many of the well known warriors like Guan Yu
, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun
, and the great advisor Zhuge Liang
. The characteristic of the blue fraction is having a large number of good warrior cards and cards which force the enemy to move. Hence, people who play Shu usually go for a more offensive approach. However they should be wary against spell caster decks.
, this is one of the 3 main factions in history. Cao Cao
is known to be a extremely clever individual who excels in both charisma and war. However he is also a controversial person as he is usually depicted to be egocentric and a megalomaniac. In the game, this faction is known to be offensive and swift in attack. They also have an abnormally high number of high intelligence generals. The characteristics of the red fraction is that they have the most number of cards, among all the factions, that deal damage directly to the opponents resource deck.
, this is one of the 3 main factions in history. A elusive yet powerful faction in history, they are well-known for hiding their strengths until the last moment and acting passively but surely. In the game, this faction is known to be defensive in nature. The characteristics of the green fraction is that they have the most number of defensive cards and players playing green will usually adopt a defensive strategy as well. They have lots of buffs that only work while the generals are in either within own city(自城内) or outside own city(自城外).
, who was a historical character that was featured slightly before the three kingdom period
. He was well-known to be brutal and incredibly malicious and despicable in his doings as a ruler. Well known warriors in this fraction include Lü Bu
, one of the strongest fighters during that period. The Characteristic of the purple fraction is that the nature of their cards tend to allow the players to deal extra damage and they have lots of high cost, high damage generals with few low cost ones.
, who was also a historical character during that period. His note to fame was when he led a personal campaign against Dong Zhuo. The characteristic of the brown faction is cheap cost, high damage generals that cause the user to attain some damage in order to play the card due to their specialty.
, a sorcerer that started the famous Yellow Turban Rebellion
. They are, in history, a bunch of uninteresting regional gangs that staged a large uprising by drawing large crowds to them and using sheer numbers to overrun the Dong Zhuo government. Characteristics of the yellow faction is that they usually attack in numbers, and users of this faction will usually attack the opponent's fortress with a horde of warriors due to the incredibly low summon costs of almost all their generals.
(purple faction). They existed historically around the same time as Dong Zhuo's regime but split later to the standard Wei, Wu and Shu factions. They fight based on a highly uncommon scavenger style that changes the statistics of many of their generals based on the number of their dead.
culture and language. Through the use of an interactive educational program
, student interest in the Chinese culture, as well as the stories of the three kingdom era, are brought out.
The Generals Order Educational Programme is also featured in Thumb Up.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
company and despite its humble beginnings, has a player base in the hundreds and growing. Generals Order can be played by two or more players each using a deck of printed cards. The number of cards in one deck can vary from forty to sixty cards.
Gameplay Features
Generals Order is a strategy trading card game that was developed based on ancient Chinese history and the Chinese classic novel Romance of the Three KingdomsRomance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...
. In this game, a player takes on the role of a commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of an army, with warriors, weapons, and the gift of intelligence at your disposal. The gameplay comprises many features adopted from other TCGs, being a medley and a combination of a multitude of other TCGs in terms of gameplay. The game starts by having both players draw 5 cards from their deck and drawing one card per turn from then on after determining the starting party. The player to start first is denied his first draw.
Victory Conditions
Every game simulates a fierce battle with a rival camp, with the aim of ultimately destroying their fortress, and successfully defending yours. The fortress is represented by the players' deck of cardsPlaying card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
, commonly referred to as the resource deck. Victory is gained when a player ensures that their own resource deck outlast their opponents'. This is achieved by removing all of the enemy's deck either to the discard pile or graveyard. This is similar to WWE TCG, which also use the deck as resources, victory conditions and survival.
There are two common ways of achieving this; one is to attack the opponent's resource deck, or fortress, with warriors, the other is to build up a strong enough defense to ensure that the opponent draws himself to death.
Position System
The playing area consists of mainly 4 areas, within own city/fortress(自城内), outside own city/fortress(自城外), outside enemy city/fortress(敌城外) and inside enemy city/fortress(敌城内). Usually the main playing area will be the first 3 zones as the last zone(inside enemy city/fortress)can only be accessed through certain special cards. This is similar to Pokemon TCG's benching system.Other areas include the resource stack, which is actually the area between the inside own city/fortress and the outside own city/fortress. The deck is effectively the wall of your city/fortress. There is also the discard pile, where discarded cards go, and the dead zone/graveyard, which is similar to the discard pile except that the cards placed in the graveyard are removed from play altogether and cannot be returned to the deck in the middle of the game. Another area for higher level play is the command zone.
The position system is important as generals(see character cards) are only allowed one action per turn, which is either an attack or a movement, but not both unless the general uses a special effect or if the player uses certain event cards(see Event\Strategy cards). Generals are able to move directly from within own city/fortress(自城内) to outside enemy city/fortress(敌城外) if the number of enemy generals outside own city/fortress is equal to the number of friendly generals there.
Card Types
In Generals Order, there are four different type of card categories, namely the character card, the event/strategy card, the special card, and the equipment card. Any deck can only have up to 3 of the exactly same card.Character Cards(Generals)
Character cards are also known as general cards. They form the most of a typical deck's offensive force. All character cards have a summon cost, Military attack(also known as STR, strength or damage) and Intelligence attack(also known as INT, intel).For a character/general to be successfully summoned, the player must discard an equal number of hand cards as the summon cost of the character. All characters are summoned within own city/fortress unless stated. A character summoned on this turn cannot attack or move until the next turn unless stated otherwise(they still can activate special effects/特效 though).
Military attack is most commonly used and is the determining factor in direct combat(commanding your general to attack an enemy general within the same zone). The general with the higher military attack wins in this situation, in which case the general with the lower military attack is placed in the graveyard of that player. In the case of equal military attack, both generals die simultaneously. Characters do not have any hp and they die on impact, similar to Yu-Gi-Oh TCG. Intelligence attack is usually only used in conjunction with a strategy card. It has no set mechanics instead refers to the strategy card that initiates a strategy attack.
On top of the basic statistics, all generals have either a special effect(特效) or specialty(特点). The only difference between the two is that special effects have to be activated and they usually cost a certain number of hand cards to do so. Specialties are passive and innate, like an aura effect. Special effects are not considered as an action the general takes, however one can only use any special effect from one general once per turn.
A special thing to note about Generals Order is that once a general is dead, the same player cannot summon the same general again, or summon any character having the same name as the dead general(in the case of the different cards bearing the same character in different factions). This makes Generals Order very different from other TCGs.
Event/Strategy Cards
Event or strategy cards are similar to the magic cards in Yu-Gi-Oh or trainer/supporter cards in Pokemon TCG. They also have a casting cost, similar to the character cards, but they are usually discarded or removed from play once used. They usually provide certain forms of support(like enabling the player to draw more cards, or summon characters at less cost) or initiate an attack which uses Intelligence to determine the winner. The latter are also known as spell cards. Event cards range from all sorts of effects, from direct removal of the enemy's deck cards to the discard pile to weird effects that can kill the entire enemy army once one of the enemy's generals is killed. Their effects usually last for the casting player's turn only. Spells also come in different types, some targeting a single enemy general, other being able knockout all enemies within a zone at once. Certain spells are also known to be restricted to certain zones.Special Cards
Special cards are like trap cards in Yu-Gi-Oh TCG. They are the only cards you can use on the enemy's turn and they usually are a buff to your generals or a special effect to render the enemy useless. Each special card has a different trigger of activation. They, like event cards, also have a cast cost.Equipment Cards
Equipment cards are classified further to Troops or Weaponry. These cards are attached to generals and cannot be unattached without special effect from other cards. The usually provide a permanent boost to the general's raw statistics. A general can only be attached with one Troop type and one Weaponry type at a time unless stated otherwise.Generals Command cards
These cards are very special and they are not included in the main deck. They provide certain forms of permanent support to the player throughout the game. They do not have to be drawn or discarded and are placed on the command zone on the field before the start of the game.Affiliation
In generals order, there is an affiliation mechanic which works based on the factions of the generals the player wants to summon. Basically, the cost for summoning a general is lowered when a general of the same faction is already on the field. Each summoned general provides a -1 discount for the next general. This effect is passive, stackable and cannot be "used up".Consumption
A special aspect of Generals Order is the need to "feed" your generals once per turn. Right before a player ends his/her turn, they must remove the number of cards equal to the total number of generals they have summoned on to any part of the playing field(excluding the graveyard) from their deck to the discard pile. Certain generals or equipment require more resources to be discarded per turn. This mechanic stops players from summoning huge numbers of generals at at time and also promotes more active use of your generals.Factions
When one thinks of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one would naturally think of the three main factions, which are Wèi (魏), Shǔ (蜀), and Wú (吳). In Generals Order, all cards are classified into factions and there are currently six different factions, represented by six different colors. Each color/faction has its own unique traits and characteristics. Factions are official classifications of cards, which is a benchmark for the maximum cards a player can have in his hand cards at the end of his turn. Extra cards need to be discarded. A pure 1 faction player can have up to 10, a 2 faction player can have up to 8 and those with 3 or more faction in their deck can only have up to 6. The smallest maximum hand size is currently 6.Blue (蜀)
Led by the warlord Liu BeiLiu Bei
Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...
, this is one of the 3 main factions in history. Being portrayed as the main protagonists in history, they are known to be benevolent, stoic, loyal and righteous. In the game, this faction comprises many of the well known warriors like Guan Yu
Guan Yu
Guan Yu was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the...
, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun
Zhao Yun
Zhao Yun was a military general who lived during the late Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. For most of his career, Zhao served the warlord Liu Bei, playing a part in the establishment of state of Shu Han...
, and the great advisor Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
. The characteristic of the blue fraction is having a large number of good warrior cards and cards which force the enemy to move. Hence, people who play Shu usually go for a more offensive approach. However they should be wary against spell caster decks.
Red (魏)
Led by the warlord Cao CaoCao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
, this is one of the 3 main factions in history. Cao Cao
Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
is known to be a extremely clever individual who excels in both charisma and war. However he is also a controversial person as he is usually depicted to be egocentric and a megalomaniac. In the game, this faction is known to be offensive and swift in attack. They also have an abnormally high number of high intelligence generals. The characteristics of the red fraction is that they have the most number of cards, among all the factions, that deal damage directly to the opponents resource deck.
Green (吳)
Led by the warlord Sun QuanSun Quan
Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, formally Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He ruled from 222 to 229 as King of Wu and from 229 to 252 as Emperor of Wu....
, this is one of the 3 main factions in history. A elusive yet powerful faction in history, they are well-known for hiding their strengths until the last moment and acting passively but surely. In the game, this faction is known to be defensive in nature. The characteristics of the green fraction is that they have the most number of defensive cards and players playing green will usually adopt a defensive strategy as well. They have lots of buffs that only work while the generals are in either within own city(自城内) or outside own city(自城外).
Purple (董)
Led by the warlord Dong ZhuoDong Zhuo
Dong Zhuo was a politician and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He seized control of the capital city Luoyang in 189 when it was in a state of turmoil following the death of Emperor Ling and a clash between the eunuch faction and some court officials led by...
, who was a historical character that was featured slightly before the three kingdom period
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
. He was well-known to be brutal and incredibly malicious and despicable in his doings as a ruler. Well known warriors in this fraction include Lü Bu
Lü Bu
Lü Bu was a military general and later a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. According to the Records of Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was highly-skilled in horse-riding and archery, and was thus nicknamed "Flying General"...
, one of the strongest fighters during that period. The Characteristic of the purple fraction is that the nature of their cards tend to allow the players to deal extra damage and they have lots of high cost, high damage generals with few low cost ones.
Brown (袁)
Led by the warlord Yuan ShaoYuan Shao
Yuan Shao was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era...
, who was also a historical character during that period. His note to fame was when he led a personal campaign against Dong Zhuo. The characteristic of the brown faction is cheap cost, high damage generals that cause the user to attain some damage in order to play the card due to their specialty.
Yellow (黄)
Led by Zhang JiaoZhang Jiao
Zhang Jue was the leader of the Yellow Turban rebels during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was said to be a follower of Taoism and a sorcerer. His name is sometimes read as Zhang Jiao, since the Chinese character of Zhang's given name can be read as either "Jiao" or "Jue"...
, a sorcerer that started the famous Yellow Turban Rebellion
Yellow Turban Rebellion
The Yellow Turban Rebellion, also translated as Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt that broke out in 184 AD in China during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty...
. They are, in history, a bunch of uninteresting regional gangs that staged a large uprising by drawing large crowds to them and using sheer numbers to overrun the Dong Zhuo government. Characteristics of the yellow faction is that they usually attack in numbers, and users of this faction will usually attack the opponent's fortress with a horde of warriors due to the incredibly low summon costs of almost all their generals.
Orange (侯)
A new faction with no real leader, this faction is actually the combined army of quite a few warlords that rivaled against the evil Dong ZhuoDong Zhuo
Dong Zhuo was a politician and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He seized control of the capital city Luoyang in 189 when it was in a state of turmoil following the death of Emperor Ling and a clash between the eunuch faction and some court officials led by...
(purple faction). They existed historically around the same time as Dong Zhuo's regime but split later to the standard Wei, Wu and Shu factions. They fight based on a highly uncommon scavenger style that changes the statistics of many of their generals based on the number of their dead.
Grey (无）
Cards that are grey do not belong to any faction. These cards are usually event or strategy cards. There are some faction-less generals but they are extremely rare. There is a series of strategies called the "Thirty-six Strats" are a set of very powerful but situational event cards found in this faction. The strategies are derived from Sun Tze's Art of War.Silver (杰)
This faction name literally means "Hero". Cards from this faction are all generals and they are considered legendary. Extremely rare, possibly only available during events. All of these generals are doppelgangers of powerful generals from other factions and most of them have 0 summon cost very powerful statistics. However, they also have immensely devastating specialties such as having to discard more than half your deck when they die, or having to discard a card whenever they do an action every turn.Dark Green (蛮)
The new faction to be released in version 4, this faction sports the southern barbaric tribes of ancient China. The generals in this faction have unique abilities and usually rely on the number opponents hand cards or generals for its ability to be very effective.Development
Currently, the game has four expansions, namely 起点 (expansion 1), 群雄争霸 (expansion 2), 乱世枭雄 (expansion 3) and 傲视天下 (expansion 4) The developers have launched the fourth expansion recently(around October 2010).Educational Value
Besides being projected as a recreational game, Generals Order has also been marketed as an educational tool, used in various primary and secondary schools to help promote interest in the ChineseCulture of China
Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...
culture and language. Through the use of an interactive educational program
Educational program
An educational program is a program written by the ministry of education which determines the learning progress of each subject in all the stages of formal education....
, student interest in the Chinese culture, as well as the stories of the three kingdom era, are brought out.
The Generals Order Educational Programme is also featured in Thumb Up.