RESOURCES AND DEVOTIONS FOR BUSY PEOPLE
MARCHING ORDERS GAME
MARCHING ORDERS
Number of players: 5 - 20
This is a great get-to-know-you game, where players pit their wits in a battle to make it to the top rank of General. It can be played seated or standing up.
Equipment needed: Paper (or card) and wild cards (see below)
The Aim
The aim of this game is to have the rank of General when a ceasefire is called. To become the General, players have to work their way through the ranks of the army to become the highest ranking officer, the General. When you become the General, you’ll then have to work hard to keep your job.
Setting the game up
The game will depend on how many people you have in the group, so you may have to add or lose roles depending on the number of people. Make sure you have a Chef and a General.
Arrange the group into a semi-circle (or nearly a circle). Have each rank written on an A4 piece of paper (see below). Place the ranks in order on the floor. Have each player stand behind the piece of paper of the rank you give them. Ranks must ascend in the correct order beginning with Chef on the far left and ending with the General for the person on the far right. Each rank should be visible to the other players.
How to play
The game starts with the Chef, who will call out their rank followed by their own name (eg. “Chef Paul”). This player must then call out another rank and the person’s name (eg. “Colonel Megan”). So that player has called out two names, first their own, then another of their choice (eg. “Chef Paul to Colonel Megan”). The player who has then been called out, must immediately call out their own rank followed by their name and then someone else’s (eg. “Colonel Megan to General Simon”). They cannot call out the person who has just called to them (eg. “Colonel Megan back to Chef Paul”). This is counted as a mistake, and that person will lose their rank.
What happens when someone loses their rank?
When someone loses their rank, (eg. the Sergeant) they must step forward over the paper with their rank (or stand up). That person (Sergeant) has been demoted and must march down to take up the place of the lowest rank (the Chef). Next, the player who was a rank lower than the one who lost their rank (Corporal) is now promoted to fill the space of the person who made the mistake (and become Sergeant). This then follows down the ranks, with each person being promoted into the spaces that have now been created.
Reasons why someone loses their rank
1) If someone calls out a person who has just called to them.
2) Saying a rank or name incorrectly.
3) Pausing or hesitating for more than a few seconds.
4) Taking too long or missing that they have just been called out.
For any of the above mistakes, the game is paused and the one who made the mistake becomes the lowest rank. Everyone else below that rank is then promoted into the empty spaces. The game begins again with the Chef calling out a rank and name.
The Ranks
1) Chef
2) Cadet
3) Private
4) Lance Corporal
5) Corporal
6) Sergeant
7) Staff Sergeant
8) Warrant Officer
9) 2nd Lieutenant
10) Lieutenant
11) Captain
12) Major
13) Lieutenant Colonel
14) Colonel
15) Brigadier General
16) Major General
17) General
Wild Cards
To mix the game up, wild cards can be used (see card below). There should be two decks of cards. One deck has cards with all of the ranks in it (but not players names). The other deck has chance cards with various scenarios that take place which will affect the game. For example, someone might pick up a Major card and a chance card that says "You have been given the authority to re-organize the army, make changes to three ranks." The Major would then be able to demote and promote three people. In amongst the wild cards are random cards that will not just affect one player, but the whole group.
You can draw a wild card after every third time a person is demoted (or whenever you feel it is suitable to). See below for images of the wild cards to print and use.
The end of the game
The game will end when you either run out of time or the "Ceasefire" card is drawn. The person who is the General at this point will be the winner of the game.
HERE'S A DOWNLOAD OF THE GAME INSTRUCTIONS WITH PRINTABLE WILD CARDS...
