In May 2026, CCTV footage of a chase between a Philippine senator and NBI agents inside the Senate building went viral, picked up by CNN, The New York Times, Reuters, and ABC News. The footage sparked memes, recreations, and creative responses across social media.
One of the most notable responses came from Jopel Mandac, an indie app developer who works at a software development company. He built Senate Run, a web-based browser game inspired by the incident, using Phaser in just four nights.
What Is Senate Run? A Phaser Browser Game Inspired by a Viral Event
Senate Run is a simple but addictive endless runner. The goal: dodge wet floor signs and incoming NBI agents, and go as far as you can. When caught, the game shows the senator on his knees as an NBI agent hands him a warrant. The gameplay is deliberately straightforward, in the spirit of the classic no-internet Chrome dinosaur game, and it runs entirely in the browser on any device.
Mandac said the project was purely "for fun" and that he's considering adding power-ups and more features now that it has gone viral. A second game called Call of Senate is also in the works.
How Jopel Mandac Built Senate Run with Phaser in 4 Nights
In a TikTok post where the game first went public, Mandac explained he used Phaser to build it. In an interview with The Philippine STAR, he said it took him four nights and described the project as purely "for fun", adding that he made it out of frustration over what was happening at the Senate. Four nights from idea to a viral browser game picked up by international media.
Four nights of development, no external assets beyond the framework, and a game that spread internationally. It's a clean example of what Phaser makes possible: fast to prototype, zero-dependency browser delivery, and powerful enough to ship something real in a very short time.
Senate Run, Memes and What Happens When Phaser Meets a Viral Moment
The game was far from the only creative response to the viral footage. A wedding couple recreated the chase in their same-day edit video. Meme pages overlaid the footage with Subway Surfers audio. The senator himself acknowledged the memes and chose to laugh them off.
Senate Run stands out because it went beyond a meme and became a playable artifact of the moment, built with real tools, shipped to the web, and accessible to anyone with a browser.
That's exactly what Phaser makes possible: fast to prototype, zero dependencies, runs anywhere. Four nights from idea to a game that made international headlines.
Play Senate Run
Senate Run is free to play directly in your browser on any device. No download, no install. Just open it and run.
⚠ Note: the game may currently be unavailable. The creator reached the free-tier limit of his hosting platform and is working on getting it back online.