Games We Play During Vacation

CEBU, Philippines - Kids, a few days from now, classes will be over. This means it's vacation time and I bet you have your own plans how to spend your vacation time wisely. Some of you perhaps will be taking summer classes in sports or sharpen your skills like playing musical instruments or painting.

Back in my childhood days, I made sure that I would spend my vacation time wisely and not just squander my time watching TV or playing video games most of the time. I made sure that I learned new things and skills.

Part of the things that we used to do during vacation was the games that we used to play. These games were not just plainly games but were forms of exercises, as well. In those days, the Family Computer and technological advancements like the Playstation and laptops were not yet invented. Most of our parents and grandparents played these games themselves and handed them down to us.

Here are some of the popular Filipino native games we used to play during vacation time:

Patintero (Tubig-Tubig)

This game is played by boys and girls, ages 5 to 10 years old, in mixed teams. There are two sets of this game. One requires six players to a team while the other needs eight players. The game is played outdoor at anytime of the day, or at night when the moon is out. The game is prepared on the ground by drawing a rectangular field (usually five to six meters with four parallel lines inside) using either water, stick or charcoal to define the boundaries.

To play, one set of taggers or the 'it' situate themselves inside the lines of the rectangle while the runners will try to get through both ends of the field and back without being tagged or blocked. When caught, they right away change roles. The group that has lesser tagged incidents is declared winner.

Sunka

This is another game widely played in the country and the rest of Southeast Asia. This game is played both outdoors and indoors, by both children and adults. This is played by two players with a wooden pea-pod shaped board with seven small holes in rows on each side, and a big hole on each end filled with an equal number of sigays (small shells).Each player takes turns picking up from any hole on his/her side, putting one sigays in the small/big hole to his/her left, then picks up all the sigays from the last hole that the last sigay is put and places them in the big hole to his/her left. This is repeated until one person no longer has any sigays to play with and is declared the loser. The person with the most number of sigays is declared the winner.

Hide and Seek (Tago-Tago)

This game has no limit to both boys and girls of ages between 5 to 15. This is played outdoors during daytime and on moonlit nights. The game starts in an unidentified base where the "it" closes his eyes and counts while the other players start hiding. After the count, the "it" starts looking for the rest of the players. Once found, one is automatically out of the game. In some cases though, once a player is found, the "it" will have to run to the base and touch it while the found player tries to beat him to it. When the found player beats the "it," the "it" maintains the role until everyone else is located.

Hopscotch (Biko-Biko)

This is a playground game involving a diagram divided into sections, drawn on the ground with usually chalk or charcoal. Players hop from section to section. The game is for two to eight players. The succession of turns is determined by aiming markers (usually a flat stone) at the center of the diagram. The player whose marker lands closest to the center will go first, followed by the second-closest, then the third-closest, and so on.

The diagram varies. Usually, the more players there are, the more complex the diagram and the sections are numbered or labeled to indicate the correct order in which the players are to hop. The first player starts by throwing his marker at the initial section. He then hops onto the section and kicks his marker to the next designated section. The player continues this process until he gets to the final section. Some games require the player to retrace his hops back to the start or for players to hop across other players' paths. At any time, a player's marker touches a line, or when any part of his body touches a line, he surrenders the turn to the next player. The first player to complete the diagram wins.

Tumbang Preso (Bato-Lata)

This game utilizes an empty can confined inside a circle. The players will try to knock the can out and as much as possible knock it out of the circle from a designated distance using a slipper. There will be someone to guard the can and make sure that if ever the can gets knocked out, it should be placed back inside the circle in an upright position. The players must get their slippers back once they try to knock the can out and run back to their base.

The guard will try to catch them once they are able to get hold of their slipper and as long as the can is in upright position so the farther the distance that the can gets knocked out the bigger chance that the players will be able to get back to base. If the can was hit, went out of the circle but is still in the upright position, the can will stay outside the circle and the players will have to hit it to knock it down that way the guard will have to put it back inside the circle. Once a player gets caught trying to get their slipper back or if the slipper landed inside the circle, the guard will have to tap on the slipper twice and he or she will become the next guard.

Thorn Hurdles (Luksong Tinik)

This is a very common game played largely by girls ages between 7 to 12, though, in some areas, boys join in. This game is played outside with players divided into sets, comprising of the mother and her child. The 'it' are two players who sit facing each other, stacking their feet and hands together, gradually increasing the height while the opponents jump over it. Any 'child' player who touches any part of this hurdle is saved by the 'mother' who would jump on the former's behalf. If she, too, fails to accomplish the feat, both 'mother' and 'child' become the 'it' who would assume the seated position.

Stealing Bases (Home-home)

This game is similar to Capture the Flag, but has some variations to enable it to be played in a smaller area. The players are divided into two teams. Each team chooses a base (this can be marked by a tree, a post, a rock, or some other similar feature) and the playing field is divided down the middle of the two bases by a line drawn with chalk or charcoal. Players stay on their teams' sides.

The objective of the game is to capture the opposing team's base by tagging the mark. The members of each team meanwhile defend their own base by capturing opposing players. Players can be captured when they cross the line that divides the playing area. Once a player is captured, he must go to the base's mark and stay there. A captured player can be freed by getting tagged by one of his teammates. The game ends when one team captures the others' base or if all of the members of one team are captured.

Top (Kasing)

Long before the "Beyblades" came, the top or the "kasing" is the favorite pastime especially among boys. The game is done with ordinary skill in order to manipulate the top. The top is usually made of soft wood for those used in regular games and hardwood for heavy competition. The top is played by winding the meter-long string around the top. The top is held between two fingers and the thumb and thrown to the ground. The competition is of two kinds. One is to inflict damage on the opponent's top-- the top that receives the heavy damage loses the game. The other one is to keep it spinning for the longest time-- the one that spins the longest wins.

It's sad to say that many children now do not know how to play any of these games and do not even know that there is such a game. These games reflect the Filipino child's ingenuity, as seen in the manner of how these games are played. Because of fast technological advancement, young Filipinos don't play our native games anymore. Most of them consider computer games as the only way to pass the time. I do hope these games won't be just forgotten and that future generations will not just know these in books.