PHILIPPINE

TRADITIONAL
GAMES
(Larong Lahi)

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Introduction

Traditional Filipino games, also known as indigenous games in the Philippines (Tagalog: Laro ng Lahi),
are games that have been passed down through generations and are typically played with native materials and
instruments. Due to a lack of toys in the Philippines, children frequently design games with nothing but players.
There are several types of Philippine Traditional Games that are suitable for children, and the games also serve
as one of the Philippines' various culture and/or traditional games. The Samahang Makasining (commonly
known as "Makasining") coined and popularized Laro ng Lahi with the help of the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts, Philippine Local Government Units, other organizations, and other institutions. One of the
organization's main activities is to teach these Filipino games to young Filipinos.

These are games that are often played by youngsters, and they usually involve the use of natural objects
or instruments. Due of the limited supplies of toys available to Filipino children, they frequently design games
that do not require anything other than the participants themselves. The game becomes more intriguing and
demanding when it has the flexibility of a real human to think and act. Most games are played outside the house
because it is a Filipino habit to play in a larger and more expansive place. In the provinces, some games are
played or held during town fiestas. The following are some of the Filipino children's games:

10 Traditional Games

1. Agawan Base

There are two bases for each of the two teams. The number of players on each squad is determined by the
participants. Each team has two bases that they claim as their own. The goal is to tag the base of the other team
without being tagged. If you are tagged, you will be moved to the opposing team and will need to be saved.
There are numerous varieties in which the rules are altered; for example, in some, you can attach other items to
the base so that you can easily touch it. There are normally set points, such as the first team to tag the opposing
team five times wins. You can tag other players on the opposing team who have touched their base before you.
If they've touched their base after you've touched your base, they can tag you, and you can't tag them.

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 2. Chinese Garter

Two people hold both ends of a horizontally stretched garter as the others try to cross it. The objective is to
pass without tripping over the garter. Each round raises the height of the garter from the previous round (the
game starts with the garter at ankle-level, followed by knee-level, until the garter is positioned above the head).
Higher rounds require dexterity, and players usually leap with their feet first in the air, across the line and
landing on the opposite side. Cartwheels to "cross" the garter are also permitted at higher levels.

3. Luksong-Baka

The traditional Filipino game of luksong baka started in Bulacan. It requires a minimum of three players and
a maximum of ten players to jump over a person known as the baka, or "cow." The players' main objective is to
properly jump over the baka without touching it or tumbling over it.

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 Jump over the cow - In this famous Luksong Tinik variation, one player crouches while the other players
jump over him. As the game progresses, the crouching player gradually raises up, making it more difficult for
the other players to jump over him.

4. Lukson-Tinik

Luksong tinik is a popular game in the Philippines. It is originated in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, played by
two teams with equal numbers of players. Each team designates a leader, the nanay, while the rest of the players
are called anak. The players chosen to be nanay are usually the ones who can jump the highest.

Jump over the thorns - By putting their right or left feet together, two players act as the base of the tinik
(thorn) (soles touching gradually building the tinik). All of the players agree on a starting point, allowing
adequate runway for the players to reach a higher jump without hitting the tinik. Players from the opposing
team begin jumping over the tinik, followed by the rest of the team.

5. Patintero

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 Try to cross my line without allowing me to touch or grab you. Each member of the group who is it stands
on the water lines. Even if only one(1) member of a group is tagged, the entire group will be the "it." The
perpendicular line in the middle allows the it designated on that line to overlap the lines inhabited by the it that
the parallel line intersects, increasing the odds of the runners being trapped.

6. Piko

Hopscotch is a game in which players stand behind the edge of a box and hurl their cue ball. The order in
which the players participate is set by their agreement (e.g. nearest to the moon, wings or chest). Whoever
succeeds in throwing the cue ball closest to the agreed-upon location will be the first to play. The next closest
person comes in second, and so on.

7. Pitik Bulag

This is a two-player game. One person covers his eyes with his hand, while the other person flicks a finger
(pitik) across the hand that is covering his eyes. At the same moment as the other, the guy with the covered eyes
delivers a number with his hand. They swap roles in the game if their numbers are the same.

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 8. Sipa

Kicking game - The object used to play the game is also known as sipa. It's made of a washer with colorful
threads attached, commonly plastic straw. After then, the sipa is thrown upwards for the player to toss with his
or her foot. The player must hit the sipa multiple times with his or her foot, and occasionally the area just above
the knee, to prevent it from touching the ground. The player must keep track of how many times he or she has
been able to kick the sipa. The player who scores the most kicks wins the game. Sipa is also the name given to
the Filipino version of Sepak Takraw, which is known as "pambansang laro."

9. Ten-Twenty

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 A game in which one partner uses a stretched length of garter and the other uses a stretched length of garter.
One pair is facing each other from afar, with the garter extended around them in such a way that there are two
parallel lengths of garter between them. The members of the other pair then begin a leaping "routine" while
singing a tune over the garters ("ten, twenty, thirty, and so on until one hundred). Each level begins with the
garters at ankle height and rises to higher positions as the players do their routines while jumping nimbly on the
garters.

10. Tumbang Preso

Tumbang Preso, also known as Presohan, is a popular Filipino street game. Three or more players are
required to play the game. Each player is given a "pamato," which is a huge throwaway object (may be slippers
or a shoe). 6 or 8 meters from the throwing line, a semi-flattened empty tin or plastic container (the size of an 8
or 12 oz. tin) is set upright. As the prisoner, a player is chosen (usually through a system like Jack en Poy). The
inmate will keep an eye on the empty tin or container. The other players take their positions on the throwing
line. They take turns hurling "pamato" at the empty tin in an attempt to topple it over. The prisoner must replace
the can as soon as it is knocked down. Before he can tag any of the players attempting to regain their "pamato,"
the prisoner must put the can back in upright position as soon as it is knocked down. The owner of the "pamato"
becomes the next "prisoner" if the "pamato" gets too close to the tin in an upright posture, allowing the prisoner
to walk on both with one foot. While regaining their "pamato" outside the throwing line, the prisoner can also
tag the players. A player must regain his "pamato" after each throw. He becomes the prisoner in the next game if
he is tagged by the prisoner before reaching the throwing line.