Filipino Street Games

When we were younger, we considered summer as the best of time. We didn’t have to go to school, we had no homework, and we didn’t need to review for exams. We just played on the streets with our neighbor-friends until we used up all our energy.

Today, it’s totally different. Most kids are stuck on their iPads or PSPs while sitting on a corner, playing virtual games.

Here are a few games that we used to play when we were younger that will give you a feeling of nostalgia. You may also want to teach them to your kids, nieces, or nephews, and pass on the fun.

Tumbang Preso

Tumbang preso is a traditional Pinoy game that we used to play most of the time on the streets with very little vehicular traffic. This simple game involves the use of a small empty can (empty sardines or corned beef can will do) and slippers.

One of the players (the it) guards the can from getting hit and toppled over by any of the other players’ slippers. The other players stay behind a line a few meters away and the it cannot tag players who are within that area. The main goal of the other players is to knock down the can. When the can is toppled over, the it puts it back in a guard base which is a few meters from the area where the other players are staying. A player who gets tagged while retrieving his or her slippers becomes the new it.

Luksong Baka

Luksong baka, translated as “jumping over a cow,” is a traditional Pinoy game that involves players jumping over one player called “baka” or cow. The objective is for all players to jump over the cow without touching him or her or falling over. Anyone who touches or falls over becomes the new cow.

Langit Lupa

Langit lupa, translated as “heaven and earth,” is a game where the it chases other players to get the new it. Players are allowed to run on the ground (lupa) and climb on objects (langit). The it can only tag players who are on the ground and not those who are on higher objects. The player who gets tagged becomes the new it and the it becomes one of the players who gets chased.

To start the game and decide who the it is, a chant is sang and it goes like this:

Langit, lupa impyerno, im – im – impyerno (Heaven, earth, hell, he-he-hell)

Sak-sak puso tulo ang dugo (Stabbed heart with dropping blood)

Patay, buhay, Umalis ka na di-yan! (Dead, alive, get out of there!)

The player left and never gets pointed to “get out” is the it.

To avoid overstaying on higher objects and give the it a chance to tag players, an unwritten rule is followed. The it can do a countdown on players who are on the higher ground, usually counting down from 5 to 1. During this time, the other player should get down and outrun the it in order to not get tagged or become the next it.

Agawan Base

Agawan base involves two teams with separate bases. The goal is to tag the other teams based without getting tagged. If tagged, you become a prisoner on the other team’s base and you need to be rescued in order to continue playing. This can be done by a teammate tagging you back.

A variation of agawan base is by connecting several items on the base so that it can be tagged easier, which is pertained as “kuryente.”

Sipa

Sipa pertains to the traditional Pinoy game and the object used to play the game. Tranlated as game of kick, it involves the use of an object made usually with a washer, colorful threads, and strings. The sipa is thrown in the air and kept in the air usually by kicking it. The goal is to not let the sipa hit the ground by kicking it when it before it falls. The player needs to keep count how many times he or she has hit the sipa before it hits the ground. The player with the highest count wins the game.

Sipa is also played professionally with the use of a woven wooden ball called Sepak Takraw.

Piko

Piko is a game where the players draw a big image on the floor filled mostly of box-like shapes, which they will hop on and around using only a single foot. There are different rules on how to play the game but the most common is to have a pamato (usually a flat piece of stone) that is placed on one of the boxes and the owner cannot step on the box where his or her pamato is placed. When finished hopping around, he or she moves the pamato on the next box until it reaches the topmost box. The first to finish wins the game.

10-20

10-20 is somewhat similar to Chinese garter but instead of using a stretched garter, pieces of rubber band joined together to form a single string is used. The name of the game came from the chant done while playing (chanting 10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100) with a different step done on the rubber band string for every number.

Two players hold the rubber band string on two ends and the player in the middle does all the moves without tripping. The height of the string is made higher from the previous round. It starts with the string at the ankles then on the knees until it reaches the head. The higher rounds are often demanding, requiring players to leap in the air. Doing cartwheels is also allowed for higher level rounds.

Luksong Tinik

Luksong tinik is a variation of luksong baka. It is translated as “jump over the thorns.” The game is played by having two players save as the base of the thorns by putting their feet and hands together. The other players jump over the thorns and the goal is not to touch or fall on them. The height of the thorns is increased every round.

Patintero

Patintero is one of the most popular traditional Pinoy games. It involves two teams, an attack team and a defense team. The defense team guards their area by occupying lines and moving through them without allowing any member of the opposite team from passing. Their goal is to prevent the other team from going around the whole area without getting tagged. If they tag even just one player from the opposite team, the whole team becomes it and they switch places.

For the attack team to earn a point, at least one team member can move around the whole guarded area and go back to the starting point without getting tagged.

As long as the attack team is not tagged, they continue racking points.

Taguan

Taguan is the Pinoy version of the game hide and seek. What makes it unique is that taguan is usually played at sunset or at night to make it more challenging for the it to find the other players. Before starting the game, the other players hide while the it chants:

Tagu-taguan, maliwanag ang buwan (Hide and seek, the moon is bright)

Masarap maglaro sa dilim-diliman (It is fun to play in the semi-dark night)

‘Pag kabilang kong sampu (When I finish counting up to ten)

Nakatago na kayo (All of you should already been hidden)

Isa, dalawa, … sampu! (One, two, … ten!)

What other street games did you play when you were younger?

Hope you enjoy reading this article guys😊 to my fellow Filipino people here did you miss these games? If yes, give me a thumbs up (like)❤

Special thanks to all supporters and encouraging me to do so. Lots of love😘

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