Games We Used to Play

This is a common sight for a lot of school children during school parties and get-together - they take out their PSPs and DS Lites and play to their hearts' content. They quietly sit in a corner and busy themselves hitting buttons trying to win their games. Sometimes they play together, or should I say they are all lined up, each to his own, all eyes are set on their little gadgets. The school and the parents have a great take on this. Let me talk about that on some other post.

I rarely allow my daughter to bring her toys - electronic or not - at school whether it's a Xmas party or whatever get-together they are having. I encourage her to interact with her classmates, spend more time with them. There are a lot of activities or games they can enjoy together. They swap books and magazines. I'm agreeable to that. They spend time talking to each other, face to face, about what they read or what's on their magazine.

I attended my daughter's school's family day last month. It was a whole day affair but it was a weekend full of fun! It was a pleasant surprise too to see youngsters play the kind of games I used to play as a child. They were playing jackstones and doing some exhibition with the ball and the star-shaped "stones". I was an expert in jackstones when I was in grade school. So jackstones is in again.


A classmate also brought pick-up-sticks. It's great to see them enjoying this game as a group. It fosters team work and healthy competition.


I still remember the games which kept me and my playmates busy. Personal computers were still unheard of back in late seventies and early 80s when I was growing up. What do we play on weekends when there's no school?

* Taguan (Hide & Seek) - We all hide somewhere and pity the girl or boy who was tasked to find each player. The ground's so big it's hard to find us.

* Sungka - It is said to be the Filipino version of a mancala game, a game of counting and strategy. When I was guiding my daughter in her Social Studies, she was totally at a lost thinking how it can be such an exciting game for us as children many summers ago.

* Piko (Hopscotch) - What I find really fun here is drawing the board or the diagram on the pavement.

* Tumbang preso - A game distinctly Filipino as the linked site says. I agree. I love it whenever I hit the tin can with my slippers! I don't know but is this a backyard version of football with a few major tweaks? Haha.

* Luksong-tinik - I'm below average in this game. The highest jumper wins the game.

* Patintero - The idea is to block an opponent from passing through the player's territory. Speed and timing are keys to win this game. I was pretty good in this game.

Do your children still play these games? The only game from the list above my daughter plays now with her classmates at school is hide and seek.

***More snapshots at WS.