Ma. Nina Camille A.

Ramirez BSA-2 PATHFT 448

EXAMPLES OF TRADITIONAL GAMES IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. TAG GAME: HABULAN
- A game that originated in the philippine which means to chase someone, it is one
of the traditional games of the country and it is also popular among the filipino
children, their legs are used in this game to run fast and this can be played by
several players. The rule is that the designated It will chase the other players until
one is tagged. Once tagged, the player becomes the next It and the chase
continues.

2. COMBATIVE GAME: THUMB WRESTLING

- Norman Mailer was passionate about thumb wrestling. Author and humorist Paul
Davidson claims that his grandfather Bernard Davidson invented the thumb war
in the 1940s. American copywriter Julian Koenig claimed to have invented thumb
wrestling in 1936 as a boy at Camp Greylock. A thumb wrestling ring is a toy
used for thumb wrestling. The players insert their thumbs in opposite sides and
proceed with the thumb war.
- Played by two players in which thumbs are used to simulate fighting. One hand
only for every opponent
- The object of the game is to pin the opponent's thumb, often to a count of three.
The players face each other and each holds out their left hand or right hand in a
"thumbs up", and they link hands such that each player's fingers curl around the
other player's fingers. Players may not use any of the fingers except the thumb to
pin down their opponent’s thumb. Gameplay has several tactics such as "playing
Ma. Nina Camille A.Ramirez BSA-2 PATHFT 448

possum", aiming for the knuckle rather than the nail for a pin, going for a quick
strike, and waiting for one's opponent to tire.

3. GAME ACCORDING TO MOVEMENT: DAMA

- Dáma is a Filipino game similar to ahedres (chess or checkers) and aims to
consume the opponent's pawn.The game of checkers is said to have originated in
Ancient Egypt. Archaeologists found traces of it in an excavation in Ur, Iraq and
it is estimated that it was played in 1400 B.C. yet. It is called alquerque and it has
a 5x5 board or tablero with a grid and diagonal lines crossing each other. It is said
that modern checkers or chess started in the 12th century in largong ferses. In the
16th century, it became 'dames' and became popular in France. It reached England
and America and was called draughts. Books about the game have also been
found in Spain and England. In the Philippines and Armenia, it is called dama.
- They use alquerque and it has a 5x5 board or tablero with a grid and diagonal
lines crossing each other and each of the players has 12 pieces of pizza made of
bamboo, stone, or bottle caps.
- It is played by two people, each with 12 pieces of pizza made of bamboo, stone,
or bottle caps. The pawn can only move diagonally at the intersection of the lines
on the board, it cannot eat the pawn behind it, and when it reaches the checker or
the last row of the board on the opponent's side, it can move diagonally in rows.
Like chess, the game ends when all of the opponent's pieces are gone. In other
parts of the Philippines, the chess board itself and its pieces are used in chess. In
Ma. Nina Camille A.Ramirez BSA-2 PATHFT 448

the beginning, only the pawn, knight, and rook are used. When the player reaches
the checker stage he can use the king, queen, and bishop pieces. There is a way of
playing it called pergedána (from the Spanish perder ganar) the winner is the first
to run out of pizza. In Bisaya, dama is called pildi-dama as a corruption of the
Spanish perder which means "to lose."

4. GAME ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF PLAYERS: CHINESE

GARTER
- Chinese garter is called “Chinese Jump Rope” in other countries. It originated
from China in the 7th century. They play it before during the celebration of
Chinese New Year. It was passed from generation to generation and has become
popular even in other countries.
- Facilities or equipment used is garter.
- During the game, two members of the “it” team shall serve as “game posts” as
they stand opposite each other and hold each end of the garter. The objective of
the game then is to be able to successfully jump over the garter as it is gradually
held higher by the game posts.