PC games, console, and mobile games.
Personal Computer or PC games are those played in personal computers, in offices, schools, or in internet cafes, or in the comfort of your homes. The game is installed in computers either by downloading, through disks, or by external drives.
Console games are those played not on personal computers, but in consoles such as Sony Playstation, Nintendo, and the Microsoft XBOX. The console games are nothing but personalized games installed singly.
Mobile games are those played in smart phones and tablets.
Today, children may play computer games in PC, consoles, and mobiles, or in internet cafes with group of friends or at home singly.
Fifty years ago children play games usually outside the comfort of their homes and in the company of neighbourhood children. Sticks, stones, slippers, rubber bands, milk cans, balls, and marbles were usually the gaming tools.
Children’s games in the sixties were usually inexpensive and played with a lot of creativity. Unlike the computer games which are played in the comfort of air-conditioned rooms, the sixties games relied on group games and physical contact.
Take the game of “siatong” for instance.
It takes two sticks of bamboo, one short about six inches long and one long stick about two feet long and a short slot on the ground about six inches long dug vertically. The game is played by two teams usually six members per team.
The game is played with one team acting as catchers/watchers and the other team as launchers/strikers. The game starts by launchers/strikers hurling the short stick towards the catchers/watchers. Two methods are used by the launchers/strikers – first the short stick is hurled towards the catchers/watchers who then tries to catch the short stick. If the short stick is caught, the game ends and their roles are reversed. The catchers become the launchers. If the short stick is not caught, the launcher/striker places horizontally the long stick behind the vertical hole, and the catcher tries to hit the long stick with the short stick starting from where it landed.
The second procedure is to place the short stick along the hole on the ground with half of the short stick protruding. The striker then hits the short stick with the long stick and while the short stick is on the air, the striker hits it towards them. If the striker hits the short stick but the catchers snag the short stick, the game is over. If the striker could not hit it, the game is also over. The game continues if the striker successfully hits the short stick.
The first procedure is then adapted by the next launcher/striker and the game continues until the catchers/watchers caught the short stick or hit the long stick.
If all procedures have been complied with – all members of the team had successfully pass through each procedure – the game is over and the losing team shall all run towards the finish line and shout in one breath the word “siatong.”
The game for all its apparent simplicity has won a lot of gamemanship, tactics, and strategies.
Many game aficionados can attest that “siatong” had taught the lessons of life. Gamemanship is one and tactics, and strategies are another.
Siatong teaches them that whirling short stick is hard to catch. More so judging the distance of the whirling stick. Gamers also attest the difficulty in hitting a siatong short stick. One may hit it short of desired distance. It takes a lot of patience and practice to do it.
American children are known to play baseball using bats and leather balls. Filipino children do it with sticks called siatong. | NWI
