I aptly give that game this award because at first glance, the game mechanics were quite simple. However, when put into play, this game was very enjoyable and I had fun chasing others ( or being chased ) in the process. I was grouped with Bryl, Jackie, and Kate. I just remembered that our game plan then was, "GO lang ng GO!" which was rather funny nga, kasi that was not our usual playing style when it came to other games.

During the game itself, our group kept on charging ( under Bryl's initiative ) and catching the other groups unawared. It was actually very straining on Kate, Jackie and my arms 'cause Bryl kept lunging kaya sa lahat ng groups na gusto niya tirahin! I know I kept laughing while running throughout the game kasi natatawa ako sa energy niya.

A variation for Digmaan ng mga Bilog would be instead of the 3 players forming a ring facing inward ( to the center ), they'd have to face outward instead. Or maybe the central player could be blindfolded, so the team members forming the ring would have drag their central player whenever they would make an attack. But I could just imagine the lag time during the game... urk.

Bryl would be the MVP choice for me. He was the guy we placed at the center, and he would keep on running left/right/forward/backward/any-direction-he-pleased just to attack the other groups. Bryl was somehow able to find a weak spot despite the tight defense of the other groups... and hey, we actually won the 1st round of the game! Nice. :-bd

Being the usual cynical person I am ( well... sometimes ), hindi ko na-imagine nanaman paano lahat ng groups magagawa yung task na i-transport lahat ng team members sa kabilang side ng line! Fortunately, most of my teammates were of the lighter variety  exception lang ako  so that task seemed more feasible sa group ko. When it came to strategizing who would pair up with whom, I was asked if I could carry Viktoria on my back or vice-versa. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be, so Larry gallantly(?) volunteered to do it. Whew!

During the game, I was just instructed to tuck my feet as high as I could, and sustain my grip on my partner's arms. Still, I felt like my arms were going through hell in that short span of time. ( It kinda makes me pity for the Filipino soldiers whom the game was based on, though. ) After the game... EEK. Ang daming red marks and impressions sa arms ko ( near the elbow area )... Ugh, it was a rather disgusting sight, pero tingin ng tingin pa rin ako sa arms ako even afterwards. XD

My suggestion for a game variation would be making it a zigzag course. Obstructions such as plastic cones can be placed in the middle of the playing area, and the players have to weave their way through to get to the other side. But I wouldn't enjoy playing that variation 'cause that would mean having to endure an even longer period of "arm-hell"! =))

I say Larry would be my MVP for this game. I was paired up with him, and he actually managed to pull off a feat -- carrying me on his back -- plus another girl. Two trips nagawa niya grabe, ang lakas. ( Parang lang when I awarded Ryan MVP in one of my 1st journal entries. ) :)) I'm easily impressed with displays of strength such as that kasi feeling ko ang taba at laki ko pa naman para mabuhat. Hehehe.

( Pardon me, the award for this game was suppose to be a wordplay. Sorry kung malabo! :P )

The title of the game, when my classmates reported on it, was very misleading! I thought -- as the game's name would imply -- that Juan Tamad is a game that does not involve movement... but on the contrary. Haha! Before each round started, I always had to ensure I was in a 'favorable' position -- meaning to say, I was far away from the reaches of tayas' hands.

There was only limited space for movement, so players were 'out' of the game pretty fast. It just got a bit trickier for the tayas during the variation since players could weave in-and-out of their gaps. There was a lot of shouting during the game especially when the 'Juan Tamad' would start rotating very fast. But there were some players ( like Dyandell and Dan ) who especially good at dodging the tayas.

A variation for this game could be making a 'cross-shaped' formation for the tayas instead of the linear one. That would mean the tayas have twice as much chance to eliminate players than in the original version. Although not exactly I'd call a 'variation', but if possible, it would have been nice if the class was split into two groups to play Juan Tamad instead ( read as: two different circles ). The allowable region of movement for the players was... quite narrow kasi, so medyo mahirap mag-maneuver.

My MVP pick in Juan Tamad is Ysobel. I think she was the Juan Tamad for two rounds -- and whew, what a challenge! Her arm span was really long which enabled the tayas to 'out' so many people at once! During the rounds she just kept rotating and rotating until no person was left standing in the playing area. 

Breakfast Battles receives this award because the game reporter's actually thought to wrap the egg inside plastics to prevent them from causing a gloopy mess around the Vanguard Rooftop. It was fun trying to play 'offense' ( snatching and breaking another team's egg ) and 'defense' ( simply curling the line to a circle to prevent other teams from penetrating and breaking our own egg ).

Actually, for the most part of the game, my group just decided to 'play it safe' and avoid all the action that was going around -- we'd just swoop in for the kill when there were a few teams left. The game was amusing during the last part especially when there were 3 teams left ( my team included ). Our opposing two teams just decided to form an alliance and they ganged up on us! We didn't stand a chance. T_T

Variations for the game... well, if cleanliness was not much of an issue, it would be more crazy ( and MANIC! ) if the plastic covering the eggs were removed. It gives an added incentive for each team not to get smashed on by an egg. >:) It might also be more exciting if the eggs, inside the plastic, were tied around the foreheads of the team representatives. It would be more challenging since the eggs are more vulnerable from movement and more susceptible to the attempts of the opposing teams to knock your team out of the game.

MVP award here goes to Kristoffer! He was the one holding our group's egg during the games. Because of his evasive skills ( and thanks to Jjampong, too ) we were able to preserve both of our eggs during the variation round. But did you know? After the game ko lang na-realize that Kristoffer actually tucked one of two eggs inside his shirt! Kaya naman pala hindi mahanap-hanap ng kabilang grupo yung itlog namin. Hehehe...

This game receives this award because of sheer ingeniousness and fun that the variations of MRT brought. With the first variation ( everyone facing the back ), I kept on laughing because people kept bumping each other in all rounds. When I first heard the mechanics of MRT, I though it was similar to the party game "Trip to Jerusalem" ( since the players have to scramble to find a seat ), pero hindi naman pala. :D

Before the first round started, the teammates on my side seemed a bit worried because we were purely girls on one side of the line, making that part a bit vulnerable. At least we were able to keep the opponents from reaching the other side during game time. Super chaotic nalang siya during the variation where everyone had to spin 5/8 times before starting the round, even I felt I was tipsy and losing my balance.

The variations presented in this game were the most enjoyable one I've experienced in Philippine Games... so what else can I add? Maybe there can be the formation of a 'second line of defense' ( this can be done by splitting the original wall of defense into 2 groups ) -- to make it even harder for the 'elders' to get through to their seats.

Without a doubt, MVP for this game is Ryan! His butt is uber-big... what can I say? I was totally glad to have him on our team -- he was practically defending our side against all 5 'elders'! Whenever Camille would attempt to get near the defending line, he would "catapult" ( at least, that's what the motion looked like ) himself ( using me and my other teammates as support ) against the opponent and knock them down.

Karera ng Itlog ( AKA the Egg Relay ) gets this award after leaving me with sore teeth ( if that was possible ) by the end of the game! Maybe I just need to add more calcium to my teeth, wahaha.

Clamping the spoon with my teeth sort of made my teeth ( and jaw ) stressed. Only when the egg was passed to me did I think, "Crap, masu-sustain ko ba ang weight ng egg with my teeth? Or mababali ba una yung ngipin ko." At least that thought was pushed out of my head right away since all my attention was bent on getting the egg across and back without dropping it. And I made it. Whew!

A variation for the Egg Relay would be instead of clamping the spoon by the teeth, it has to be done by bending the head ( AKA bending the head towards the shoulder ). This is harder ( although probably less painful ) than the original version since balance is already compromised with the tilting of one's head. Also, there is a lesser degree of control in transferring the egg from one spoon to another. This means there is a higher chance for the egg to drop! ( This is fun. >:D )

Dyandell gets my vote for MVP in this game since he was basically the one coaching and guiding the team throughout the game. He also did the "double play" ( doing an extra round of egg relaying ) for our team since we were one player short. One of the rules of the game was "bawal gamitin ang kamay sa pagpulot ng itlog". Dyandell easily devised a way ( and showed it to us ) to bypass that rule -- simply by using one's wrist to scoop the egg back. Ingenious.

Pari-Pari gets a super-special mention in my Top 5 Game Picks because it was the first Philippine Games acitivity that was able to elicit a cry/scream/shout from me. :)) SERIOUSLY! During the variation of this game, my team was strategizing on how to best maximize the number of available players on the team. I was left with no choice but to ride piggyback-style on someone else... and there did I actually... for the first time... yelled like there was no tomorrow.

The original mechanics and gameplay seemed manageable enough to me. When my turn to be carried came, I just had to sit still and hold tight on the guys lifting, carrying and depositing us, girls, on the other side. ( Poor boys. Hehehe. ) But once that round was done, the next round felt so much more difficult. Now, the girls had to contribute in the lift-carry-deposit tasks. That game left a red mark on my arms -- to serve as a reminder on how challenging the variation was, I suppose?

A variation I can think up for this game is to make the place an obstacle course-ish sort of a field by placing bags in front of the field. The people carrying players would have to weed left and right -- they'd have to zigzag their way through the area to get to the opposite side. This variation would require a greater sense of balance and coordination -- ohh, and the power to sustain the weight of the players for a longer duration than the original one.

MVP choice for me -- no doubt about it -- is Nacho, este... Ryan! HE was the reason why I screamed during gameplay. During the game, he suddenly asked me, "Kayo ko ba i-piggyback ikaw?" I replied, "Parang hindi, eh... masyadong mabigat ako." Then before I knew it, each team was getting ready to hoist their respective players, so I had no choice but to clamber on Ryan's back! I was screaming for my dear life during that grueling 15 seconds. ( And he actually managed to carry me across despite my size. Achievement! Hence, the MVP award. HAHAHA. ) Memorable, yes! But do I want to relive it... I guess not? Funny. =))

Lawin at Sisiw deserves this award because for a team game that only involved lining up and defending the "tail-end sisiw" ( which I was not, to begin with ), I got exhausted and giddy at the same time. I'm sure I was. I'm sure my groupmates were! My shirt must've felt the strain with all the tugging and pulling and yanking ( okay, I'm just using synonyms now ) and turning around 180/360-degrees that by the end of PE class... voila! My shirt had a hole by the side! But no worries: A few re-stitching and the damage was repaired. Still... that was the first time my clothing bore the brunt of my physical activities and manifested itself in well... a HOLE. LOL~

I was amused at the explanation of the mechanics. First of all, I never thought that hawks, mother hens and chicks could talk. And if they could, it would most definitely NOT be about the bargaining price of a chick. ( I had to inwardly laugh at myself for that! ) While we were lining up before the start of the game, I thought that, "Defending the person at tail-end shouldn't be that hard, hmm? We're a lot of players in the line, and the hawk is just one person." But, nooo. That assumption was really wrong. By the time the game started, I realized that we move slower and shifting from one direction to another was more difficult because we were a lot of people joined together. It was like everything was going slow-mo. We were moving from left-to-right, down-and-around, and who-knows-what-direction just to protect the tail-end guy. At least in the end, we succeeded in doing so!

A variation for this game making two tail-ends for the line. To do this, halfway through the line, there has to be two people clinging onto one person. The rest of the people at the back of the line should divide themselves into either lines. The result would be a Y-shaped formation. This variation makes it trickier for the mother hen and the rest of the members because they now have an additional tail-end chick to protect.

My choice for this game's MVP is Carl! Carl was the first person to be nominated as the tail-end chick. As we all later found out, he actually has a very ( if not the most ) tiring task. Carl had to keep swerving -- even though the front-end was not coordinating with his movements -- just to prevent the hawk from reaching him. He was rewarded for his efforts, although I bet he was suuuper tired after that 1st round. It was funny because in the succeeding rounds he kept on collapsing because his legs would give way from fatigue. XD

Pinoy Dodgeball gets my pick for this award. "In or Out?" meant that when I was out ( AKA I was hit by the ball ) while playing the game, I didn't really feel a sense of loss or boredom. This game was still exciting to watch even from the cheerers' POV, so I felt as if I was still a player contributing to the team. My teammates and I who were on the sidelines just delegated ourselves to shouting out warnings ( ex. "Nasa likod niyo na yung dalawang bola!" or "Tinatago lang ni *insert name of person* yung bola!" ) for the benefit of the remaining players.

Although there was a thrill in dodging ( or catching ) those flying balls, I much rather preferred being on what I call the "firing squad" -- the people who aim, throw and miss on unsuspecting people. My personal shining moment came at the latter of the second round of the game when I successfully hit two people in a row ( that was the time when they were only a handful left in the game ). Woot! Yay me. 

A variation I could think for this game would be tying the pains' ankles with a rope, so the only movement they could make would be hopping around. They'd look really funny because they'll come off as jumping beans -- JUMPING FOR THEIR LIVES! Hahaha! But that would give an unfair advantage to the "firing squad" because of the pains' restricted mobility. To augment that, another variation that can be added would be to tie the "firing squad" members' hands by ropes, too. From my experience, binding one's hands lessens the power of one's throw...

My MVP pick for this game is... ( waitamminit, I didn't manage to get his first name )! I just recalled him from the back of the jersey he wore, which had neon yellow at the edges -- TORRES! He was super skilled at catching those balls for the opposing team, and my team had to resort to focus firing at him just to put him out of play once and for all. There was also a part of the game where everyone in my team was raring just to get at Torres. :))

Basket ng Prutas gets this award kasi nakakatuwa tignan ang reactions ng mga players because of the "lag time"! Magulo pero may sistema pa rin ang flow ng game. Towards the end part of the game, medyo nakuha na ng mga players (pati ako) yung "things to watch out for" -- which are basically the front and back of one's line -- since those will determine kung sino yung susunod na taong gagalaw.

When the game started, I was positioned at the outer circle. I didn't really know what to expect from the game at first, and I thought it was going to be a slow-paced kind because everyone was giving directions to one another on who was supposed to be the next taya and pain. ( Pain -- did I spell that right, anyway? ) As much as I didn't want to admit it, I felt the game to be a nerve-wracking experience! I wasn't sure whether the pain was going to line up at my line, so the tips of my toes always felt like they were ready to take flight to the nearest possible "safe spot". I experienced 1-2 false alarms there because I was too excited.

A variation I could think of for this game would be to restrict the places a new pain can go to. If a pain got to a "safe spot" on the back of the line, the only "safe spots" the new pain can go to are the ones at the back of the line also. ( This also applies vice-versa -- if a pain lines up at the front of the line, the new pain can only position him/herself at a "safe spot" at the front of a line. ) Of course, the "bawal-luminya-sa-katabing-line" rule still applies. It's just that, this variation makes getting into a "safe spot" harder because the players would have to exit or enter the circles -- thus posing a higher risk of getting tagged by the taya.

My MVP pick for this game would be Benjamin! He was made a pain/taya several times, and it would always take him a while to realize why everyone was staring at him, goading him to start moving. Hehehe. "Ikaw na," we'd tell him. Tapos bigla nalang siya magbibigay ng "yelp of surprise", then he'd chase (or be chased). :))