If you played in the street as a kid, there's a big chance you know how to play this game.

You need two teams and a playing grid. One team is "it". (Complex though it may be, the English language doesn't have a word for "taya". A shame.)

The other team has to pass from one end of the grid to the other and back again (There and Back Again, by Bilbo Baggins!). Once a line has been crossed, going back is not allowed until the player in question has crossed the final line at the end of the grid. (Walang balikan, you may remember your playmates shouting.)

In some cases, all it takes is for one member to make it through the gauntlet and this team wins. Once this has been achieved, the teams switch roles. To make things more challenging, we can rule that all the players of one team have to make it through.

The objective of the "it" team would be to prevent the other team from achieving said goal. (You shall not pass!) This is done by tagging the intruders. In some cases, all it takes is one tag and the other team loses. The teams switch roles at this point. The more challenging version is to eliminate tagged individuals from gameplay while the rest of their team plays on.

The grid is composed of several lines that run across the playing field. In average street play, this consists of three to five lines, depending on the number of players. A single line runs perpendicular to all these lines, cutting across the center. The "it" team's movement is restricted by the grid: each of the players gets one line, and they must have both feet on their line to legally tag someone out.

The center line is reserved for a special player: the patotot. This role is special in that it helps increase the chances of the "it" team to tag out a player from the opposing team, since they can trap players in specific boxes within the playing grid.

Suffice it to say, this game calls for speed and flexibility. One does have to spread their legs wide for a wider reach, after all.

Additional clarification and rules would be much appreciated. Plenty of time before the games begin in April.

Since it's the birthday of our much-loved Ricky, we (my multiple personalities, that is) are unveiling the Ricky Sunico Memorial Games!

Tentatively set for all the weekends (Saturdays and/or Sundays) of April 2008, at UP's Sunken Garden, the New Worlds Alliance will remember our grandaddy's surprisingly fleet feet by playing games that involve a lot of running: Philippine games!

Moro-moro, tumbang preso, Pinoy football (complete with cheap-ass plastic ball), tuksong tinik, patintero, and whatever else we played as kids. We can even play hide-and-seek in the lagoon; remember, this has the potential hilarity of someone actually falling into the water.

Tentatively, the program consists of a warm-up walk around the University Oval and a few calisthenics, for which I will need your assistance, Mika. ;-) After that, game on! Food should be no problem, since there are a lot of places to eat, and we can always bring our own. And if everyone builds up the endurance, we can have a marathon to start off the fourth day of the games!

Yes, I'm a sadist.

Why announce it this early? First, to give people time to prepare their gear. How long has it been since you ran in those cross-trainers, anyway? Second, to get the rules out there so everyone knows them. Third, this is to open the topic for any other suggestions people might have: food, scheduling, and the most important of them all, giving the games a geek theme. (I suggest renaming Monkey, Monkey, Annabelle to Blink, by the way. *maniacal laughter*)

Please keep posted, repost this in your blogs, and do reply with your suggestions. Thanks, dahlings. And happy birthday, Ricky.