USING MOBILE GAMING TO PROMOTE STUDENTS’ CONCEPTUAL

UNDERSTANDING OF TRADITIONAL FILIPINO GAMES

Authors:

JOSELINE M. SANTOS
RONILO P. ANTONIO
BRYAN CARLO T. CAPULONG
DERIC RAPHAEL P. SANTOS
EFFIE MARI R. MAGUGAT
JED HANS M. LEABRES
MARON JHERWYN B. ORTEGA
Bulacan State University

January 2019

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3438869

Abstract

Traditional Filipino games served as an enjoyable pastime and have been a part of
the Filipino tradition for a long time. It is essential for the present and future generations
that researches be conducted to find methods for the preservation of these cultural heritages
during the times when modern digital games have become increasingly more popular. This
study aimed to investigate on the potential effectiveness of utilizing mobile gaming
applications—entitled Larong Pinoy, and Patintero Playtime—as a platform to promote
conceptual understanding on traditional Filipino games by testing them on the Grade 7
students of Bulacan State University Laboratory High School. Larong Pinoy is a mobile
game which contains Luksong Baka, Luksong Tinik, Palosebo, and Sipa. This study
adhered to quantitative methods which included a pretest and posttest design in its data
gathering procedure, while paired samples t-tests were conducted to determine the
existence of a significant difference on the students’ mean scores on the pretest and posttest
for each game. It resulted to a mean of (6.28) for the pretest and (7.24) for the posttest.
Among the five traditional games included, only Luksong Baka yielded a significant
difference (p = 0.025) at a 0.05 level of significance, meaning that it was effective in
promoting understanding to students about the said game. Reasons that were found to affect
the students’ understanding were their prior knowledge, difficulty of the mobile game, and
the interesting nature of the game. Although mobile gaming applications were utilized, it
must ultimately lead to the increase in knowledge and motivation of the Filipinos in playing
the real-life traditional games.

Keywords: Traditional Filipino games, Larong Pinoy, mobile gaming, promotion of

understanding, culture preservation

Introduction
Traditional Filipino games serves as an activity for enjoyment commonly engaged
in by the Filipino youth in their free time that may range from early mornings, after school
hours, weekdays, and holidays. Children participating in such activities are expected to
improve in their physical, cognitive, and social aspects brought about by the games’
muscle-tiring nature, its requirement for cooperative teamplay as well as strategical
planning as a determining factor to ensue victory between competing teams. Ingenuity and
resourcefulness of the Filipino are also showcased in inventing these games where only the
surroundings, the people, and any usable materials can serve as the elements of the game.
Examples of such are the Patintero which utilizes only the street and Sipa which utilizes a
colorfully decorated washer to be hit with the player’s elbow or foot. Although it may be
an effective means for personal development in children, it is slowly being overshadowed
by video games in handheld devices and computers which are prominent nowadays. A
great loss to Filipinos would be the result of the fading of these traditional games—along
with the values and skills integrated within them—from the Filipino cultural norm.
Traditional games have been passed down through generations due to continuous
playing of the games as a way of recreation and pastime of the people, most especially the
children. It would not be much of a surprise if most of the traditional games played by
children today are also known to their parents and even up to their grandparents.
Transmission of cultural knowledge, values, and skills to the younger generation are done

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through the mentorship of older peers as well as the elders, as explained by Hassan,
Shahbaz, Jan, Shahbaz, & Qadeer (2013) of UNESCO Islamabad. Through mentorship,
the important character values of traditional games such as teamwork, acceptance,
humility, and a healthy competition are also imparted to the younger generation.
Through traditional games, close social relationships are formed in family, in
school, and in the community through its cooperative nature (Rabago-Mingoa, Estacio, &
Perlas, 2014). With playing, children not only get a feeling of enjoyment with others, they
also get imparted with different values from their playmates who are distinct from each
other. Playing enables the exploration of their abilities, strengths and weaknesses as they
experience different kinds of games with others. Traditional games also allow a child to
explore his environment through sensory perceptions and take on different social roles, as
well as process learning from new experiences, which all lead to the fostering of his
personality. Therefore, traditional games may be recognized as a natural and educational
environment in which a child actively takes part in, which enhances the physical, cognitive,
and socio-emotional sides of personality (Gelisli & Yazici, 2015).
Modernity brings many technological advancements that had mostly influenced the
daily lives of the people for the better. Modern technology brought about by humanity’s
continuous research had changed the condition of living of society by making processes
quicker and more convenient. The old has gone and the new has come, traditional Filipino
games unexcluded. The Philippines as a developing country is not immune to the effects
of modernity on older traditions. Video games had started to take the role of traditional
games as one of the main recreational means of Filipino children. A lot of interest is being
taken by video games, which is found to be a massively growing form of mass media in
recent years (Lenhart, 2015; as cited by Borowiecki & Bakhshi, 2018). The appreciation
for traditional games had consequently declined. These traditional games are enduring the
pressure of the combined effect of globalization of diverse world influences, and are on a
threat of extinction (Hassan et. al., 2013). While video games still include the cognitive
and social elements of play in its own way, those engaged in the activity may not improve
physically as well as they would with traditional games. This is because the outdoor factor
is taken out of modern gaming styles. Many people own a smartphone, and those in the
middle to upper class are expected to at least own a personal computer while those who do
not, have internet cafes to visit. While video games are not completely detrimental in nature
(Borowiecki & Bakhshi, 2018), the traditional Filipino games are still essential enough to
be preserved and played through generations. Unlike video games that may come and go
as they rise and decline in popularity in the market, the traditional Filipino games are part
of the tradition of the Filipino people and have its own distinct characteristics, which make
the Filipino cultural identity unique from the foreign influences shown by video games.
Traditional games which are athletic and rich in social interaction such as the patintero,
sipa, luksong tinik, and luksong baka are products of the creative and inventive minds of
the Filipinos (Palatino, n.d.). Filipino traits such as sportsmanship and camaraderie are
engraved into such games that the people should take pride in (Palatino, n.d.).
Through this study, the researchers aim to uphold Bulacan State University’s
vision, which is to be recognized in pioneering research. The researchers believe that the
preservation of the Filipino culture and traditions, such as the traditional games, during the
prominence of modernization is an issue that requires research. By investigating a new
method to preserve the traditional Filipino games, the researchers fulfill the duty of

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contributing to the institution’s vision of being recognized through its pioneering research.
In addition, the researchers share the same vision of taking part in responsive community
engagements by helping to spread appreciation and awareness for the traditional Filipino
games to the students which is deemed necessary in ensuring the longevity of said tradition.
The study’s significance lies in addressing a current issue of the declining
recognition and appreciation for traditional Filipino games among the Filipino youth due
to the inevitable effects of the globalization of video games that emerge for a vast array of
device platforms ranging from mobile devices to consoles, and personal computers. In line
with this, the researchers hypothesized that by integrating mobile games as a learning and
promotional platform, traditional Filipino games can be effectively promoted to students
wherein a significant difference arises in students’ scores when tested with a pretest-
posttest design. In contrast to the alternative hypothesis, the formulated null hypothesis
states that no significant difference arises in the students’ pretest-posttest scores. In this
case, using mobile games is not effective in promoting conceptual understanding on
traditional Filipino games.
The research involves a quantitative approach, with a quasi-experimental design
while making use of mobile gaming applications that were designed to inform of the
history, gameplay, and mechanics of the traditional Filipino games from which the apps
were made and based upon. The mobile gaming app called “Larong Pinoy” was tested
using conformance test and compatibility test for the improvement of the performance of
the application based on the Android Core App Quality standards. The evaluation of the
app was conducted by 10 IT experts and 30 mobile users. Another application is Patintero
Playtime. Although they were made to teach the young generation about traditional Filipino
games, the apps were not yet evaluated on their effectivity in promoting traditional games.
This fact is one of the gaps that the researchers aim to cover with the study. By finding
different methods of action, such as this, to preserve the traditional Filipino games, the
future generation would also be able to benefit in terms of experiencing this culture.
The quasi-experiment resulted to a mean of (6.28) for the pretest and (7.24) for the
posttest. Among the five traditional games included, only Luksong Baka yielded a
significant difference (p = 0.025) at a 0.05 level of significance, meaning that it was
effective in promoting understanding to students about the said game. Supported by
interviews with the students who acted as respondents, reasons that were concluded to
affect the difference in students’ understanding before and after exposure to the apps were
their prior knowledge, difficulty of the mobile game, and the interesting nature of the game.

Methods and Materials

In this study, the researchers used a quantitative research method with a quasi-
experimental design in order to test the effectiveness of the use of mobile gaming in
promoting students’ conceptual understanding on traditional Filipino games among the
Grade 7 students from the Science, Technology, and Engineering program at Bulacan State
University Laboratory High School. For this reason, a pretest-posttest design was
implemented to effectively measure the degree of change appearing as a consequence of
the applied intervention. Data in the form of respondents’ answers to test items were
acquired through the use of closed-ended questions which allowed them to select from a
set of pre-determined choices. The purpose of employing a pretest-posttest design was to

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effectively perceive differences arising between the results of the pretest and posttest as an
effect of the mobile gaming intervention on the students’ conceptual understanding about
traditional Filipino games. The mobile games that were used were Patintero Playtime and
Larong Pinoy, found and obtained via download from the Google Play Store and
AllFreeAPK.com, respectively. Notably, both of the mobile apps were produced by
Filipino game makers namely, Zeenoh for Patintero Playtime and Techmobs for Larong
Pinoy. The abovementioned games were selected because they encompass informative
content on the mechanics, gameplay, and history of the traditional Filipino games, and were
supportive of the research’s goal to make the students learn about traditional Filipino
games. Results from the questionnaire were analyzed through a paired samples t-test. A
significant difference or rise in the posttest scores in comparison with the results of the
pretest may attribute to the intervention’s effectivity in promoting understanding on
traditional Filipino games. Conversely, a retainment or decrease in the posttest scores
relative to the pretest scores may prove otherwise.
The population that was subjected to the study were the Grade 7 students at Bulacan
State University Laboratory High School. The reason for this is that they are the
representative of the target population which are children who may have not or may have
less experience and knowledge with regards to traditional Filipino games. Another
contributing factor for choosing the population mentioned firsthand, is that they are most
accessible to the researchers. With time constraint for the study’s duration at hand, it was
necessary to employ the most accessible population which are at a proximity in location
since they are of the same university as the researchers. The sample of the study involved
the Grade 7 students of the Science, Technology, and Engineering program at Bulacan
State University Laboratory High School. Mobile devices such as smart phones were used
in conducting the intervention of the quasi-experimental study, which were limited to only
four smart phones within ownership by the researchers. With this, the managing and
running of the mobile gaming intervention only worked with few respondents at a time.
Additionally, it was also taken into consideration that the group chosen for the study are
currently taking a Research subject. Their willingness to participate may be affected by
their knowledge on the goals of research and how participating well during the different
procedures may be crucial for success of the researchers’ endeavor.
In order to test if an optimum knowledge acquisition phenomenon occurred within
the respondents during the course of the experimentation, the researchers utilized pretest
and posttest questionnaires alongside the quasi-experiment’s mobile gaming intervention,
which allowed the students to experience mobile gaming apps that mimic traditional
Filipino games, specifically Luksong Baka, Luksong Tinik, Palosebo, Patintero, and Sipa.
As a whole, the quasi-experiment consisted of three parts: pretest, application of the mobile
gaming intervention, and posttest. Since five mobile games were employed in the study, it
was necessary to formulate five pairs of pretest and posttest questionnaires, one pair for
each mobile game. The pretest and posttest questionnaires were composed of multiple-
choice questions as to test the familiarity of the respondents on the correct understanding
of the mechanics, gameplay, as well as the history of the traditional games used in the
study. By means of close-ended questioning provided by questionnaires, the researchers
acquired the responses of the respondents in a structured and manageable form, conforming
with the desired and efficient method of data analysis involving a large number of data
(Wilkinson & Birmingham, 2003). The pretest assessed the pre-existing conceptual

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understanding of the Grade 7 students on traditional Filipino games whereas the posttest
measured the effect of the mobile gaming intervention in improving the conceptual
understanding of the Grade 7 students. Lastly, in order to verify the accuracy of the
questionnaires with regards to its content and correctness of each of statement or question,
the researchers sought the aid of three professionals for validation: Practical Research
teacher, Physical Education teacher, and English teacher.

Figure 1. Research Process

The first phase of the study done by the researchers involved finding out what are
the traditional games of the Philippines that are still being played and popular among the
Filipino children. The second phase of the research involved finding mobile games that
were applicable to the research being conducted. “Larong Pinoy” and “Patintero Playtime”
mobile gaming apps were chosen due to their adequate informative content on the
traditional games’ history, gameplay and mechanics, making them a suitable mobile game
representation of their traditional counterparts. In the third phase of the research, the Grade
7 students in Bulacan State University Laboratory High School from the section Science,
Technology, and Engineering 2 were selected as the study’s respondents, consisting of 29
students in total. This specific grade level was chosen by the researchers because the
average age of grade 7 students ranges from 12 to 14 which is around the age where most
kids enter adolescence. Kids before stop playing outdoor games at this age. The fourth
phase of the research process involved the preparation of five pairs of pretest and posttest
questionnaires for each of the five traditional games, utilizing the same set of questions
that are unique for each game. The questions included were based from the integrated
information within the mobile gaming applications. The fifth phase of the study comprised
of the distribution and the retrieval of the questionnaires. The pretests were distributed on
the first visit, while the posttest on the second. During these processes, the 29 students
were divided into five groups representing each game, wherein each group were composed
of six students with the exception of the Palosebo group which was only composed of five.

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The students were then subjected to the study’s intervention which involved playing the
mobile games named “Larong Pinoy” and “Patintero Playtime”. The students were then
asked to download and play the games at home for one week, before the posttests were
given. After one week, the posttests were distributed and retrieved on the same day. The
last phase of the research was the interpretation of data from the questionnaires retrieved
from the students. Each questionnaire was checked by the researchers to obtain the
individual scores of the students, followed by the mean scores of the pretest and the posttest
for each of the five games. From the mean scores of the pretests and mean scores of the
posttests, the total mean for each was derived and served as descriptions of the students’
understanding on traditional Filipino games before and after exposure to the mobile gaming
applications. A paired t-test was then conducted on the individual scores of the students
from the pretests and posttests in each of the five traditional games in order to determine if
a significant difference exists within the students’ mean scores for the pretest and posttest.
Data serves as a vital part of the entire research work in which meeting the
research’s objectives relies upon. In a quasi-experimental study, results gained through the
statistical analysis of the data would determine the researched intervention’s true
consequential effects upon a dependent variable and, depending on the results garnered,
would establish the acceptance or rejection of the null and alternative hypotheses and thus,
leading to a results-based conclusion. It is then indispensable to execute an appropriate
processing and treatment of the data collected from a single sampled group to gain valid
results. Once data was retrieved from the research instruments, the next step, which served
as the initial step for the processing of data, was to tabulate them in tables for easy viewing
and later calculation of means. These data are in the form of scores achieved by each of the
Grade 7 students in the pretest and posttest administered. Microsoft Excel was operated in
order to perform these tasks efficiently and effectively. In order to measure for a significant
difference between the test scores of the sampled group for the pretest and the posttest, a
method of inferential statistics, called t test, was conducted with the use of the IBM SPSS
Statistics application. Using t test allowed for the investigation and comparison of two
means of groups drawn from the same population, and determine how likely the difference
among the two occurred by chance (Siegle, 2002). Calculation for the t-test requires the
difference between the means, the standard deviation of the two, and the sample size.
Specifically, a correlated or paired t test was used as it is the suitable type of t-test for
differentiating between the average or mean scores of a single sample of individuals who
were assessed at two different times (Siegle, 2002). Since the study would be assessing the
effect of the mobile gaming intervention for only one class of grade 7 students via pretest
and posttest, this type of statistical treatment should meet the researchers’ needs in
measuring for a significant difference between the students’ mean scores before and after
using the mobile gaming application.

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Results

Students’ Understanding of Traditional Filipino Games: Pretest

Table 1
Students’ Individual and Mean Scores on the Pretest

Pretest S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 Mean

Luksong 8 8 9 7 6 6 7.33
Tinik
Patintero 8 8 6 8 6 6 7.0

Palosebo 6 6 8 8 6 6 6.67

Luksong 5 5 8 6 5 5.8
Baka
Sipa 4 4 5 3 6 5 4.5

Total Mean 6.28

Columns S1 to S6 are the students’ scores in the pretest; Luksong Baka

has only 5 participants

Table 1 presents the scores of the student participants with their corresponding
calculated mean scores after the pretest on the different traditional Filipino games included
within the study. The highest mean, and consequently the highest level of students’
understanding, is associated with the game of Luksong Tinik which attained a mean score
of (7.33). Oppositely, the lowest in rank is Sipa with its mean score of (4.5). With these, it
can be said that the highest prior understanding of students could be attributed to the game
of Luksong Tinik while the lowest level of students’ prior understanding is to the game of
Sipa.
The data acquired from the administered pretest revealed that the students’ prior
understanding of traditional Filipino games before exposure to the mobile gaming
applications can be described with a total mean of (6.28), calculated from students’ the
pretest scores.

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Students’ Understanding of Traditional Filipino Games: Posttest

Table 2
Students’ Raw and Mean Scores on the Posttest

Posttest S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 Mean

Luksong 9 9 7 8 9 8.4
Baka
Luksong 9 9 8 7 6 9 8
Tinik
Palosebo 8 6 8 6 8 7 7.17

Patintero 7 9 8 8 5 6 7.17

Sipa 7 8 3 4 6 6 5.67

Total Mean 7.24

*Columns S1 to S6 are the students’ scores in the posttest; Luksong

Baka has only 5 participants

Table 2 displays the evaluation of the understanding of the student participants

based on the scores they achieved from the posttest along with the corresponding mean
scores representing each traditional game. From the results above, Luksong Baka sits at
the top rank with its mean of (8.4), signifying that a high level of understanding is attained
by the students after exposure to the mobile gaming application, which is evident from the
score results shown on the first row. There is a considerable increase in the students’
understanding about Luksong Baka after comparing its mean score of (8.4) on table 2 with
its mean of (5.8) in Table 1. Next is Luksong Tinik which obtained a mean of (8.0), which
is relatively close to the mean posttest score of Luksong Baka. Still with the lowest score,
and consequently lowest in rank, is the game of Sipa which arrived at a mean of (5.67)
from its previous mean of (4.5) in the pretest. Remarkably, the students’ understanding on
Sipa during the posttest increased by one level from mean in the pretest.

Test for Significant Difference

A paired samples t-Test was conducted in order to compare and find whether or not
there is a significant difference between the mean scores of students during the pretest and
during the posttest.

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Table 3
Paired Samples t-Test for Luksong Baka
Paired Samples Test
Sig.
(2-
Paired Differences tailed)
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Std. Std. Error Difference
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df
Pair Pretest - - 1.67332 0.74833 - - - 4 0.025
1 Posttest 2.60000 4.67770 0.52230 3.474

Table 3 shows the SPSS Statistics output of the Paired Samples t-Test conducted
on the students’ mean scores on the pretest and posttest for Luksong Baka. From the paired
samples t-Test, it was found that there was a significant difference in the pretest scores (M
= 5.8) and posttest scores (M = 8.4) at Sig. (2-tailed) or p value= 0.025. Therefore, at 0.05
level of significance, there is sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis, which stated
that there is no significant difference among the pretest and posttest scores. These results
suggest that mobile gaming was effective in improving the understanding of students on
the traditional Filipino game, Luksong Baka, proven by the p-value = 0.025 which is less
than the decided confidence level (0.05).

Table 4
Paired Samples t-Test for Luksong Tinik
Paired Samples Test
Sig.
(2-
Paired Differences tailed)
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Std. Std. Error Difference
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df
Pair Pretest - -0.66667 1.36626 0.55777 -2.10047 0.76714 - 5 0.286
1 Posttest 1.195

Table 4 shows the SPSS Statistics output of the Paired Samples t-Test conducted
on the students’ mean scores on the pretest and posttest for Luksong Tinik. It was found
that there was no significant difference in the pretest scores (M = 7.33) and posttest scores
(M = 8.0) at Sig. (2-tailed) or p value= 0.286. Therefore, at 0.05 level of significance, there
is not sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis, which stated that there is no
significant difference among the pretest and posttest scores. These results to a negative
implication that using the mobile gaming application was not effective in promoting
understanding on Luksong Tinik, marked by the p-value = 0.286 which is greater than the
decided confidence level (0.05).

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Table 5
Paired Samples t-Test for Palosebo
Paired Samples Test
Paired Differences
95% Confidence
Interval of the Sig.
Std. Std. Error Difference (2-
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df tailed)
Pair Pretest - -0.50000 1.51658 0.61914 -2.09155 1.09155 - 5 0.456
1 Posttest 0.808

Table 5 shows the SPSS Statistics output of the Paired Samples t-Test conducted
on the students’ mean scores on the pretest and posttest for Palosebo. Similar to the
previous result, it was found that there was no significant difference in the pretest scores
(M = 6.67) and posttest scores (M = 7.17) at Sig. (2-tailed) or p value= 0.456. Therefore,
at 0.05 level of significance, there is not sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis,
which states that there is no significant difference among the pretest and posttest scores.
These results imply that using the mobile gaming application was not effective in
promoting understanding on Palosebo, marked by the p-value = 0.456 which is greater than
the decided confidence level (0.05).

Table 6
Paired Samples t-Test for Patintero
Paired Samples Test
Sig.
(2-
Paired Differences tailed)
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Std. Std. Error Difference
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df
Pair Pretest - -0.16667 1.16905 0.47726 -1.39350 1.06017 - 5 0.741
1 Posttest 0.349

Table 6 shows the SPSS Statistics output of the Paired Samples t-Test conducted
on the students’ mean scores on the pretest and posttest for Patintero. In the same way as
the previous results, it was found that there was no significant difference in the pretest
scores (M = 7.0) and posttest scores (M = 7.17) at Sig. (2-tailed) or p value= 0.741.
Therefore, at 0.05 level of significance, there is insufficient evidence to reject the null
hypothesis, which states that there is no significant difference among the pretest and
posttest scores. It can be inferred from the results that using the mobile gaming application
was not effective in promoting understanding on Patintero, verified by the p-value = 0.741
which is enormously greater than the decided confidence level (0.05).

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Table 7
Paired Samples t-Test for Sipa
Paired Samples Test
Sig.
(2-
Paired Differences tailed)
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Std. Std. Error Difference
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df
Pair Pretest - 2.13698 0.87242 - 1.07595 - 5 0.239
1 - 1.16667 3.40929 1.337
Posttest

Table 7 shows the SPSS Statistics output of the Paired Samples t-Test conducted
on the students’ mean scores on the pretest and posttest for Sipa. Likewise, it was found
that there was no significant difference in the pretest scores (M = 4.5) and posttest scores
(M = 5.67) at Sig. (2-tailed) or p value= 0.239. Therefore, at 0.05 level of significance,
there is insufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis, which states that there is no
significant difference among the pretest and posttest scores. These results imply that using
the mobile gaming application was not effective in promoting understanding on Sipa,
marked by the p-value = 0.239 which is greater than the decided confidence level (0.05).

Discussion

Students’ Understanding of Traditional Filipino Games: Pretest

Corroborating with the gathered data in Table 1, Aguado (2012) stated that
traditional and indigenous games are common in the Philippines and are commonly known
as “Laro ng Lahi” which are commonly played by children in the streets. Games have been
the major pastime of all for thousands of years and became a part of the Filipino culture
most especially in the rural areas (Tubera, 2005; as cited in Tindowen, 2017). This supports
the notion that traditional games are continuously taught, even with the emergence of video
games, which results to the still existent understanding of the youth about the subject matter
(Lopez, 2011; as cited in Tindowen, 2017).

Students’ Understanding of Traditional Filipino Games: Pretest

It is revealed from the set of data that the students’ understanding of traditional
Filipino games after exposure to the mobile gaming applications can be described with a
total mean for the posttests of 7.24 that had undergone an observable increase from the
total mean of the pretests which was 6.28. The most powerful tool in increasing the
knowledge and modernizing the culture of the youth is through the mean of mass media
(Lanuza, 2001). It could be assumed that the applied intervention’s effectivity in the
experiment had caused the mean score from 6.28 in the pretest to 7.24 in the posttest.

Test for Significant Difference

The student prior understanding of the Luksong Tinik can be considered as average.
“Opo. Ang goal po dun ay makahakbang dun sa kamay o yung tinatawag pong tinik”, a

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student mentioned in an interview. It may have been the game’s easy difficulty that affected
the student motivation or involvement in the game, leading to a no significant difference
within their understanding during the pretest and posttest as students have mentioned that
the Luksong Tinik game was “madali” or easy.
When students were asked upon their prior understanding of Palosebo, the reply
“Medyo lang po” notes that they are not very aware of the game, and may associate with
the non-significant difference of the scores in the pretest and posttest for Palosebo.
The students who were in the Patintero group mentioned “Mahirap po eh, di po
naming maintindihan yung mechanics” and “Nung una nahirapan po ako” emphasized
that the mobile game for Patintero is too difficult to facilitate an optimal learning
experience, which lead to a non-significant difference between the means of pretest and
posttest.
For Sipa, one student said, “May idea na ako pero di ko gaano ka-alam yung rules”
when probed to share some of their prior understanding, while another student simply said
“Next” when asked. It can be inferred the students did not have a good prior understanding
of Sipa, affecting the results of the pretest and posttest. When asked whether or not the
game was interesting, one replied “Medyo boring lang siya kasi nung nilaro ko parang
wala masyadong kakaiba dun sa laro.” A student said, “Sa totoo po eh, mahirap po”,
pertaining to the difficulty of the mobile game. Both interest in the game and a balanced
difficulty are lacking within the game, which may have led to a negative learning
environment to enhance the students’ understanding on Sipa, resulting to no significant
difference in the pretest and posttest scores

Conclusions
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn:
The students possess knowledge, to some extent, about traditional Filipino games
included in the study prior to exposure to the mobile gaming apps utilized platforms for
promoting understanding about the traditional games. This inference comes from the
results shown in the pretests of each game, which were not entirely low. However, there
were still gaps present in the students’ knowledge and understanding which served as
rooms for improvement to be filled in with the help of exposure to the mobile games.
The results attained by the students in the posttest were greater than their scores in
the pretest. Thus, the mobile applications that they had played as part of the study’s
treatment or intervention had a positive effect leading to an improvement in the students’
understanding on traditional Filipino games, supported by the total mean score in the
posttest which was relatively higher than the pretests’ total mean.
There is a significant difference in the students’ mean scores on the pretest and
posttest for Luksong baka supported by its p-value of (0.025) at 0.05 level of significance.
There was enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis which stated that there is no
significant difference in the pretest and posttest mean scores. Thus, the mobile gaming
application was effective in promoting understanding on Luksong Baka. However, the
same cannot be said about the four other mobile games, which lead to no significant
differences in the students’ mean scores before and after playing the Sipa, Palosebo,
Patintero and Luksong Tinik mobile games. Interviews with the Grade 7 students who have
participated in the study revealed factors which affected their experience with the games.
Factors such as their prior understanding of the traditional game, the hard difficulty of the

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3438869

mobile game, and the interest on the games itself were found to be influential and may have
led to the non-significant differences in the mean scores for the four games. Thus,
exploration and taking into account of such factors may prove to be a necessary prerequisite
in promoting understanding on traditional Filipino games to students.

Recommendations

For the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts, programs such as the
development of mobile games which aim to promote conceptual understanding of
traditional Filipino games may become beneficial to Filipinos who have enjoyed these
traditions as well as to the future generations who can still play these games in their time
once preservation efforts bear success. The researchers recommend to use the same
platform as mobile gaming in promoting other traditional games not just students, but as
well as to other subjects who have insufficient or no understanding of them at all. This is
due to the fact that the mainstream modern technology and media have a grasp of influence
on everyone, and not just the younger generations.
For mobile game developers, the use of mobile gaming in promoting traditional
games were found to be potentially effective by the current research. Developing more
games that promotes a positive advocacy will certainly help the advancement of the
Filipino culture in general. It is important to balance the game’s difficulty and aesthetic
elements in order to make it interesting to users, as well as to integrate valuable information
about traditional Filipino games within the mobile app.
For teachers and instructors, using mobile games in giving information about
traditional Filipino games may prove to be effective in motivating students to understand
more about the traditional Filipino games especially because they fit within the modern
context during these times wherein the use of technology reigns above older methods.
It is also important that the findings of this research are not generalized to all Grade
7 students in this country. Further research can be conducted with a larger sample size from
schools situated in different areas throughout the different regions of the Philippines. Other
factors that may influence the answers of the subjects may include childhood experiences,
the region they grew up with, and their social interactions. Modern advancement in
technologies will be a double-edged sword, but it will help the future generations if done
correctly.
Most importantly, it must not be forgotten that the promotion of these traditional
games through digital gaming platforms should ultimately lead to motivating the youth to
play them in real life as an outdoor recreation, and not to promote the constant playing of
the digital games themselves. Therefore, the developers of such games must mostly think
of the benefit to the Filipino culture and people, and not for the potential income that they
may earn from producing such games.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3438869

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Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3438869