What Are the Rules for Tumbang Preso?

Tumbang Preso is best played with five to nine players, one being the “it,” or guardian, of an empty can. The goal is for players to throw slippers to knock the can down on its side, and retrieve the hurled slippers before the guardian positions the can back up.

The players must throw their slippers from behind the toe line, usually set 4 meters away from the center, where the can is placed inside a drawn circle. The “it” can tag anyone holding a slipper who is past the toe line. Players can continuously kick or knock down the empty can once it is out of the circle. Kicking a slipper, though, is forbidden. If the can goes out of the circle after being hit but is still standing, the guardian can tag the hitter once beyond the toe line.

If a slipper goes inside the circle at the center, the “it” can place one foot on the can and the other foot on the slipper. If the “it” does this successfully, the owner of the stepped-on slipper is the new “it.”