<![CDATA[Traditional children’s games are an important part of local culture, functioning not only as recreational activities but also as spaces for transmitting values and shaping children’s character. Amid social change and the growing dominance of digital culture, traditional games among Manggarai children face challenges to their continuity. This study aims to analyze the social and cultural values and philosophical meanings embedded in traditional children’s games in Manggarai and to examine their potential as a medium for culture-based education. The study employed a descriptive qualitative approach conducted from April to July 2025 in Kolang, Pacar, Rego, and Rahong. Sixteen informants were selected through purposive sampling, consisting of eight adults and eight children. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentation and were analyzed thematically through data reduction, data presentation, and verification. The findings show that traditional games, including Pande Ipang, Likiliang, Pasang Tepeng, Tali Merdeka, Paki Mangka, Teka Watu, and Banga Welu, provide spaces for social learning through which children directly experience cooperation, discipline, sportsmanship, solidarity, responsibility, honesty, patience, and fairness through game rules, role distribution, turn-taking, strategic interaction, and acceptance of winning and losing. The games also function as a medium of enculturation by introducing children to Manggarai cultural identity and communal values through lived play experiences. Philosophically, traditional games represent a miniature of social life that brings together individual and communal interests, freedom and rules, and competition and solidarity. The study concludes that traditional games constitute a form of ethnopedagogy that remains relevant to character education and the preservation of cultural identity and should therefore be contextually integrated into local-content learning, character education, and community-based cultural programs.]]>
