Arnis

Arnis is an all-out stick-fighting round for two to sixteen players. Everyone fights at once in Kawayan Grove, a bamboo arena beside a river. You carry two rattan bastons, have three health points, and score a knockout whenever you land the finishing hit on a rival. The most knockouts after ninety seconds wins. Getting knocked out does not end your round: you return to the arena and can keep scoring.

Attack in short combinations

Tap Attack to strike in front of your fighter. A quick sequence of separate taps chains a right-hand strike, a left-hand strike, and a double-stick finisher. Holding Attack is not a substitute for tapping the beats. If you wait too long between strikes, the next attack starts a new combination.

Each landed stick strike takes one health point. The finisher has stronger knockback, so it can create breathing room even when it does not finish a knockout. When two armed fighters strike toward each other at the same time, their sticks clash in mid-air with a burst of sparks and push both fighters back with zero damage. Mashing attack head-on into an aggressive rival will only clash sticks; raise your shield to deflect their swing and stagger them, dash to their flank, or complete your three-beat combination to overpower their strike. Attacks have a short reach and a forward arc. Face the rival you want to hit and get close enough before committing. Swinging from too far away leaves them time to approach while your attack recovers.

Read the shield

Hold Shield to block attacks coming from the front. It is a directional guard, not protection from every player around you. A rival who gets beside or behind you can still land a hit. Moving with your guard raised is slower, and backing away keeps the guard facing the direction you were defending.

Use the shield to answer an attack, then release it when you need to move quickly or change your approach. Attacking interrupts your guard. Against someone who keeps shielding, circle to an exposed side instead of feeding strikes into their defence. There is no separate disarm action in this version of the game.

Make the dash count

The third-person camera follows your position while you control where you face. Look around to aim your strikes and shield; move sideways to circle a rival, or retreat without turning your back. On a touchscreen, move with the left thumb and drag the open right side to look. You can also drag from Attack or Shield to turn while using that action. Lift to release your shield. The view stays at a steady height so nearby fighters remain visible.

Dash makes a quick combat step in your moving direction. Use it to slip out of an incoming strike or move around a shield. It needs time to recover before another use, so saving it for a clear opening is more useful than pressing it whenever it becomes available. A dash moves you; it does not award a knockout on its own.

Avoid dashing blindly into a crowded corner. The arena has boundaries, and arriving beside several opponents can leave you exposed to attacks from different directions. Leave yourself room to turn back toward the fight.

Win the scramble

Watch health bars and the knockout standings. A damaged rival can be an opportunity, but chasing them through other fighters may give someone else an easy finishing hit on you. In a larger room, keep checking the sides of your guard and move away from a fight that surrounds you.

After a knockout, you return with your weapons and a brief protected return to play. There is no equipment to collect from your previous defeat. Use that fresh start to pick your next fight. The live practice before the round is a good place to try the three attack beats, hold a shield, and test the distance of a dash before the score counts.