Meet LUNAS, the Filipino-made card game that makes learning medicines less intimidating
What if learning about medicines felt more like playing UNO than memorizing a pharmacology textbook?
Finding the right medicine for a particular illness can be confusing, and remembering different drugs can be even more overwhelming. But a 23-year-old pharmacy graduate of the De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute saw the challenge as a golden opportunity to make learning easier.
During his internship in a rural community, John Vincent Cacho noticed a recurring problem: Filipinos, particularly the elderly, often forget the names of medicines recommended to them.
"So, there are instances, especially if mga geriatric or mga elderly na hirap talaga na maunawaan or maintindihan 'yung drug na ite-take nila, despite the multiple times na nabanggit na namin yung drug," he recounted a memory.
"And even though after [...] they would take the drug[...] three days or seven days, they would come back and tell us na, hindi naman po nagana 'yung gamot na tini-take namin," he added.
He added that he went as far as surveying healthcare students, finding out that they, too, struggled to remember even basic over-the-counter drugs.
Instead of contributing another healthcare reviewer or textbook, Cacho imagined a far less intimidating solution to the problem: a card game.
"What if we create a very introductory material or something that we can integrate in conversations, family gatherings, and hopefully, to be integrated with life as well? [Why] don't we create another UNO, pero may educational value while you play along?" he said in an interview with PhilSTAR Life.
That idea eventually became LUNAS, a Filipino-made educational card game that transforms pharmacology into fast-paced party fun where players race to cure illnesses with matching medicine cards while sabotaging their opponents.
Cacho started the project as an intern in November 2024. What he thought would take him a few months to finish took him almost a year, as it involved various factors.
In the game's early stages, it took his team of six, mostly his classmates, 100 rounds of playtesting to refine the gameplay mechanics, educational content, and artwork.
In September 2025, Cacho and his newly built educational entertainment startup KNOVELTI would go on to promote and demo the game in schools and events.
"It's a lot of experience. It's a lot of manpower and resources. Everything is hard, everything is a challenge," he recalled.
It also took Cacho a month to look for a supplier who uses local products.
"Since I really don't have enough manpower or network to do this, I spend weeks, and a lot of money para lang magipag-coordinate with a lot of local suppliers," he said.
For the game's art, Cacho personally illustrated every card's intricate art. He remembers hiring his classmates whenever they had free time to help color and produce the cards.
Noticeably, the cards are inspired by Pokémon's detailed yet colorful aesthetic. Each drug or sickness is represented by a character either based on the medicine's chemical structure or a mythical creature, turning scientific concepts into memorable visual icons.
Playing LUNAS
Inside a LUNAS kit are 64 LUNAS pills, which indicate the cure or drug, and 16 SIGALOT pills for symptoms.
Two to 14 players can take part in the game, with each aiming to cure all the SIGALOTs by matching them with the correct pills.
The game starts with the dispense phase where players take turns curing symptom cards. Things pick up when players use Nobel pills, which carry game-changing effects like skipping turns and removing any dispensed LUNAS from other players.
Afterward, the defense phase occurs, wherein players can snatch pills from another person to discard into a pile. Meanwhile, in the destroy phase, players will race to grab pills tossed in the middle of the table.
The three phases repeat until one person wins. The goal is to eliminate or cure all SIGALOTs.
'Sparking curiosity'
For Cacho, LUNAS is one reason not to get intimidated by complex topics such as pharmacology.
"LUNAS isn't designed to replace pharmacists, and it's not designed to replace medical advice, but it is designed to spark curiosity," he said.
"We believe that the best learning experience should happen naturally, either by spending time with your family, with friends, or playing games."
That philosophy also inspired KNOVELTI, the educational entertainment company Cacho and his classmates founded. The startup is already planning healthcare-themed games, educational books, and future expansions for LUNAS, which may include herbal medicine and other health topics.
LUNAS is available for P649 at hobby shops, educational events, and KNOVELTI's partner retailers. A demo of the game can be played at Board Game Madness Ayala Malls Manila Bay branch.