The original pogs were the cardboard caps from bottles of POG, a popular juice in Hawaii. The game was played using bottle caps for a long time before it was commercialized for the mainland, where it became very popular in the 1990s. [3] X Research source If you want to make some pogs, trace a circle onto a piece of paper 4 centimeter (1. 6 in) in diameter. Tape it onto a slab of cardboard. Cut the circle out and draw a design on the top using with black pen. Color if you want. To make the slammer, simply tape two pieces of cardboard together and flatten it.
Most games start with everyone comparing their favorite pogs in a pile. If you see some that you like, you can offer to trade for them or play for them.
Before the game, the players decide whether to play for “keeps” or “no-keeps”. If you play for “keeps”, a player keeps the pogs that are won, even if they are his opponents. [4] X Research source Back in the 90s, when playing with pogs was really popular, lots of schools outlawed the game. Teachers claimed that playing with pogs was a form of gambling. While its not super-common anymore, it’s still good to make sure that it’s allowed with your parents or teachers before you play.
If you play on the concrete, sometimes it’s good to put all the pogs on a book, or on a binder to keep your slammer from getting all dinged up.
Start by placing all the pogs into a pile, then shuffling them and stacking them face down. This helps to ensure that someone’s pogs aren’t all at the bottom. If you’re playing for keeps, remember that any pogs you put into the stack might not come back to you when you’re done. You have to decide which pogs you’re willing to risk to get the ones that you want.
The first player typically gets the most pogs out of the slam. It’s a lot harder to flip over a very small stack of pogs.
Hold the slammer flat against the inside of your fingers, and keep it in place with your thumb. Slap it down toward the stack. Curl the slammer into your index finger and hold it with your thumb, like you were going to skip a stone. Hold the slammer like you would a dart, between your index finger and thumb, sideways. Or turn it so the flat side is between your finger and thumb.
You collect all the pogs that you’ve flipped over. They now are yours, if you’re playing for keeps. If you’re not, just keep them in your pile until the game is over. Restack the rest of the pogs that didn’t flip over into a stack again, still facing down. Pass the slammer to the next player.
If you’re not playing for keeps, return all the pogs to whoever started out with them in the first place.
Play best of 15. Some players play that the stack must always remain at 15, but it’s not important who puts in more. If you really want to get your best friend’s favorite pog, putting in 14 to his 1 might be a daring way to try to gamble for it. Play the pogs where they fall. After the pogs scatter, pick up the ones you flipped, but don’t restock them. Instead, play that you have to hit them where they fell. It’s a lot harder. Play long-range pogs. In some games, you’re allowed to get right up on top of the stack before you slam them. In other games, you have to stand a few feet away, making it much more difficult to actually hit the stack. It adds a little fun to the game. Just keep playing. One of the fun parts of the game is losing pogs, then getting them back, then losing them again. It’s fun to keep playing for the same pogs over and over again. If you lost one of your favorites, it’ll be easy to get it back in the next game.
The best way to grow a bigger stack? Play with lots of people. If you play in a big group and everyone only puts in a few pogs, you don’t stand to lose many, but you can gain a bunch pretty quickly. It’s a fun way to play.
On the other hand, putting ones you really like into the stack helps to keep the game exciting. If you might lose your favorite, there are big stakes!
