Go-Go Gadget Slammer

After a weekend’s long hiatus I’m back and blogging again. Today’s topic, a schoolyard fad that came and went faster than you can say antidisestablishmentarianism. That’s right, I’m talking about Pogs!

The game emerged in Hawaii during the 1920s and 30s. Players would use either milk caps of the cardboard caps of a particular kind of juice made from passion fruit, orange and guava; hence, POG.

The game started with each player stacking an even amount of Pogs facedown between them. They would then take turns hitting the stack with their ‘slammer.’ Any pogs which landed face-up were collected by the player. This process continued until all the pogs in the stack were gone. The player with the most pogs won the game and kept the pogs which they had collected.

Much like the Pokemon and other anime card games which emerged more recently, this game took over the lives of those school children who took part in it. Most recesses were devoted to playing the game, so much so that some schools even banned pogs from the premises. Some teachers saw the fact that the winner took the spoils of the game as a form of gambling.

Luckily the fad dwindled just as quickly as it began.