Pogs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2008 | 1990s fads | Collectible-based games | Children's games | Toys of the 1990s
"Milkcaps" redirects here. For the group of fungi of the same name, see Lactarius.
Pogs is a game that was popular from the early to mid 1990s.[1] The word "pog" also refers to the discs used to play the game. The name originates from POG, a brand of juice made from passionfruit, orange and guava; the use of the POG bottle caps to play the game pre-dated the game's commercialization.[2] The game of pogs originated in Hawaii in the 1920s,[citation needed] and returned to popularity when the Canada Games Company reintroduced them to the public in the 1990s.
OriginsSources describe the game of pogs as originating in the 1920s or early 1930s in Hawaii.[3][1] Blossom Galbiso, a teacher at Waialua Elementary School on the north shore of Oahu, is credited with reviving the game in 1991.[3] She began using the milk caps in her classroom and applied the game of pog to her mathematics curriculum.[3] This was the beginning of international popularity for the game.[3] Other sources place the origins of this style of game much earlier: Menko, a Japanese card game very similar to pogs, has been in existence since the 17th century.[4] RulesThe game can be played by two or more players. Each has their own collection of pogs and a slammer (a heavier game piece).[4] PopularityImage:Pogslam.jpg
Real pog milk caps had small staples in them which, when stacked, produced a random element to the game. Regular pog milk caps were used to throw at the stack and were able to flip the pile.
Pogs became so popular in the 1990s that hundreds of types of pogs were manufactured, covering a wide array of toys, cartoons, movies, games, sports and images of famous people on the front of the pogs. The popularity of the game spawned knockoffs, such as "Slammer Whammers," a similar game released under a different brand name. The pog craze has since tapered off, but pogs can sometimes still be found on eBay and in game and card stores. During the early 1990s, a US national pog tournament was held every February 7 in honor of the game's inventor's birthday. School banningBecause many children would keep the pogs they won in games from other players, many school districts considered Pogs a form of gambling.[4] Pogs proved to be major distractions from classes and the source of various playground arguments. These elements eventually led to the banning of pogs from several schools across North America[6] Educational and promotional pogsResponding to and capitalizing upon the popularity of pogs, many groups, ranging from Christian charities to government organizations, released their own versions of pogs.[7] They can be recognized by the name of the organization that produced them as well as the ideas they promoted. Also capitalizing on the success of pogs were corporations and governments. McDonald's, Burger King, Carls Jr. (Hardees) gave away free pogs with the purchase of a menu item. Fox television reportedly released a line of pogs with the debut of "The Tick" animated series.[8] Disneyland produced limited edition caps for its "Go POG Wild and rollerblade Crazy" event in the spring of 1994. Knott's Berry Farm produced a limited edition set for the 1994 Southern California POG Championship.[9] In an effort to curb drug use and crime, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in California designed caps with the DARE logo and Scruff McGruff, as well as county sheriff badges.[10] World POG FederationIn the UK, the most popular brand of pogs were those of The World POG Federation. These pogs featured Pogman and released many series featuring images mostly comical in nature, or parodying skits of famous scenes from movies, or other popular culture. Series[11]
There were World Pog Federation pogs in Canada, the US and Australia too, but were produced by other companies, such as the Canada Games Company, or Crown & Andrews. Military usesThe Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the United States Department of Defense's largest and oldest exchange system, distributes pog-like coinage as change at its stores in contingency areas (those supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom).[12] The reason for adopting pogs as currency was that supply flights overseas had limited capacity and high costs.[1] Metal coinage weighs significantly more than plastic pogs. However, since only Congress can order US currency made and the pogs stay within the AAFES system, they are "gift certificates" instead of currency.[1] While they are only issued in contingency areas, they are redeemable at any AAFES store worldwide.[12] British military forces deployed in the southern portion of Iraq in the vicinity of Basra utilize their own version of pogs in their establishments. They are constructed of plastic and circulate freely alongside AAFES pogs. References
External linkses:Tazo pt:Tazo fr:Pog it:Pog he:פוגים nl:Flippo ja:めんこ no:Pog pl:Tazo ru:Сотки |
