How to Play Pogs: Rules, Basics and Advanced Techniques

The 90s really were a golden age.

Long before there were smartphones, kids had to find other ways to fill their time. Board games like Monopoly, Clue, and Battleship, the occasional video game, or – heaven forbid – actually playing outside.

If you were a kid in the ’90s, odds are you also had a pretty sweet collection of Pogs – the small decorated discs with rad imagery that came in neon plastic tubes.

Playing Pogs involves taking turns trying to flip as many stacked Pogs as possible using the “Slammer.” If you hit it just right, the Pogs should flip, allowing you to keep all of the Pogs you turned over on that round. Whoever has the most Pogs or bottle caps at the end wins.

While Pogs only gained national popularity in the 90s, kids in Hawaii have been mastering this iconic game since the 1920s. The original Pogs were cardboard caps from bottles of POG, a popular fruit drink in Hawaii. POG stands for P- passionfruit, O- orange, and G- guava.

So, it’s not just fun. It’s delicious too!

You might think a game of Pogs just involves a lot of stacking small discs, and well, you wouldn’t be wrong, but it also requires skill and strategy. Did you know there’s a World Pog Federation?

Yep, they even own the brand name “Pog.”

What You’ll Need

All you need is a collection of Pogs and a metal slammer to play.

Pogs – The highly collectible flat circular cardboard disc. The top side of the Pogs often featured pop culture graphics or characters printed on them while the back side was either left blank or displayed a brand’s logo.

Metal Slammers – Slammers are sturdy metal discs, a bit bigger than the Pogs. You probably saw them being sold in big bins throughout the 90s. The best ones were engraved with unique designs, had some solid heft to them, and were highly sought after.

Friends – Pogs is a minimum two-person game.

The Ultimate Guide to Playing Pogs

1. Decide if You’re Playing for Keeps

The first rule of playing Pogs is deciding if you’re going to play for “keeps” or “no-keeps.” If you play for “keeps,” the player keeps the winning Pogs. Playing for “keeps” is especially beneficial if your opponent has a pog you have your eye on. All players must agree before the game begins to avoid any drama.

2. Choose How Many People Are Going to Play

Playing Pogs could mean a quiet game with your siblings or rallying the whole neighborhood to battle it out. Keep in mind the problem with big games is that the last player is always at a disadvantage because there may only be a few milk caps left.

3. Find the Perfect Surface to Play On

You want a smooth, hard, flat surface for the best gameplay. Carpets, countertops, tables, and concrete are all solid pog playing spaces. If you’re playing on concrete, sometimes it’s a good idea to stack on top of something else like a book or binder, so you don’t dent or chip your Slammers.

4. Choose Who Goes First

This is up to your discretion. Some fun ways to pick the first player include tossing a slammer like flipping a coin, rock-paper-scissors, or seeing who has the most of a specific type of pog. You could also play the winner goes first next round or do heads or tails on an actual coin.

5. Donate the Milk Caps to the Pile

Each player must put an equal number of Pogs into the stack. At least 10-15 Pogs per player is usually recommended. Not enough Pogs, and the game will be over too fast. Too many, and it’s nearly impossible to get the coveted ‘thwack’ when you slam. It’s totally cool to experiment with different stack sizes until you find the ideal size. If you’re playing for “keeps,” remember whichever Pogs you contribute to the pile may not come back. Which Pogs will you risk to get the ones you want?

6. Stack the Pogs Face Down

All players add their Pogs into a pile, which is then shuffled well to ensure fairness by having the Pogs randomly distributed in the heap – especially important if playing for keeps. Next, arrange the Pogs into a big stack. Keep them facing down so you can’t see the images.

7. It’s Time to Play

The first player aims their Slammer and launches it at the stack. All of a sudden, bottle caps are flying everywhere (hopefully). If the player misses the stack, it still counts as a turn. Playing Pogs doesn’t forgive a lousy aim. After the Slammer has hit and hopefully knocked over the stack, all the Pogs that end up landing face up – the player gets to keep. 

Remember! In Pog rules, you have to let go of the Slammer in time. If you’re still holding the Slammer when it hits the pog stack, or if your hand accidentally touches the stack, your turn is disqualified and you miss the round. If this happens, players must re-stack the Pogs, and the next person can have a turn.

8. Score and Re-Stack the Pogs

The remaining face-down Pogs are re-stacked, so the next player can take their shot with the slammer. This continues until all of the milk caps have been flipped over and won.

9. Who Won?

The player with the most Pogs at the end of the game wins and gets to keep the loot – if you’re playing for a “keeps” game. If not, the winner gives the other player their caps back.

10. Repeat

Shuffle and re-stack the Pogs again until the bell rings, you’ve lost all your favorite Pogs, or you’re played out.

How to Hold the Slammer:

In American Pog tournaments (yes, those were a thing), the Slammer “had to be held between the index finger and the middle finger and flicked downward.” If you’re not playing pro, there are a lot of ways to hold the Slammer. Here are some standard techniques:

1. Hold it flat against the inside of your fingers, and keep it in place with your thumb.
2. Hold it between your index finger and thumb, similar to how you would hold a rock if you wanted to skip a stone.
3. Hold the slammer like a dart between your index finger and thumb.

Pog Slamming Techniques

Pog aficionados use specific throwing techniques to improve their odds.

To nail your technique, you may want to take a page out of ‘The Unofficial POG and Cap Players Handbook’ by Jason Page. Is your flip-factor up to par? The best way to learn how to play Pogs is by brushing up on your slamming techniques. Kids in schools across North America in the 90s would tell you, how you slam can make a huge difference.

Before playing a rousing game of Pogs, think about how you can use your Slammer to get you to the top. There are two kinds of shots (long-range) and (short-range). There are no official rules stating which technique you have to use to hit your stack of Pogs.

The Long-Range Shot

Long-range shots are taken standing up to give you maximum power. While you’ll have more strength, keep in mind that you’re further away from the Pogs, meaning you may lose accuracy.

Tip

Keep the long range shots for the end of the game. It will help you knock out the smaller stacks of pogs.

The Short-Range Shot

Short-range shots are taken kneeling or crouching. The shorter range allows you to be more accurate with your aim. Take a short-range shot at the beginning of the game when the stack is full to guarantee at least a few flips.

Pog Gameplay Variations and Rules

When you’re learning how to play Pogs, the basic game is pretty simple, but there are variations that players like to use. They all have specific rules to make the game more challenging – and more fun!

Stack at 15. If you’re playing the best of 15, then the stack of Pogs must always remain at 15 when a person is ready to take a turn throwing the Slammer. It’s not important which player puts in more Pogs as long as the pile totals 15.

Pogs where they fall. If you play this variation, then after the first player slams the stack with their Slammer, they pick up the ones they flipped. Then here’s where it gets interesting. Instead of restocking the pile of Pogs, leave them where they fell. This is one of the most challenging variations. You may want to get comfortable with your Slammer techniques before you play the Pogs where they fall.

Long-range Pogs. Depending on which game you’re playing, you can get right on top of the bottle caps before you slam them. In other games, players must stand a few feet away from the stack. This makes it much harder to actually hit the stack of Pogs with the slammer. Adding more skill, fun, and strategy to the game keeps things interesting!

Non-stop play. One of the best parts of the non-stop play rules is that while you may lose your favorite pog in one game, you can win it back in the next round, or the round after that. Be careful though, if you’re on a losing streak – non-stop play may see your collection seriously dwindle. That is, of course, if you’re playing for “keeps.” If not, then you don’t have to worry about bidding farewell to your beloved Spider-Man, Pokémon, or skull-themed Pogs.

While these variations are the most common, there’s no saying you can’t create your own with your friends. That’s the beauty of playing Pogs – there are endless options. You can keep things as simple or complex as you’d like.

Want to learn how to play more 90s games? We’ve got you covered with our in-depth guide to GoGo’s Crazy Bones. For even more table games from the era, check out the 17 best ’90s board games!

If you’re still craving more 90s content after that, you can follow Rediscover 90s Toys on Instagram, Pinterest, and our other social media pages.

Peeps Ask!

What was the point of pogs?

Players have to collect as many pogs as possible to win the game. If you were a collector, the main goal was to play for keeps and earn as many new pogs to add to your collection as possible.

What size are pogs?

The cardboard discs are about the size of a US half-dollar, which comes out to be 1.205 in. or 30.61 mm.

What are pogs made of?

The pogs we know today are round, flat, and made out of plastic. The original milk cap game was played with cardboard pogs taken off the caps of the popular juice, POG in Hawaii.

Are pogs worth any money?

Not really. Individual pogs usually go for under $1. You may be able to find a used set somewhere on eBay for about $10. However, if you have a mint-condition Jurassic Park 6-Pog Hologram Set with the Slammer, you may be sitting on a small goldmine.

Are pogs making a comeback?

Oh snap, are pogs making a comeback? Well, with the 90s nostalgia wave in full swing, pogs should be riding that tubular wave too! But in a digital world, it’s hard to see pogs dominating schoolyards like they used to.

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Lee Davey

Lee is curator of nostalgia and a long-time collector of loveable junk. An 80s baby, 90s kid, he knows he had it good when it came to Saturday morning cartoons. Spends his life trying to recapture the dopamine hit of playing Game Boy for the first time and believes Beanie Babies will make a fortuitous comeback. Obsessed with everything (and anything) retro, he is your trusted guide to a world of 90s toys, games and collectables.

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