Pogs Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Traditional Rules
• W.P.F. Tournament Rules
• POG Baseball
• More Fun & Games
• The Pit
  • For 2 to 4 Players
• POG War
  • For 2 Players
• Help Yourself to More Fun

Traditional Rules

Whether you decide to play "for fun" or "for keeps," all players should agree to the basic rules and weight and thickness of kinis before starting any POG milkcap game. It's also traditional to shake hands before the game begins.

Each player must contribute an equal number of POG milkcaps to a single, common stack. If possible, all milkcaps should be stacked, face up, on an official World POG Federation game board.

1. To determine who goes first, flip a POG milkcap or play Ro-Sham-Bo (Paper, Scissors, Rock).
2. The first player slams their kini at the stack. All POG milkcaps that land face down go to that player.
3. All POG milkcaps remaining face up are restacked for the next player's attempt to flip the stack.
4. Players alternate turns until every POG milkcap has been flipped and won. The player with the most POG milkcaps is declared the overall winner.

W.P.F. Tournament Rules

These "just for fun" tournaments are endorsed and followed in all official tournaments sanctioned by the World POG Federation.

1. Each pair of opposing players starts with a single stack of eleven POG CLASSICS milkcaps (placed face up).
2. The first player throws their kini at the stack. All milkcaps landing face down are added to that player's score.
3. Players alternate turns. The first player to flip six milkcaps is the winner of the round.
4. The first player to win three rounds wins the match or game.

Note: In some tournaments, a time limit is also imposed.

POG Baseball

Here's another way to score plenty of fun with POG milkcaps. Use extra POG milkcaps to keep track of any runners "on base".

1. The player who's "up" throws at a stack of four POG milkcaps. If one is flipped, it's a single. Two are a double. Three are a triple. Four are a home run. If the stack is missed, or no milkcaps are flipped, it's an out. All milkcaps are restacked after each throw.
2. After the player who's "up" has made three outs, it's the other player's turn to throw for a "hit".
3. As in baseball, "runs" are scored when a "runner" (POG milkcap) reaches "home".
4. After 6 or 9 "innings" of play, just like in baseball, the team with the most runs wins.

More Fun & Games

One of the best things about milkcaps is that there's more than one way to play the game. A lot more. In fact, with POG milkcaps, the name of the game is creativity. Exciting variations and whole new games are being invented all of the time. Here are some of the most popular POG milkcap-based games currently being played by dedicated POGmaniacs everywhere.

The Pit

For 2 to 4 Players

1. To determine who goes first, flip a milkcap or play Ro-Sham-Bo (Paper, Scissors, Rock).
2. Each player starts the game with two separate stacks of four POG milkcaps. All eight milkcaps are stacked face up.
3. The first player throws their kini at either one of another player's stacks. All milkcaps that land face down are won by that player (and taken out of the playing area).
4. All milkcaps remaining face up and touching at least one other milkcap from its stack are simply restacked. But all milkcaps remaining face up and not touching any other milkcap from that stack are added to "The Pit" -- a common stack of milkcaps in the middle of the playing area. (This rule also applies to a milkcap at the bottom of a stack that wasn't hit or moved.)
5. When any milkcaps are in The Pit, a player has the choice of throwing at The Pit's stack or at one of another player's stacks. Unlike winning milkcaps from another player's stack (which are then removed from the playing area), any milkcaps flipped and won from The Pit are added to one or both of the winning player's stacks, as that player sees fit.
6. A player who's down to a single stack of one milkcap must successfully accomplish one of the following or forfeit their last milkcap to The Pit:
   • A) Flip and win at least one milkcap from an opponent's stack.
   • B) Hit and send at least one milkcap to The Pit from an opponent's stack.
   • C) Flip and win back at least one milkcap from The Pit, if a Pit exists.
7. Any player who has lost all of the milkcaps in their two original stacks is allowed one final turn to replenish their stack(s) from The Pit (but only if a Pit exists). If at least one milkcap isn't flipped, that player is eliminated.
8. After all but one player are eliminated, all players count their milkcaps. The overall winner is the player with the most combined milkcaps (milkcaps won plus milkcaps left in any game stack). Milkcaps remaining in The Pit are not added to anyone's score.
9. The Pit can be played for fun or for keeps. When played just for fun, milkcaps in The Pit are returned to their owners. When played for keeps, all the milkcaps that remain in The Pit are awarded to the overall winner.

POG War

For 2 Players

1. This game is designed to be played on a smooth polished wood or glass surface, like a desk or coffee table. (Kids -- make sure you get your parent's permission before you begin play.) Each player starts with four POG milkcaps (the ones without staples) and one kini.
2. Each player positions their four milkcaps in a row across opposite sides of the desk or table about four inches apart from each other. When positioned right, it should look something like a big checkerboard that's missing all but the back rows of checkers.
3. Flip a milkcap or play Ro-Sham-Bo to determine who goes first.
4. The player going first gets to position their kini anywhere on their half of the desk or table and take a "shot" at trying to knock one of the opposing player's milkcaps off the desk or table. (A "shot" consists of "flicking" a kini with your thumb and index or middle finger.)
5. Prior to the first player's shot, the opposing player is allowed to position their kini as a blocker anywhere on their half of the desk or table. (But it cannot touch another milkcap.)
6. The object of the game is to win as many milkcaps as you can by knocking them off the desk or table with your kini. However, to win a milkcap your kini must knock a milkcap completely off the desk or table without going off the desk or table itself (much like the game of Caroms).
7. If a kini that's shot knocks a milkcap off the desk or table (or completely misses its target) and goes off the desk or table itself -- it's called a "scratch." The opposing player gets to put their milkcap back in its original position. And the shooter must reposition their kini behind the milkcap that's closest to the back edge of their side of the desk or table.
8. Whether or not a shot is successful, players alternate turns. If a player hasn't scratched, a player always shoots from wherever their kini ended up after the last shot was taken.
9. You may choose to shoot at another player's kini to knock it out of a threatening position. You may also shoot at one of your own milkcaps to move it into a safer position. If you knock an opponent's kini off the desk or table, their kini is positioned as if they had scratched.
10. Caution: If you scratch on either of the shots above, you could be left in a dangerous position. And if you knock your own milkcap off the desk or table, it goes to your opponent.

NOTE: You'll find that POG WAR works best when you play it on a surface that's smooth, clean and freshly polished. And since POG WAR is a game of strategy as well as skill, the more you practice, the better you'll become.

Help Yourself to More Fun

The slamming technique that seems to work best for most players is the traditional "two-fingers slam" with "no grips." In the beginning, you may feel the need to use your thumb to help grip your kini when you throw it. Most players, in fact, learn this way. But once you've gained a little more experience and confidence in your slamming, you'll realize you don't really need a thumb grip. You'll also realize that you need to take very careful aim before each throw. And, of course, you never want to completely miss the stack. Keep in mind that in all official tournament play, the WPF enforces a "no grips" rule for all players who are over 5 years old or who are not beginners. In general though, the more you practice, the better you'll get. And the more fun you'll have.

(The booklet illustrates this with two pictures: a kini thrown with a thumb grip, captioned "GRIPS", and a kini thrown with no grip, captioned "NO GRIPS".)