Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Store Aiming to Resurrect '90s Toy 'Pogs' Coming to Brooklyn — Maybe

By Gwynne Hogan | August 16, 2016 1:55pm
 Brooklyn Pogs is slated to open at an unspecified location in Williamsburg off the Graham Avenue stop on Wednesday, Aug 31.  
Brooklyn Pogs is slated to open at an unspecified location in Williamsburg off the Graham Avenue stop on Wednesday, Aug 31.  
View Full Caption
Facebook/Brooklyn Pogs

Move over Pokémon GO, the '90s cardboard toy and game "Pogs" could be making a comeback in Williamsburg.

Brooklyn Pogs, dedicated to tapping into Millennial nostalgia, will be located at an unspecified location in Williamsburg off the Graham Avenue stop, according to its website and Facebook page. It will open on Aug. 31 with a launch party, food, '90s music and a pog tournament.

The exact location of this Clinton-era pastime will "be revealed at a later date...sorry for the ambiguity on this one," Brooklyn Pogs owner K. Oliver, who did not give his full name, wrote in an email to DNAinfo New York.

A further attempt to verify the future pog store's location in a scan of streets north of the Graham Avenue L train stop on Monday afternoon proved fruitless, though Oliver insisted the store was real and that all were welcome with our without pog collecting experience. 

"Much like a comic book store, I think anyone who checks out Pogs will find some enjoyment in looking through them and checking out the ones that are visually interesting!"

If you weren't an elementary schooler in the '90s you may not remember the palm-sized, decorated cardboard discs that were once all the rage on the playground.

Kids collected and traded Pogs. They also could play a game for keeps which involved competitors piling the discs up and try to flip them over face up by throwing a "slammer" at the stack. 

Oliver argued that unlike other bygone collectibles like pet rocks, baseball cards, furbies or Beanie Babies, pogs have "artistic merit."

"Pogs are tied closely to 90s esthetics — by examining Pogs you can really be transported into the world of 90s design," he wrote. 

If it does in fact open, Brooklyn Pogs will follow up their grand opening on Aug. 31 with a screening of "Full House" and "Step By Step", a Pog tournament and '90s jams on Sept. 1, then next night a '80s karaoke night on Sept. 2, according to their website.

They are also considering getting a liquor license at some point in the future.

Want a little refresher to get your game up to speed before the big launch? There are plenty of game explainers on YouTube.

And if it turns out that Brooklyn Pogs is a strange hoax, you can always go back to playing Pokémon GO.