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Batman The Animated Series POGs

Tosay Pogs were big in the 90s is an understatement, however it did not truely last beyond aside from a couple of attempted revivals. But what did last for a while was the legendary DC Animated Universe and it started with Batman The Animated Series.

Given the popularity of Tim Burton's darker entries of Batman lore (compared to the well known Adam West Series) Warner took a chance on a darker cartoon. It did very well so merchandise was made, toys, video games and of course Pogs. And yes, Pogs. They could have licenced out to another cap maker, but these were put out by the WPF. Mine were printed by Waddingtons UK who printed Pogs in the UK on behalf of the WPF.

While a nice set, they aren't imaginitive. Most are simply a screencap from the series put on a cap. Some are characters cropped out and put on a shiney background. The only one with possibly new art is the since circular bat symbol.

This set did have kinis, but I have not aquired any yet. They however only used 1 design as far as I can tell, a bat symbol. True to Pog kini form though, they did paint in various colours, including yellow resulting in an inverse version of Batman's usual designs.

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New follower, means I need to get content. Coming soon.

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Pogs: The Milkcap Guide by Tommi Lewis

TMy Pog Bookshelf has a new addition. From America comes this guidebook to the 90s craze. Pogs: The Milkcap Guide more or less serves the same function as the previously mentioned Pog Off book. It covers the game's history, from how kids in Hawaii collected actual milkcaps and made a game about flipping them, how school teacher Blossom Glabisco introduced the caps and the game to her students and how it became commercialized by the WPF.

What drew me to this book was the hope of a more workable poison caps system. Something that wouldn't be in Random House's book for the World Pog Federation. And yes, it covers poison, but I feel it may be the source for the version found in Pog Off.

Once again it seems to be an instant win basically if you just pull out the right kind of slammer.

POISON

Players first agree on a "dirty game"; then one player pulls out a slammer with the poison symbol (usually a skull and crossbones) on it. The slammer's poison symbol may be in a circle or triangle. If it's in a circle, the player takes their poison slammer and draws an imaginary circle around the stack of milkcaps. By making this move, the player automatically wins all the stacked caps and the games. If the poison symbol is in a triangle, the player taps three triangle points around the stack and wins the milkcaps. This is called "the power of poison."

So once again we have making a circle around the stack and just taking it. As least this book is clearer on that than Pog Off's "Whill the slammer round the stack" but still in my opinion unworkable.

This book has also made me aware of something. It mentions some video tapes, Milkcap Mania volumes 1 and 2, which are about playing the game and collecting respectivly. A tape put out by the WPF called Searching for POG, and perhaps the most fascinating of all, a pilot for an attempted animated series by DiC called The Legend of Hawaiian Slammers. This will be talked about another time.

Well, I might open up the submission box if anyone wants to share houserules, including any regarding poisons.

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Amazon no longer doing Dragonball Super Caps

It is my sad duty to report that Amazon no longer lists the French Dragonball Super caps from Panini.

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Non POG Brand Slammers

I'm not 100% sure how other companies got to make their own caps and slammers without getting into legal issues with the WPF. Could be the same as you have versions of Connect 4, Battleships and other generic versions of simple board games.

So other companies made their own caps and they made their own slammers to go with them. Companies may be established with other products like sticker albums or founded just to cash in on the Pog craze.

First up is the slammers put out for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers line by the Universal Flip-cap Association. The reverse says "Flippog" but this does not appear on the caps. I only have 3 of these. Simple black plastic with unpainted molded details. I don't have enough to comment on variety but I'm sure there are at least 5, one for each core Ranger.

These slammers came in the same lot as the above Power Rangers slammers and their associated caps, but are not from the same line.

These are put out by the World Flip Federation. Molded plastic but with 2 colours. Gold and silver. No paint applied. Seems however designs are repeated in both colours so adds some variety. I would like to get some of the associated caps

Perhaps my least favourite. These were put out by Merlin, a company known for their UK Football sticker albums, so no surprise these came with the Premier League Football caps. The only variety here is the colour of the plastic, 3 known colours used. However there is only one design, that of the wizard Merlin. I don't know if Merlin made any other caps, so they could have used these in whatever cap set they wanted.

The most recent additions I have. Put out by Panini, who are also known for football sticker albums, have a line of Dragon Ball Super caps out in 2021. Though their take on slammers is a bit unusual. Each pack would come with a blank solid coloured slammer with a molded slot on one side. Each pack would come with a shiny sticker to apply on the slammer, 1 out of 13. So you have a variety of combinations given the 13 stickers and at least 4 colours of plastic.

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Kinis of the ages

A key component in the Milkcap Game is a tool to flip the caps of the stack. Commonly known as a Slammer, these pieces come in a variety of materials, shapes and thicknesses though typically the same diameter as a standard 4cm cap. The plastic ones put out by the World POG Federation in the 90s and in the Neo-WPF era were known as Kinis.

WPF Era

The Kinis of the 90s were vastly varied. Some with variations of the Pog logo, others with Pogman on them, but many with a variety of different designs. What I personally like about this era is even if you have multiple Kinis of the same design, you can often have different paint applications. These could be flat single colours, metalics or even muticoloured psychedelic effects. Att about 2 caps thick they lack the heft other slammers may have, but they are a fun addition to the collection as much as the caps.

GPA Era

While I don't have enough to comment on the variety of the Global POG Association slammers, I can offer some comments on them. Much thicker than the Kinis of old, these slammers have no unique molded features like a number. Instead of molded designs on the front, they opt for a plain side with a sticker application. It may also be worth noting in the rules sheet that came in the 2006 Classic Game set, they are not called "Kinis", instead they are known by the generic term "Slammers".

Neo-WPF Era

The slammers put out by Illumigames France as part of the Neo-WPF era once again use the name Kinis, however unlike their predecessors they do not have the variety of paint applications. From what I have picked up, it seems to be one type of application for each type of design. A bit disappointing but they're POG Kinis and still a step up from the old third parties and even their only contemporary, the Dragonball Super slammers from Panini, but more on them another time.

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Dragon Ball Super by Panini

I ordered some of these new caps from Amazon and was surprised in some regards and a bit disappointed in others.

I purchased this for £9.99 GBP and to my surprise it was a pack of 5 packs. So more than the Neo WPF packs you have currently on the market.

So I cracked one up and had a look,

Inside a single pack you have 6 full colour caps. A simple plain plastic slammer with no molded details whatso ever, one side with a slot for the included sticker, making it similar to a 2006 GPA Slammer but thinner.

The instructions are multilingual so we have English here too. Also included is a colour checklist with a picture of each cap and the slammer stickers you can get.

I like this set. Nice to see new caps in this era, not just the Neo WPF. I would like to see it outside of France though. As for the slammers. I'm not a fan of applying the sticker yourself. Also the slammers themselves are very plain. No numbers, names or branding. I suppose Panini might intend these slammers to be used for other licenses, it still seems a bit cheap. Let's hope the revitalization of this hobby carries on.

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The French Renaissance continues

As I have been buying Pogs from Amazon, particularly the 2021 Neo WPF caps, I noticed that Panini is in on this revival by releasing licensed Dragon Ball Super milkcaps

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panini-France-SA-CAPS-Pouches-004106SPAF/dp/B08QSH9N14/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=dragon+ball+super+panini&qid=1627226171&sr=8-2

I

I do not yet possess any of these but will keep you posted

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POG Baseball

Coming from the Official POG Milkcap Collector's Guide, this variation changes it up a bit.

1. The player who's "up" thorws a kini at a stack of four POG milkcaps. If one is flipped, it's a single, Two is a double. Three is a triple. Four is 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 milkcaps) reaches "Home"

4. After six or nine "innings" of play, the team with the most runs wins, just like baseball.

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The Pog Bookshelf

Due to popularity of The Game You Collect, there have been some books sold at the time too. Quite a few enodorsed by the World Pog Federation themselves.

The Official Pog Milkcap Collector's Guide was put out by Random House. It comes with 16 caps which to my surprise my one had intact. It doesn't contain checklists but it does have a history of the game, how it started with actual Hawaiian milkcaps, how a school teacher taught the game to her pupils and how the WPF came about. Also within are the main rules of the game and some varients I intend to cover like Pog Baseball, The Pit and others.

Put out by Puffin Books, Pog Off has pretty much the same content as the Official Pog Milkcap Collector's Guide, except it also covers popular lines of third party caps that were on the market at the time like the Premier Football League or Power Rangers. Some of the rules varients covered on this blog have been from this book.

The last books in my personal collection are 2 childrens storybooks about the WPF mascot, Pogman. A simple Poglodyte who finds himself in odd situations. These books also give him a sidekick, Pogpuss. Due to the secondhand nature of these books they sadly did not have the caps or temporary tatoos they originally had. No new rules or varients, but some lore if that's your thing.

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The Neo WPF Era 2021 - ?

An attempt to revive Pog is once again going on. Pog Unlimited, the guys behind the WPF and GPA are once again attempting to bring back the brand. So far this includes an English language website and new caps being made and sold in France

https://www.pogunlimited.com/

As of writing the website only has the rules and offers to be contacted to enter into licensing agreements to manufactor caps and other things. Since Feburary of this year only Illugames of France has taken this up.

Being in the UK, aquiring these "Neo WPF" caps is not difficult thanks to Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08Q8P6D2N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is my hope that if more awareness of this revival is granted, Pog products may return proper in the English speaking world too.

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Pog Classic Rules

These are the rules as presented in the GPA era Pog Classic game box set by Funrise. There were 22 caps and 2 slammers in this set.

Players flip one Pog to decide which player will start.

Each player picks their own slammer to play.

One player is chosen as the Stacker; Take turns after each game.

The Stacker stacks 11 Pog face down in the center of the Pog Playing Board.

The first player slams the stack with their slammer.

Any and all Pog that are turned over are collected by the player.

The Stacker will restack the remaning Pog and add more Pog to make the stack of 11 again.

The next player takes his/her turn.

Players continue in turn until all of the Pog have been collected.

The player with the most Pog wins the game.

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Pog Classic Game (2006)

When I looked on ebay to give my collection some representation for the 2006 era. I settled on a box set that at first looked simular to the WPF era The Game set. Well, simular to the American MB version.

I noticed on the box that Pogman, beloved mascot of the WPF era is not on the box. However he does appear on some of the caps, but the 2006 GPA era seems to focus on this kid with "POG 12" on his shirt. Currently I do not know his name.

Upon opening the box you have 22 GPA Pog caps, instead of a printed back we get a holofoil back. Caps now have their numbers printed on the front with the artwork. In addition you get 2 slammers. (The GPA did not use the name "Kini" it seems.), A thick card board and a rules sheet.

The slammers are much thicker than WPF kinis with a sticker on one side. The ones I have are a Big Deal style skull simular to WPF era, and a POG 12 one in the same design as the 2006 mascot's shirt.

The board serves the same function as the old boards, except instead of plastic with a spongy layer, this one is just a thick piece of card. The rules card does not have the same basic rules as WPF era products, so I will post them in a seperate post as a varient.

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What is and is not a Pog?

The terms milkcaps and pogs are often used interchangeably however this isn't quite accurate. "Pog" is a brand of milkcaps just as Coke and Pepsi are brands of cola. All Pogs are milkcaps, but not all milkcaps are Pogs.

So what is a Pog then? Simply a milkcap made under licence of Pog Unlimited under the names of either World Pog Federation (WPF) or Global Pog Association (GPA). Such caps are usually identifiable with the presence of a Pog logo on the back.

Three caps, which, if any are Pogs?

Answer, caps 2 and 3.

It may also be ok to refer to caps made with the Pog Milkcap Maker as Pogs as the maker itself and the refill are officially licensed WPF products. Despite their use of the term, the caps in the Retro Kaps sets are not really Pogs.

So does this mean non Pog caps suck? Not at all. Anyone can make milkcaps, but quality can very. At the time many caps were made based on the UK Premier League football teams, Power Rangers, Sonic the Hedgehog etc, Good cap makers would put their own logos on the back and cap numbers too. Though there are cheaper unlicensed caps that left their backs blank.

So remember, when collecting Pogs, be sure what you have are Pogs, some caps may be Slammer Whammers, Tazos and other milkcaps on the market.

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Pog The Game (Waddingtons)

I remember receiving a copy of this board game version for christmas in my childhood. Sadly I no longer have that one but I did pick up another at a charity shop. It was missing one of the caps and all of the slammers. All replaced so this set is complete once more.

This is the Waddingtons version of Pog the Game. The box is more or less identical to the MB one aside from the company logos. However the contents couldn't be more different. Where as the MB version had a mat and a plastic arena thing. The UK version has some different content.

You get in the Waddingtons version 100 caps unique to the game set. 4 Kinis, a board and a cardboard bank board and a rules sheet with 3 variations that make use of the zones on the board. The zones are Volanco, the centre of the board, Bank, Wipe Out, Shark Attack, Bone Head, I ❤︎ Pog and Surfs Up. The rest of the board is refered to as "No Man's Land."

So if you got one of these and it didn't have the rules? I'll put them here. The rules assume they are stacked face up, but you can stack them face down if you prefer to prevent damage to the face ups.

Game Play 1

The Aim Of The Game

To win all or most of the POG milkcaps by flipping them face down, landing on the Volcano or on one of the Scoring Zones.

To Start The Game

Equally divide all the POG milkcaps between the players; any POG milkcaps left should be placed on the POG Bank. Each player places 4 POG milkcaps on the centre of the game board and then takes it in turns to attempt to flip over the most POG milkcaps; the player who flips the most starts the game.

After deciding who will throw first, an equal number of POG milkcaps from each player are stacked face (colour side) up in the centre of the Volcano. The first player than thorws the Kini at the stack, making sure it leaves his or her hand (head-butting the stack is not allowed)

All POG milkcaps that flip over, landing face down on the Volcano, Bank, I ❤︎ Pog, or Surfs Up Scoring Spaces can be claimed.

All POG milkcaps must land clearly within either the Volcano, Bank, I ❤︎ Pog, or Surfs Up Scoring Spaces.

Any POG milkcaps landing in No Man's Land or on Bone Head, Wipe Out, or Shark Attack are returned to the stack; these cannot be claimed even if they land face down.

Any POG milkcaps leaving the playing board are placed in the Bank.

All unclamable POG milkcaps are restacked and play continues until all the POG milkcaps are claimed or just one remains. Start another round by stacking 4 POG milkcaps each.

Scoring Spaces

To take advantage of any Scoring Space the POG milkcap must land face down.

Bank - Take the lot. Flip a POG milkcap on this space and the contents of the Bank are yours.

Wipe Out - Total Loser - No Wins - No Bonuses. Flip a POG milkcap on to this pace and you win nothing. Any POG milkcaps that have landed on any other spaces or Volcano must be returned to the stack.

Shark Attack - Everybody takes from your stash. All otherr playders get to take 1 (One) of your POG milkcaps from your stash.

Bone Head - Get a Life - Miss a Throw - Flip a POG milkcap on to this space and you miss your next turn.

I ❤︎ Pog - Flip one or more POG milkcaps on to this space and you get to collect the same amount of POG milkcaps from the Bank. If the Bank is empty, you cannot take any POG milkcaps.

Surfs Up - Flip a POG milkcap on to this space and it's extra throw time, make the best of it.

No Man's Land - Is any area of the board that isn't a Scoring Space

Game Play 2

To start the game, equally divide all the POG milkcaps between the players. Any POG milkcaps left should be placed on the POG Bank

Place the playing board on the floor next to a wall with players standing (approximatly 2 metres back) facing the wall.

Each player takes turns to throw theri POG milkcaps onto the playing board aiming for the Volcano or other scoring areas. It does not matter how the POG milkcaps get on the board - for example rebounding off the wall, or bouncing off the floor.

Each area carries the following point value:

The Volcano - 1 point

Wipeout - 2 Points

Bone Head - 3 Points

Surfs Up - 4 Points

I ❤︎ Pog - 5 Points

If your POG milkcap lands on the Shark Attack area, this goes to the Bank

If you POG milkcap lands on the Bank graphic, you claim the contents of the Bank

If your POG milkcap lands on No Mans Land, then after having thrown all the milkcaps in your possession, you can retrieve all of your POG milkcaps that are in No Man's Land.

Any POG milkcaps that land on the scaoring ares remain there until the end of the game.

Any POG milkcaps that leave the playing board are placed in the POG Bank.

Important - after each throw players must note their own score, as the POG milkcaps have to remain on the board until the game is over. The game is over when all POG milkcaps have been thrown and there are no more in the players' possession. The winner is the person with the most points.

Game Play 3

Each player selects a corner of the playing board - for example on the Bank space or Shark Attack space.

Equally divide all the POG milkcaps between the players. Put your POG milkcaps in a stack on your corner space.

Each player takes turns to move their stack around the board. Move round in a clockwise direction, placing your stack in front of each of opponent's corners in turn.

At each corner, that corner's opponent slams your stack once. Any POG milkcaps that flip over go to your opponent's stack and you move onto the next corner.

Move around all four corners, returning to your corner. The opponent on your left hand side repeats the process. This continues until one player has no more POG milkcaps and the winner is the remaining player with the most POG milkcaps.

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Pog/milkcaps rules varients Part 2

(Originally posted on my main blog)

More on the Voodoo Caps section of Marc Gascoigne's Pog Off. Here we have some stuff about actual caps and not just slammers. As before I will put it up verbatem with commentary in italics. Black Death This game requires a cap bearing a black border. If this cap is flipped, the person who did it gets the cap, plus any others that he or she also flipped. As a bonus, though, they get all the caps that were won by the previous player! So this is plainly of no use at the start of the game. This one seems straight forward. Flip a black border, the previous player surrenders their recently wins to you. Death's Head If you flip a cap with a skull depiected on it, you must lose your slammer, and also cannot collect any caps flipped that turn - though you may collect the Death's Head cap If playing this rule, it may be an idea to agree to multiple slammers otherwise people will be out of the game quickly. The poison slammer types in the previous would suggest these would be permitted. A normal slammer, poisons an antidotes. Also skulls I think were only in series one of WPF caps so don't expect these games to have a lot of WPFs. Dog's Life If you flip a cap with a picture of a dog, you can get an extra life, which means that after you've taken all the other caps you flipped, if any, the dog cap is replaced somewhere in the new stack. You then get a second slam, if you flip the dog cap again, you get the entire stack. If you do not, the stack is rebuilt and play moves on. You do noy get any more flipped caps unless you get the dog again. (This is sometimes played using a cap with a cat on it, and is called Cat's life or Nine Lives) Another fairly straight forwards one. The WPF did put out a couple of possibles, but again Series 1 Waddingtons or PogPorri. Eight Ball If a game is being played with a cap bearing the picture of a black 'eight balls' from pool, the player who flips it over automatically gets given eight caps from his or her opponent's pool. Freeze If there is a cap with snow or ice on it in the stack, there is a chance of having your slammer frozen. If you flip this cap, your slammer is in great danger. The next player (or players) must try to remove all of the caps in the stack before it is your turn again. If all of the caps are flipped, your slammer is lost to the person who took the last cap. If it comes around to your turn again and there are caps remaining, you have been thawed out and may play as usual. Love Hearts If, on your slam, you flip over a cap bearing the shape pf a heart (this may be in the background or part of an abstract design) you must give the cap, and any others you flipped that turn, to the next player. You soppy thing Snakebite Under this rule, if you flip a cap bearing a picture of a snake, you are paralyzed and thus you are unable to pick up your caps. All of the caps you flipped this round (including the snake) go to the next player! Basically this and Love Hearts are functionally identical. Flip a particular cap type, surrender it and others flipped to the next player. Triple Hex Under this version, you must know whose caps are whose. If, on your slam, you flip three or more caps, and they are all yours (i.e. you are only winning back your own caps), you must give these caps and your slammer to your opponent. Zombie If you flip over a cap showing a picture of a brain (or sometimes a zombie), the caps you've just flipped go back onto the stack. Then the caps you've won so far become the stack, and you take the old stack as your winnings.

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Pog/milkcaps rules varients Part 1

(Originally posted on my main blog)

The basic game of milkcaps, or "Pog" as it is better known due to brand recognition, is easy to pick up. You ante and stack card disks face up or face down, take a plastic disk known as a "slammer" and take turns to hit the stack and claim any that flip the other way. But as more companies put out their own caps, house rules were made for common cap designs like skulls, snakes and the word "poison". In this post, mostly because no one else seems to have, I plan to compile some of these varients and where I found them. This is the first post, with more possibly to come. The following come from a book put out in 1995 titled Pog Off! by Marc Gascoine sold in the UK by Puffin Books. ISBN 0140380701 They will be quoted verbatum with commentary in italics. The following are from the Voodoo Caps section starting from page 32

POISON

The most famous of all of the voodoo pieces is the Poison Slammer. If you allow Poison into your game, you must limit its use to only once per player per match! Before it can be used, the players have ti have agreed that they are playing a dirty game, where anything goes.After that, a player can at any time reveal a slammer bearing the Poison symbol. Note that it can only be a slammer, not a cap bearing the symbol or a Poison logo (there are quite a few of these about, but they do not count). This usually take the form of a skull and crossbones. On Agreement, a simple Skull or another symbol can count.The player showing the Poison slammer must then use 'The Power of Poison'. Taking the slammer in one hand, they whirl it around the stack three times to summon up the power of Poison.By doing this, the player is then permittted to take the stack and win the game! The Power of Poison can be just as dangerous for us user, however. For if that player then goes on to lose the entire match, they must give their Poison slammer to the match winner!

Here it is as written in the book, poison caps not used in this variation, just a poison slammer. I personally don't get "whirl around the stack 3 times" to allow an instawin. I'm guessing from the following to get a shot to 'whirl' during your turn. Maybe be sucessful in three turns. The included glossery doesn't help either nor any refference to it in the book.

Antidote

Once Poison slammers started becoming more common, their power needed to be controlled. Some cap makers began issuing caps and slammers bearing skulls overlaid with a red bar and the words 'Poison Antidote'. Any slammer or cap bearing the mystical Yin-Yang symbol is also an antidote and can reverse the effects.These piece are used to beat the power of Poison. If one player shows such a slammer, their opponent can beat it by revealing an antidote.Both Antidote slammers and caps will beat poison, because it is very powerful and players need the help they can get!

Here we have a counter to a potential instawin, show off an antidote cap or slammer. Rules only say show. Doesn't say if they are used up. Meaning if another wants to use the Power of Poison after working out how, the antidote holder could just prevent them from doing so too.

Black Widow

This is used in exactly the same way as Poison, except there is a huge, hairy spider depiected on the slammer, The Player must tap around the stack in eight different spots to take the stack, one for each leg of the spider. Antidote works against Black Widow venom. (Also called Tarantula or Spider, but the effects are the same.)

Here we have something that is clearer, but arguably more chance to fail than regular Poison. If I were playing this, I would have the spots that need to be hit indicated with markers or a custom board. Here is my proposed rules changes Poison (Version 1) You reveal a Poison slammer and must successfully strike 1 of 3 points around the stack in each following turn. You can not strike the same point again on subsequent turns. If a player manages to flip a cap with an antidote slammer on their turn or flip an antidote cap with any slammer, the power of poison is canceled and you cannot use your posion slammer.

I'll cover part 2 of voodoo caps another time