DENVER — A little boredom can sometimes go a long way.
“I came up with the idea of Popongo during quarantine,” said Errol Anderson, inventor of a new game that from afar might look a little like corn hole, but he’s quick to remind people that it isn’t.
“It’s unpredictable. Most of the games around are … well … very … you throw the thing, and it lands on the thing and that’s it,” Anderson lamented as he raised his eyebrows and threw his hands up. “And you can hold your drink while you do it. No! You want to put your drink down when you play Popongo! Popongo engages you.”
Popongo: A new locally invented backyard game
Anderson was born in Jamaica and has lived in Denver for several years.
“I was raised by a single mom with three kids I have one and brother one sister. We were a tight family, went to church every Sunday, and school every day, no skipping. I was the oldest child, so I made it my mission not to cause her any headaches because she worked two jobs,” added Anderson.
The colors of his birth country’s flag are what inspired the colors he uses in his game. Players stand fifteen feet away and toss foam golf balls into numbered cups that fit into a wood paneled board. Points are earned through a scoring system. The person who gets the highest score first, wins and it can be played inside or outdoors. As for the name? “Popongo doesn’t mean anything. I just came up with something that’s really cool to say when you win. Popongo!” Anderson said, laughing.
When Anderson first came up with the idea, he tested on himself to see if it could really keep his interest.
“I thought okay I’ll play this for a few hours and see what happens. It was seven hours! I started at 9 [at night] and at 4 [in the morning] I thought, I have to be up for work!" Anderson said looking down at his watch. "So, I thought to myself, I might be on to something here."
Anderson works with a friend who owns an architecture firm and wood shop to make all of the games so that everything is manufactured in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood.
“They are locally made, and I bet you some of these other games can’t say that,” he added, “It’s important because I feel like I’m giving back to Denver when it’s given me a home and it’s allowed me to work for my success.”
In a time when black owned businesses don’t get the same type of support as their white counterparts, Anderson feels it’s important for more people to be given opportunities.
“I respect all too well how difficult it can be, coming from a third world country and coming here to make it happen those who’ve been here who are trying to make it happen and seeing what they go through and how things can be I’m not saying that black entrepreneurs don’t have opportunities, I’m just saying it’s my experience that it can be more difficult,” said Anderson.
Which makes it even more exciting that Popongo is now partnering with the Denver Broncos. “I think what the broncos represents is community, their fans and their fans having a good time and having fun,” Anderson says with a big smile.
Dana Knowles is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS and can be reached at danaknowles@rmpbs.org.
Brian Willie is the content production manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can contact him at brianwillie@rmpbs.org.
