Tazos are disks that were distributed as promotional items with products of Frito-Lay and its subsidiaries around the world. The idea behind Tazos started out similar to Pogs, whereby each Tazo contained a score value, and a game was played to 'win' Tazos from other players.
Tazos have been released in several different formats, ranging from the original circular disks, to octagonal disks, and in later years, to resemble more of a collectible card. In addition to the Japanese Pog Battle game, some Tazo series feature small incisions around the outside, allowing players to fit them together and build objects. The Star Wars series also included additional pieces which allowed players to construct spaceships.
Tazos are commonly made from a plastic base, but some series have been produced from cardboard or aluminium (such as the Australian Yu-Gi-Oh! Metallix series).
Tazos started out with a set of 100 disks featuring the images of Looney Tunes characters and 124 Tiny Toons tazos in 1994. The disks were added to the products of Mexican snacks company Sabritas and were named after the expression taconazo (to kick with the heel) which was a reference to another popular school game in Mexico where children open bottles with their shoes trying to launch the caps the furthest. [1]
Other sets from around the world include:
Tazos have been released around the world, in bags of potato chips (crisps) and other snacks including Bollycao, Chipicao, Cheese Tris, Cheetos, Cheetos Sorpresa, Chizitos, Doritos, Fandangos, Lay's Potato Chips, Meridian Real Thai Chicken Chips, Sabritas, Piqueo Snax, Simba Chips, Smith's Potato Crisps, Thins, Twistees, Uncle Chipps, [4] and Walkers.
Countries that have had Tazo releases include:
Below is a list of official basic Australian Tazos and the year they were released. [9]
| Series | Number Run | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Looney Tunes | 1–60 | 1995 |
| Cheetah | 61–100 | 1995 |
| Looney Tunes Techno | 101–140 | 1995 |
| The Simpsons | 141–180 | 1996 |
| Chester Cheetah Techno Tazo | 181–200 | 1996 |
| Time Warp Looney Tunes | 201-220 | 1996 |
| Space Jam | 1–80 | 1996 |
| Star Wars | 81–160 | 1997 |
| Batman & Robin | 1–40 | 1997 |
| Dragon Ball Z [10] | 1-40 | 2000 |
| The Simpsons Pickers | 1–120 | 2002 |
| Beyblades Tazo Topz | 1–54 | 2003 |
| Mega Tazo Topz | 1–65 | 2003 |
| Yu-Gi-Oh! Metalix* | 1–60 | 2004 |
| Crush Gear Tazo | 1–40 | 2004 |
| The Simpsons Bowlarama | 1–50 | 2005 |
| Marvel Heroes | 1–50 | 2005 |
| The Simpsons TV Tazo | 1–50 | 2006 |
| AFL Hot Shot Tazo | 1–30 | 2006 |
| NRL Hot Shot Tazo | 1–30 | 2006 |
| Footy NRL Tazo Classic | 1–48 | 2007 |
| Footy NRL Tazo Gold | 1–64 | 2007 |
| Footy AFL Tazo Classic | 1–48 | 2007 |
| Footy AFL Tazo Gold | 1–64 | 2007 |
| Footy Legends NRL | 1–72 | 2008 |
| Footy Legends AFL | 1–64 | 2008 |