COUNTER INTUITIVE

PICK & POKE your way through this gorgeous tabletop roguelite

There’s just something about playing with tokens – chunky, circular tokens – that makes any game better, whether it’s Backgammon, Draughts or Connect 4. Pick & Poke, I’m pleased to report, is a game entirely about moving tokens around, as you drag them onto choices to make your way round a fantasy city. A singleplayer roguelite, it has the spirit of a tabletop RPG. It’s even played on an actual (OK, a virtual) tabletop.

Oh but what a table it is, enriched by those multicoloured tokens and the big cartoon arm you use to drop them onto dialogue boxes. It really feels like you’re playing the game in a tavern somewhere – the decorations even wobble when you poke them.