Pick Eat

Pick Eat was the first game from Malaysian publisher Specky Studio. It is an educational game about a healthy diet. Specky Studio specialises in making educational games, and Pick Eat certainly contains valuable knowledge and messages. Now this is not the type of educational game which many of us gamers are wary of. This is a proper game, and not learning content trying to be a game. You can tell that this is a game made by a gamer, and not by a non-gamer educator. I've known about Pick Eat for quite some time, and I have always assumed it is a game designed for primary school children, i.e. I am not the target audience. So I've never spent time to understand it more. It was because Buddhima and I went to the Thailand Board Game Show together that I found time to ask him to teach me the game. I was pleasantly surprised. It isn't what I had assumed. 

When you open the box it looks like someone eating

Pick Eat is a set collection game. You collect different types of food. Each card is a food, with different properties and ways of scoring points. The mechanism for choosing and collecting cards is interesting. The active player draws three cards, looks at them, and then offers them to the next player with one card revealed and the other two face-down. The next player then either claims the revealed card, or looks at the two face-down cards to pick one. Whichever option the next player takes, the active player is left with the remaining one. So the active player will also claim one card. This sounds simple, but when actually doing it you'll realise there are some interesting thought processes. 

Let's say you are the active player and among the three cards you draw, there is one particular card you really want. Should you reveal that or keep it face-down? If there is another card which is attractive to the next player, you can reveal that one and hope he takes it, so that you will get what you want too. However if there is no such card, what do you do? Maybe you can show him that good card, and try to trick him into thinking that there is an even better card among those two face-down cards? From the perspective of the next player, choosing a card is sometimes hard too. If the active player shows you a lousy card, it's a no brainer and you'd pick up the two face-down cards. The difficulty lies with those cards which are somewhat good but not great. It's a simple mechanism, but sometimes it gives you analysis paralysis. 

When you claim a card, you add it to a row before you. If the card you claim is face-up, it stays so. Ditto if it is face-down. This matters because it affects scoring. You may add the new card to the left or right end of your row of cards. Where you place it may affect the scoring of some cards which score based on their immediate neighbours. In this photo above some cards are placed slightly lower to indicate that they are face-down. When the game ends, you need to flip them over to score them, and being slightly offset reminds you that they are the face-down cards. 

These cards are from an optional module. They are missions. At the start of the game you draw two then pick one. If you fulfil the mission by the end of the game (in the form of having only specific types of food) you score bonus points. These missions are all real diets, e.g. a low carb diet. 

Water cards (e.g. the leftmost one in the photo above) are the most valuable. Most of the time they are a no-brainer. Always take one when you have the opportunity. This may seem unbalanced, but I like this kind of design decision. It sends a message that staying hydrated is important. And I believe perfectly balanced and symmetrical games are boring. You should have cards that feel overpowered. If the active player offers me the choice of a face-up water card, I will be suspicious whether there is another even better water card among those two face-down cards. 

The scoring conditions are linked to the theme. For example some fruits help our bodies better absorb vitamins. Such fruits score points for vitamin type cards you have. When you understand the reasoning behind the scoring conditions, you find that there is much knowledge about nutrition you can teach using this game. You don't need to be a nutritionist to play the game well. You simply apply common sense about eating habits. You will do well when you apply healthy eating principles. So the game feels natural. 

Pick Eat is a light game. It has a simple core mechanism which non-gamers can execute without trouble. Ultimately it is only about collecting cards. Gamers will appreciate the subtle strategy and psychology in the card offering and card choosing. I am glad I tried the game. It is certainly not of the same type as many typical educational games I have played. It feels more like a hobby game. Yet at the same time it is founded solidly on an important subject - healthy eating.