Developer BJ Malicoat, who put out the well-received and former Apple Game of the Day pick Downwordly in June of last year, is back working on another mobile game project called Pine Tar Poker, and it has caught my attention. Why? Because it’s a game about Poker, and I love Poker games. But this isn’t just any old game of Poker, and despite its old-timey Western motif there’s some other… things going on in Pine Tar Poker. Like magical runes that will give you a leg up during the game, or even summon a celestial being to shine some luck down on you. Yeah, like I said, there’s some stuff going on in Pine Tar Poker. Check out this early trailer to see it in action.

Pine Tar Poker features a compelling gameplay loop where you’ll earn coins as you play which you can then spend with the bartender to unlock various trinkets and magical runes and whatnot. It’s like a Poker game with a progression system, and even a bit of mysterious story stuff going on in the background. The actual card game at the core of Pine Tar Poker, which is sort of a blend of traditional Poker and Yahtzee, is also a ton of fun as your overall goal is to try and make one of each type of Poker hand every game. Don’t just take my word for it though! The developer is looking for feedback, so head over to our forums where you’ll find a Testflight link and you can take Pine Tar Poker for a spin for yourself.