Board Game Arena

If you think a game about collecting insects sounds silly, Pickomino is here to prove that "silly" can be seriously fun.
 
In this fast-paced dice game, placed on the Spiel des Jahres recommendation list upon its physical release, a long time ago, in a galaxy... STOP!!! You play as a meerkat and rolling for red fire beetles, stealing from your opponents, and celebrating every lucky break like it’s a championship win. It’s quick to learn, full of suspense, and somehow turns a few dice and some numbered tiles into a surprisingly intense showdown.
 
The goal is simple: roll the dice to collect the highest-value tiles. Each turn, you roll eight dice and set aside all dice showing a matching number or paw symbol. But once you choose a number, you can’t choose it again during that turn.
 
That’s where the pressure starts.
 
You can stop and claim a tile whenever your dice total matches one in the center, as long as you’ve rolled at least one paw. Push your luck too far and fail to make a legal move, and you bust, losing one of your own tiles in the process.
 
And if your roll matches the tile on top of another player’s stack? You steal it.
 
Pickomino proves that even a light-hearted game about meerkats and insects can spark fierce competition. It’s quick, clever, and packed with those “one more turn” moments that make game nights memorable. So prepare to fight for your insects, grab the dice and trust your luck.
https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=pickomino
 
We would like to thank Reiner Knizia, the game designer for letting us use this game on BGA. And we want to extend our thanks to n_e_s_s_u_n_o for the digital port.
 
This was your Monday release.
Red fire beetles are spicy so take care and play fair…

Love this game. Lots of fun with larger groups. I have this IRL (version is "Heckmeck am Bratwurmacek", which has birds fighting over worms to grill).

Fun game! Any chance you can make it more obvious when one player finishes rolling and its the next player's turn? Maybe a sound or visual cue? Thanks for considering!

Thank you! I love this game!

Quick question: Is there any particular meaning for the four-color Warhol-style panel of Reiner Knizia's face on the game page?

Also, mods, is there anyway you could make it so that I can click on a designer or artist or publisher name and see all the games attributed to them?

Might be a nice 'calendar' like event to play all the Knizia games, or something like that.

ctsinclair wrote: ↑21 April 2026, 22:30 Thank you! I love this game!

Quick question: Is there any particular meaning for the four-color Warhol-style panel of Reiner Knizia's face on the game page?

Also, mods, is there anyway you could make it so that I can click on a designer or artist or publisher name and see all the games attributed to them?

Might be a nice 'calendar' like event to play all the Knizia games, or something like that.

No specific reason related to that game.
Thanks for the suggestion, it's a good one, but no promises as to its implementation.

Dankeschön!

I just started playing this game & I don't understand how you earn any ELO points.
I've had the game end where I had some tiles in my stack but earn nothing.

reverent-bat872 wrote: ↑30 April 2026, 23:06 I just started playing this game & I don't understand how you earn any ELO points.
I've had the game end where I had some tiles in my stack but earn nothing.

Generally speaking, in a 2-player game (and I see you’ve only been playing 2-player) you have to win to gain Elo. What you have at the end of the game doesn’t matter, unless it’s “more points than your opponent”.

Now if we could get Knizia to release Ra back into the wilds that would be great.

but wasn't this issued originally under different name with chickens and worms??