Is it a slot? Is it an error? Is it some kind of silly gag? What exactly is it? It’s genuinely difficult to make sense of Microgaming’s Poke The Guy. Not only does it look like something that could have been made in 1989, but it also makes you question your grip on reality. The marketing line is “simple, stupid fun” — and sure, it might get a quick chuckle at first, but before long you’re left with just the stupid part. As many have noticed, Microgaming has become more and more irrelevant after stepping back and letting partner studios handle most of the output. With that context, Poke The Guy isn’t exactly shocking.

Poke The Guy – Slot Overview

This definitely isn’t a standard slot, and it feels closer to a kind of digital scratch card. There are no classic features to speak of — just a lot of baffling emptiness. You begin by selecting your stake, which can be anywhere from €0,05 to €30.

Each bet level is linked to a different item, and when you click the slingshot (spin button), your goal is to try to hit the absurd-looking ape in a one-piece as it moves around the map in an irritating pattern. There’s obviously no real skill element here; everything is purely random. If the item you throw smacks the ugly bastard in the face, you get a cash win of 2x, 4x, 8x, 12x, 18x, or 500x. That’s the entire concept. The game is pretty much nonsensical, and you’ll need to be extremely bored — or very easily amused — to keep at it.

After about 30 seconds of trying it, we already felt like tearing our eye-balls out, and even after 30 minutes of nonstop sling-shooting we still couldn’t land anything higher than 12x. Be warned: it can drain your balance fast, and it might also give you nightmares and set off a psychosis.