Here's a tabletop RPG with a clever hook for anyone tired of rolling dice. City of Espers, revealed by UK indie Three Sails Studios at the UK Games Expo, resolves its action and combat with a standard 52-card poker deck. You spend the game trying to read your opponents' hands, which is a neat way to make players feel a little psychic. That suits a game where everyone actually is.
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See how it worksWritten by Nathan Blades, City of Espers is an anime-inspired urban-fantasy RPG for two to four players and a Game Master. You play a found family of espers, awakened psychics who have drifted to Zener City for a fresh start and a sense of belonging. The pitch leans into high-energy super-powered sport battles, melodrama and queer-coded stories about community and identity, set in a city that feels alive: think living neon lights and radio stations that respond to the psychic Houses around them.
Three Sails, known for earlier indie titles Mappa Mundi and Gallows Corner, is using City of Espers to step up to a full publisher that backs outside creators. An 84-page full-colour PDF prerelease guide is already available, packing in the core rules, character and House creation, and a starting scenario, so you can try it well before launch. The full game lands on BackerKit in September 2026, and the studio used the show to tease a second, still-unannounced project.
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Set up your group for freeIf the poker-deck mechanic and the anime energy sound like your table's thing, the prerelease guide is the place to start. And if you need a group to try it with, it's worth finding players near you before September rolls around.
Sources: Three Sails Studios | GeekNative
