Balatro is a poker-inspired roguelike deck builder all about creating powerful synergies and winning big.
Combine valid poker hands with unique Joker cards in order to create varied synergies and builds. Earn enough chips to beat devious blinds, all while uncovering hidden bonus hands and decks as you progress. You’re going to need every edge you can get in order to reach the boss blind, beat the final ante and secure victory.
i saw my housemate was playing this game one day, now both of us just keep playin it can't stop bugger
No idea how to play poker - is it worth trying
The rules of poker only half apply. Its about collecting joker cards with apecial abilities and then creating poker hands to match those abilities for the most points.
So you dont need the highest hand to win like poker….you just need good jokers.
Give it a crack
Game is very addictive. Be warned.
I only stopped when my Apple Arcade subscription ended.
My gf who doesn't know poker got hooked on Balatro, she says it's more of a math game. The extent of "poker-ing" you'll be doing in this game is matching numbers and suits (type of card identified by the symbol in the corner of the card).
Yes, it's only loosely based on poker and the necessary knowledge is contained within a single chart that's always one click away. You use poker hands (full house, flush, straight, etc) to score but there's none of the betting, calling, guessing what your opponent might have, etc stuff from poker.
The gameplay is more like this:
You're dealt a hand of random cards. You can select any 5 to make a poker hand that earns points (play a hand), or throw away up to 5 of them to get new random cards (discard). You get say 5 hands and 3 discards and have to beat a certain score to win the round. If you win the round, you go to a shop where you can spend points to make all sorts of crazy modifications to your deck and buy RPG-ish bonus conditions that apply to everything, and that's where the real gameplay and strategy comes in. For example, the scores you have to beat might go up by insane amounts each time, but you realize you can buy "Every face card (Jack/Queen/King) gets applied twice", "Every card counts as a face card", "+2 hand size" and "Every card played counts in scoring", and now it's like you get to play 14 cards per go. Or you buy "Hearts and diamonds count as the same", buy a tarot card that lets you chop up your regular playing cards, destroy all your spades and clubs, and now every single hand also counts as a flush (every card the same suit). You stack up more and more of these bonus modes as the game goes on and try to break the scoring system with how they play off each other. Every third round is against a boss which means some special condition they apply as a challenge, like cards being dealt upside-down so you can't see what they are but still being auto-sorted by suit and rank so you can make inferences.
Note that it doesn't have any actual gambling mechanics in it, you never place bets and it doesn't teach you anything about real poker except what the hand types are. It's strictly you vs the required score and is closer to something like Inscryption than actual poker.
Great game!!!
One of those games that gets better the more you play.
I initially pirated it cause my brain couldn't imagine how it could get such rave reviews.
Took me 30 minutes for it to click.
And then you paid for it right?…….right?
Yes, the use of the word "initially" in what I've written should have communicated this to you.
Phew
I got it for like $15 on the play store and used the google credit. Great game and quite addictive. Still play occasionally despite getting C++ and naneinf.
Yup personally I prefer playing it on a tablet or mobile, more intuitive
Remember to increase the speed after you get the hang of it!
This game is addictive. Tis fun and has such incredible replay value. You wont play a game more than this one once you get hooked. Best ROI for money I ever spent on an app/game.
Also, I hate this game and wish I never installed it…..for all the reasons above.
Exactly right
I glad to report despite sinking easily over 100 hrs into this, it is possible to defeat this addiction
I living breathing beacon of hope
Have partner ban you from playing - worked for me!
same…until it released on apple arcade and then 10 min toilet breaks turned into 1 hour ones.
by getting C++?
I was just burnt out tbh lol
Great game and I own it on PC and on mobile phone, if you have a decent phone (not sure what minimum requirements are) I highly recommend this game on phone because its better with a touchscreen.
Super addicted, well made game, great music and won a lot of awards. 10/10.
The advantage of the PC/mac version is the awesome Multiplayer Mod, allowing you to go head-to-head with a friend or someone else and partake in a leaderboard: https://balatromp.com/
If you have a retro handheld device that runs Portmaster, you can play it -> https://portmaster.games/detail.html?name=balatro
Have it on PS5 and Switch. Considering buying on Steam because of this this deal. Brilliant game.
ok i think in the past i have commented saying i didnt quite get into this game and it wasnt for me.
It got me in the end
How's the interface on this with a handheld?
I got it on my steam deck, was excellent.
I later got it on my android phone as I generally had that on me more often. and given the low demand on the system, it's perfectly suitable as a phone game.
Cool thanks, was thinking for Steam Deck so good to know it works well with the controller on that.
I've played loads on mobile. The interface is great but smaller screen size was a pain. A steam deck or variation or wii would be more than fine
Downvoted, save yourselves…!
(It’s a great game.) 🃏
Y'all about to ruin your lives.
Brilliant game if you like roguelites and poker….it's very heavily influenced by Luck be a Landlord, and to a lesser extent card based deck builders.
I definitely lost a lot of time to it but I was really into poker and really into Roguelites so I knew where I was heading.
It's in my conversation for top 3 Roguelites…..I don't think it beast StS for #1 although they are very different games.
![[PC, Mac, Steam] Balatro $18.65 @ Steam](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/52/931852.jpg?h=c14e9aad)
Cant stop playing this