The Game Awards are finally over, and we’re back to the same old cycle of waiting for the next AAA entry to arrive. Sure, there were big reveals and major winners, but one thing that had everyone scratching their heads wasn’t just Black Myth: Wukong losing Game of the Year; it was the presence of this otherworldly card game that grabbed everyone’s attention.
It’s Balatro.
It snagged three awards during the show: Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Mobile Game. People love this game. But what’s so special about a game involving poker? Those were my famous last words because I was immediately hooked the moment I started playing it.
What the heck is Balatro? Let me tell you: this game is like an addictive substance you just can’t resist. It’s a relentless dopamine rush disguised as a card game. If you’re not careful, you’ll lose your whole day as you rack up multipliers for your run.
This isn’t a guide or news. It is a Balatro awareness article in which I explain why this game deserves every award. It even beat Videogamedunkey’s Animal Well, which is my favorite this year.
How Does This Game Work!?
To put it simply, Balatro is a roguelike. If you’ve ever heard your roguelike-addicted friends rave about Hades II or Slay The Spire, you already know what to expect: an endless loop of challenge and reward. But Balatro takes poker mechanics and twists them into the never-ending roguelike genre.
The rules are straightforward: You enter a ’run’ (a staple of roguelikes) and choose a deck. A run is divided into eight antes (levels) with three blinds (bosses) of increasing difficulty. Your goal? Hit the target score. For instance, the first blind requires 300 points (or chips), so you’ll need to form poker hands that maximize your score. A Straight Flush earns massive points, while Two of a Kind won’t give as much.
The catch? You only have limited moves and discards per blind, so you need to make each hand count.
It’s Not Poker!?
Not into poker? Don’t worry. Balatro offers a comprehensive guide to help you understand your hand. It’s found just underneath your ‘Mults’ or multipliers. But here’s the thing: poker is merely the theme of Balatro. Sure, you’ll rely on traditional hands for scoring, but the longer you play, the further the game strays from poker’s simplicity.
Enter the weird cards: Tarot Cards, Planet Cards, and Jokers. You’ll wonder why these cards exist in a poker game.
Who Are Jimbo and the Jokers!?
The real magic of Balatro lies in its Jokers. While Balatro starts with poker-like mechanics, it quickly becomes completely unhinged. Meet Jimbo, the game’s clown mascot and your chaotic game master. He's not alone, though. He has an army of Jokers that will help us win big.
Jokers are power-ups that can completely transform your game. They are special gimmicks that can change the flow of your entire run. Some grant you a +10 multiplier for playing Diamonds, while others synergize with your poker hands. As Jokers stack up, your runs escalate into sheer madness, multipliers spiraling into the stratosphere.
Balatro boasts 150 Jokers, each with unique perks that can make or break your run. My favorite is Chicot, a Legendary Joker that disables a Boss Blind’s modifiers, making boss fights far more manageable so I can focus on stacking multipliers.
You might start with a modest deck, but the more Jokers you acquire, the crazier your strategy becomes. Balatro is a game that’s easier to understand when played than explained.
There's More!?
While Jokers are the stars of the show, Planet Cards and Tarot Cards add another layer to your strategy. These cards are consumables that upgrade your deck.
After each Blind, you earn money to buy Booster Packs in Shops, each containing different card types:
- Buffoon Packs give you Jokers.
- Celestial Packs contain Planet Cards.
- Arcana Packs provides Tarot Cards.
- and more (which you need to find for yourself)
For example, Jupiter (a Planet Card) boosts Flush hands, granting extra multipliers for consistently playing Flushes. Other Planet Cards reward bonuses for Straight Flushes, Full Houses, and more.
Tarot Cards enhance your deck further, improving individual cards from your deck while others transform them into more powerful versions.
The Empress Tarot Card, for instance, enhances two cards with additional multipliers, while The Lovers grants a ‘Wild Card’ effect to a selected card.
Keep an eye out for your card's condition; the better they look, the more powerful they are. It’s best you discover their effects for yourself.
I Can’t Stop Playing!!!
I spent an unhealthy amount of time playing this when I first booted it up. I still can’t put it down for some reason. Maybe it’s the allure of finding better Jokers in the next run or the thrill of watching my numbers increase.
It’s pretty addicting, I must say. And it’s not something you can play when you’re pressed for time; otherwise, you can kiss those responsibilities goodbye.
I’m not going to try explaining Balatro further. If you’re curious to find out more about this game, you can always play it. It’s in every modern console and mobile, so you have no excuses not to try it.
TL;DR: Balatro is an addictive roguelike card game that uses poker as a starting point but evolves into something infinitely more profound, infinitely more fun (and insane).