Balatro: The Roguelike Poker Game You Never Knew You Needed
Some combinations just work: peanut butter & jelly, wine & cheese, Lennon & McCartney, Batman & Robin. They’re combinations that complement each other, creating something truly special. Video games have a few iconic crossovers too, but none have ever achieved the perfect balance of mechanical mashup quite like Balataro—a combination of rogulike deckbuilder and poker.
Balatro takes the endless replayability and constant mechanical discovery of roguelikes and throws it into a cocktail shaker with the two-century-old casino classic. It’s the kind of ingenious idea that makes you slap your forehead and ask yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
With games like Hades and Slay the Spire making roguelikes cool again, and more people than ever playing online poker, Balatro was destined to find an audience, but no one could have predicted just how popular it would become. Since its February release, the game has become a critical darling and runaway success that no other game this year can catch up to.
The linguistically curious might be wondering about the title. Why Balataro? Googling the term will only bring up rave reviews for the indie game —a testament to its incredible success. So, to spare you hunting down your old-fashioned dictionary, balataro was the word for a court jester in ancient Rome. What’s the relevance of this obscure name? It’s a reference to the game’s Joker cards, wild additions to the 52-card set that change the way the game is played.
You see, Balataro is a poker game in the same way that bald is a haircut, or off is a TV channel – kinda, but not really. Understanding poker fundamentals will certainly help you, but the game’s manic mechanics take the casino game we all love and cover it with bells, whistles, and joy buzzers. The end result is something recognizable but entirely bizarre.
This is where the roguelike elements really make Balatro shine. Part of the joy of roguelike games is slowly developing an understanding of the game’s mechanics over multiple playthroughs. Balatro delivers on this in spades. As you progress through the game, every third round you encounter a boss battle. Each boss has unique mechanics that force you to adapt your strategy, keeping the gameplay fresh and challenging. Also, between rounds, you can acquire those aforementioned “Joker” cards, which further shake up your strategic options.
Each run offers a chance to experiment with new deck builds, discover hidden mechanics, and progress. Like poker, It’s a game that rewards strategic thinking, calculated risks, and a dash of good old-fashioned luck. But thanks to its roguelike elements, Balataro also rewards creativity, experimentation, patience, and perseverance.
Balataro is a game that’s easy to learn but difficult to master. An experience all at once familiar and unique, satisfying and stressful. If you search every crypto betting site and online casino on the internet, you still won’t find anything like it.
