Balatro
by LocalThunk
About
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. The definitive poker roguelike experience. Endless possibilities - every pick-up, discard and joker can dramatically alter the course of your run. In-depth campaign mode complete with 8 difficulties, as well as challenge and seeded runs. Deftly deploy an array of potent tools: different Decks, Jokers, Tarot cards, Planet cards, Spectral cards, and Vouchers. Use these versatile instruments to ignite a combo frenzy and turbocharge your poker hands, crafting electrifying, adrenaline-fueled synergies. 150 Jokers, each with their own unique abilities 15 Decks with distinct modifiers to choose from for each run 5 potential variants of each Joker which add further abilities 22 Tarot cards variants that can enhance your regular playing cards 11 Planet cards that help level up your possible poker hands 32 Voucher cards to help provide permanent buffs for your current run Immerse yourself in Balatro’s distinctive psychedelic world. Let the synthwave soundtrack wash over you - wind down, escape the daily grind and prepare to enter the ultimate roguelike flow state. Improve your collection and discover new cards and secrets with every single run. Make use of the in-depth stats screen to study your best hands, most used Jokers, and more! Immerse yourself in the CRT fuzz and enjoy detailed, hand-crafted pixel art.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.Are there any good mods for Balatro?
A.Yes — Balatro has an active modding scene with a reliable mod loader plus a handful of popular texture and gameplay mods (Jokers, skins, and community tools) available on NexusMods and CurseForge.
Q.What are the best Jokers to use in Balatro?
A.The community consensus favors scaling and utility Jokers — Half Joker, Hologram, Supernova, Splash/Smeared, and a handful of high-impact uncommons (Chicot, Banner, Blueprint). These Jokers reliably enable consistent scoring or powerful late-game scaling and are often recommended in tier lists and guides.
Q.What does the Blank Voucher do in Balatro?
A.The Blank Voucher does nothing immediately, but buying it a total of ten times across runs permanently unlocks the Antimatter Voucher, which grants +1 Joker slot for future runs.
Q.How do I use seeds in Balatro?
A.Enable the Seeded Run toggle on the New Run screen, paste or type an alphanumeric seed (0–8 chars), then start the run; seeds reproduce the run’s shops, draws and packs but disable unlocks and achievements.
Q.Where can I find a Balatro wiki?
A.The community-run Balatro Wiki now lives at https://balatrowiki.org (the project migrated off Fandom on June 17, 2025); the older Fandom wiki is still online at the Balatro Fandom page if you prefer that mirror.
Q.Is there a calculator tool available for Balatro?
A.Yes — several community-made Balatro calculator tools exist. The most widely used is an open‑source web calculator by EFHIII, and there are additional browser calculators and community resources you can use to test hands and joker interactions.
Q.What is Balatrodle?
A.Balatrodle is a fan-made, daily web puzzle set in the Balatro universe where players guess the joker of the day. It’s a separate, non-official spin-off that uses Balatro’s joker concept as the core gimmick.
Q.What's new in the latest Balatro update?
A.Balatro's latest publicly released patch is Friends of Jimbo 4 (Feb 24, 2025), which adds cosmetic crossovers and Game Pass support. The planned major 1.1 update has been delayed indefinitely (now aiming for 2026), and the PEGI rating was lowered to 12 on the same day.
Q.What is the Balatro Cryptid Mod?
A.The Balatro Cryptid Mod is a fan-made expansion that massively enlarges Balatro’s Joker roster and adds new decks and cross-mod features, designed to unleash chaotic, highly varied runs.
Q.What are the different types of playing cards in Balatro?
A.Balatro expands the classic 52-card deck with several card families that modify or augment your hands: Jokers, Tarot cards, Planet cards, Spectral cards, and Vouchers, all used across 15 Decks. Key counts include 150 Jokers, 22 Tarot cards, 12 Planet Cards (with secret variants), 18 Spectral Cards, and 32 Vouchers.
Q.How do Planet Cards work in Balatro?
A.Planet Cards are consumable upgrades that permanently boost a specific poker hand for the rest of your Balatro run, increasing its chips and multiplier.
Q.Can you explain the different cards in Balatro?
A.Balatro’s card system splits into Jokers, Playing Cards, Tarot Cards, Planet Cards, Spectral Cards, Vouchers, and Decks—each category shifting how your poker hands score and unlocks powerful synergies.
Q.Can I buy official Balatro merchandise?
A.Yes — Balatro offers official merchandise, including an in-game-inspired clothing line and an officially licensed playing-card deck, with purchasing channels visible via PlayStack and Fangamer.
Q.Is there a mod manager for Balatro?
A.Yes. There are community-made mod managers for Balatro, most notably Steamodded and Balamod, which function as mod loaders/managers for the game.
Q.Is Balatro available for free?
A.Balatro is not free by default; it’s a paid game on Steam, but it was available for free to PlayStation Plus subscribers in May 2025.
Screenshots
Game Information
- Genre
- Casual
- Release Date
- Feb 20, 2024
- Publisher
- Playstack
- Last Updated
- December 5, 2025
