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Balatro > General Discussions > Topic Details
Energist Jan 27 @ 2:26pm
What is The Appeal of This Game?
I'm not a poker player. Not even that interested in cards.

Hard to believe this game is as popular as it is, and I'm wondering if someone can explain to me what it's about? What's the sell ?
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Originally posted by Xaelon:
To start, the game isn't similar to traditional poker.

It just looks like poker and borrows some of the terminology. The different poker 'hands' in this game are just one of the many mechanics in play during a run. Balatro isn't about playing the "best" hand. It's about playing the "right" hand.

Depending on what combo of Jokers you end up with playing a single card can beat a Royal Flush, which is unbeatable in traditional poker.

Generally the appeal is similar to other Roguelikes: assembling a winning strategy out of a random set of things while taking advantage of the game's mechanics. There is satisfaction to be had in "putting the pieces together" so to speak and seeing how things go. Each run not unlike assembling an "OP build" in other games, but without any grinding or other filler between you and all the delicious mechanics. And if you lose? So what. Start over and try again. You probably unlocked some cool new stuff anyway.

The thing that sets Balatro apart from other games in the genre is probably the "easy to learn, hard to master" aspect of it. The object of the game is simple: score enough points (or "chips" as the game calls them) to move to the next blind. But since the amount of points you need grows with every stage you beat the question becomes "What can I do to earn enough points?"

And due to how the game is built there are A LOT of different ways to answer that question. You can add or remove playing cards from your deck. You can boost how many chips you get from playing a specific hand. Generally though your wins will come from assembling different combinations of Jokers. The catch is that most jokers aren't good by themselves. The most powerful jokers often need others to play off. And there are plenty of combinations that will make you go "Oh. I never thought of that."

The game just makes you feel very clever when you win. You'll chuckle to yourself as you fire off a combo that wins by hundreds of thousands of points or gasp in relief as you barely win because you never got the last thing you needed.

I dunno what else to say. All the different options you have during a run and how much impact each of them has makes for a very satisfying gameplay loop.
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Showing 16-19 of 19 comments
Konebred Jan 28 @ 8:18am 
bing bing bing bing bing bing bing bing bing bing bing bing bing
#16
malogoss Jan 28 @ 9:51am 
Maybe it's just me, but that pinned answer is so good, it could be worth pinning the whole thread, or linking it whenever someone has questions on what Balatro is about, or blindly claims that they don't like poker so Balatro is not for them.
#17
doofus0510 Jan 28 @ 12:53pm 
it's because, it is a roguelike that can be used as an alternative to losing all your money at the casino
#18
A Distinctive Lack of Hoes Jan 28 @ 1:40pm 
I like playing it on my deck for about an hour at a time. It's relaxing, challenging and fun.
+ the OST is amazing. I love opening packages just because of the music that starts playing.
#19
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Balatro > General Discussions > Topic Details
Date Posted: Jan 27 @ 2:26pm
Posts: 19

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