Balatro is rated +18 by PEGI... it makes no sense

[AdahnGorion]

As the title suggest.
I am rather confused about this rating and it means, that my teenagers would not be allowed to play this in school...... But it is alright to play stuff like Fifa...

This is insane...
The PEGI rating states.

This game has received a PEGI 18 which restricts availability to ADULTS ONLY and is not suitable for persons under 18 years of age. This rating has been given because it features prominent gambling imagery.

Link to Rating

If we look at the ESRB rating, then its 10+
Fine.. you can add the Gambling Themes, but this is much different than the PEGI.
https://www.esrb.org/ratings/39921/balatro/

This is a card simulation/deck-building game in which players create winning hands to earn chips and defeat enemy blinds. Players earn points/chips for each winning hand and must match and/or exceed a specific score to win rounds. The game has a poker theme, which includes the names of hands, scoring system, and types of playing cards, but does not include making wagers.


Various poker games where people play online with "fantasy wagers" are less rated up than this.. it seems like an attempt to attack the developers.

Prominence Poker is ie. rated as a +12 game.

It states

The game was rated PEGI 12 for the encouragement of gambling and the use of offensive language. Not appropriate for persons below 12 years of age.

It just makes no sense to me, how this game could be rated as an Adult only game.. we see games with massive violence and gambling themes that go under the +16......

In games such as EA Sports FC (Fifa) you can use real money to gamble for cards ie. (this is in other games to) and they are all rated lower than this..


The whole PEGI system seems either rigged or full of incompetent people.
I hope this wont influence sales for this game too much.

[Beakstore]

Rating systems are and always were a crutch for lazy parents. The rating systems are staffed by similar minded people. Monster Hunter 4U is rated T by the ESRB and my kid loved it when he was 5 years old. I knew it wasn't bad for him.

[AdahnGorion]

Originally posted by Beakstore:

Rating systems are and always were a crutch for lazy parents. The rating systems are staffed by similar minded people. Monster Hunter 4U is rated T by the ESRB and my kid loved it when he was 5 years old. I knew it wasn't bad for him.

You might think that, but institutions in my country go by them, when they allow kids and teens what to watch and play in school, etc.
Basically it hinders anyone mentioning this or playing it in school.. My kids can play Fifa.... but they can´t play this, because of the new rating..

That is in my opinion rather insane.. you would find more gambling themes in many Roblox games, than this....

Don´t get me wrong, just about no parent uses those rating system and just go by what they think is good for their children (I do the same) but again this is not the case with instistutions such as schools.

[Beakstore]

If a kid has a phone they can easily play Balatro in school but that's not the point I know. I don't know how it works elsewhere but there's no restrictions here in the U.S. from buying a game and giving it to your kid to play, or just buying it on your account. If you face getting in trouble for mentioning a math game in a school well that's obviously just silly and maybe the ratings board should face accountability if they've got any demonstrable power.

[Melodia]

Originally posted by AdahnGorion:

Basically it hinders anyone mentioning this or playing it in school.. My kids can play Fifa.... but they can´t play this, because of the new rating.

Really? As a parent you cannot just allow your kid to play it because they might talk about it in school? I'm pretty X to doubt,

[LORD_pingoins]

ok

[AdahnGorion]

Originally posted by Melodia:

Originally posted by AdahnGorion:

Basically it hinders anyone mentioning this or playing it in school.. My kids can play Fifa.... but they can´t play this, because of the new rating.

Really? As a parent you cannot just allow your kid to play it because they might talk about it in school? I'm pretty X to doubt,

No
I was saying that this silly outcome made so that children and teenagers can´t play it in School... due to the fact its +18. While we as parents can let our children play or watch anything (unless its illigal or found extremely problematic, severe cases here) we deem fine for them, its not the same when they are in an institution.


The point I am trying to put across, is that its insane, that we have these rating systems that rate this way and that they have zero credability.. its the same site, that gives Fifa (EA FC) 3+ while you can gamble ingame for real money... I find it odd.

Nobody can tell me if my teenagers can play this at home/outside instistutions.. but the point was more that its so darn weird.. I am sure the developer is of the same mind.