Balatro
POKER-INSPIRED ROGUELIKE DECKBUILDING VIDEO GAME (2024) by SOLO DEVELOPER LOCALTHUNK — 2024 GAME OF THE YEAR nominee + winner of multiple awards (BAFTA + Golden Joystick + The Game Awards Best Indie + Best Debut). Signature: PLAY POKER HANDS to score chips × multiplier reaching TARGET ('BEAT THE BLIND'); build meta-deck with JOKERS (150+ collectable modifiers), PLANETS (upgrade hand types), TAROTS (transform cards), VOUCHERS. INFINITE COMBOS + exponential number growth. Cyberpunk-neon-poker aesthetic. Highly addictive; sold 5M+ copies in 2024. On PC, PS, Xbox, Switch, mobile.
Quick facts
Category
Video Games
Type
Individual
Players
1–1
Duration
~45 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇨🇦 Canada
Estimated origin
Released Feb 20, 2024 by solo developer LocalThunk (Canadian, real name Not Public); published by Playstack; 5M+ copies sold 2024
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
SURVIVE 8 ROUNDS (Ante) beating BLIND (target chip amount) via poker hand scoring; ultimately BEAT ENDLESS mode.
Rules
Basic rules
PLAY POKER HANDS (Pair through Straight Flush + Flush Five with modifiers) — each hand scored as (CHIPS × MULTIPLIER)
Signature poker-hand scoring.
'ANTE' round structure: each Ante has SMALL BLIND → BIG BLIND → BOSS BLIND (special modifier); beat all 3 to advance
Signature Ante + Blind rounds.
JOKERS: 150+ unique cards providing PERMANENT scoring modifiers (equipped up to 5 slots)
Signature 150+ Jokers.
PLANETS: upgrade specific hand types (e.g. 'Pluto' upgrades High Card chips + mult)
Signature planet upgrades.
TAROTS: transform cards (turn cards into different suits/ranks/enhance)
Signature tarot cards.
SHOP between rounds sells Jokers, Planets, Tarots, Vouchers
Signature shop.
8 ANTES = base game victory; ENDLESS MODE post-Ante 8 with exponentially harder blinds
Signature Ante 8 + endless.
STAKES difficulty (White → Green → Black → Red → Gold): higher stakes = tougher; unlock progressively
Signature Stakes progression.
Scoring
Chip amount scored per hand (Chips × Mult); win Ante round by exceeding Blind target.
Win condition · Reach + beat Ante 8 Boss Blind.
Equipment
PC (Steam), PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
Signature multi-platform release
Base price ~$15 USD
Signature indie pricing
Terminology
- Blind
- Round's chip target to beat (Small Blind < Big Blind < Boss Blind).
- Ante
- Group of 3 blinds; complete 8 antes to win.
- Jimbo
- Community nickname for base Joker card.
- Chips × Mult
- Scoring formula: chips accumulated × multiplier = hand total.
- Naneinf
- Slang for 'NaN/Infinity' — scores that exceed floating-point limits in endless mode.
- Skip
- Skip a blind for a Tag bonus (unlock rewards).
- Blueprint
- Iconic Joker that copies effect of Joker to its right.
- LocalThunk
- Anonymous solo developer behind Balatro.
Major competitions
BAFTA Games Award for Best Debut Game 2025
won · Global (Balatro won) · since 2025
The Game Awards 2024 — Best Indie Game
won · Global (Balatro won) · since 2024
Golden Joystick Awards 2024 — Best Indie + Best Breakthrough
won · Global · since 2024
Where it is played
Governing bodies
Playstack (publisher)
Founded 2015 · UK
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Balatro— Wikipedia
- Playstack — Balatro— Playstack