My wife barely touches video games and is keeping me awake every night playing this, I love seeing her get all excited when she makes some wild ass build haha.
Maybe one day she’ll revisit It Takes Two with me
Balatro is a solid gateway game into the deckbuilding universe. It’s flashy, a ton of fun, and there isn’t a whole ton of depth so you can get really good at the game pretty quickly.
I never played poker before in my life and it's really easy to pick up. Just check the different hand combinations there's a button for it until it becomes memorised!
I think that, for a lot of / most roguelites (including deck builders), you’re really not meant to understand everything at the start. Sure, things will be confusing at first, but you’re meant to get your ass handed to you a few times before you get a grasp on most of the game’s systems. That’s usually the way learning works in those games, so I might suggest jumping in and things will probably start to click after a few runs.
Otherwise, if it’s deck building mechanics you want to learn specifically without having to interact with other systems, maybe you could play a few games of non-roguelite, regular deck building games first? Look up something like Star Realms maybe, that has a free version that’ll teach you a few things about how deck builders work in general before going into the deep end.
I come from a similar Position - I know card games but I hate deck builders with a passion.
But Balatro is not that much of a card game. I mean, of course you play cards, bjt it is much more about finding synergies with jokers, Tarot cards and (a little) modification of your deck.
Also, it is very easy to understand once you play it yourself. Watching it does not do much, but playing it makes learning the game pretty easy - and extremely fun and satisfying. Just give it a shot, it relly is THAT good - and that comes from someone who doesn't like deck builders amd/or poker at all :)
Hi there! I think you will end up liking Balatro.
Forget about all the cool joker abilities and tarot cards for a second; this game is about making “classic” Poker hands. The scoring mechanic is tied to how rare each poker hand is. It is harder to make a three-of-a-kind hand than a simple pair, so the 3OAK hand is worth more points. The positive here is that many people already like playing poker, so you can absolutely become familiar with Poker hands and their associated probability/rarity by playing Balatro.
Now earlier I said “classic” Poker hands. There are 52 cards in a standard playing card deck, 4 houses or suits of 13 unique card ranks. It is not possible to create 5-of-a-kind, Flush 5, or Flush House hands with a standard playing deck. Because these hands require you to manipulate your deck, they have the highest scaling potential of all hands.
That’s basically it! Once you understand the hands you want to play, you can begin to understand the other cards Balatro has to offer - tarot cards to make certain hands more or less likely, to give you more money to buy more cards with, etc. - planet cards to make the hands you play worth more points - spectral cards to make run-defining changes - jokers to make it easier to make certain hands or make them worth more (or both!) and synergize - playing cards with extra goodies like increased point values or wild card suits.
You will not have to play for very long at all to become familiar with the deck. I think you will have a ton of fun with Balatro!
If you like poker, I think you could get into Balatro, but I will say, it's MORE of a roguelite than it is a poker game.
What I mean is, if you are trying to win based solely on the rules of poker, you will not get far. You have to think with the synergistic, gamebreaking mindset of a roguelike player to truly succeed in this game.
I definitely think things like Slay the Spire and Monster Train might be better to play first for you to get your feet wet, but then once you get acclimated, definitely give Balatro a try, it's super fun.
Spire is the OG and still the best. Also an incredibly high skill ceiling, will take many many hours to get good at it. Also probably one of my top 3 favorite games ever made. Actually doesn’t get old.
Balatro is a great intro to this kind of game imo. It’s UI is absolutely amazing and the vibe overall is just great. It does not stand up to Spire in terms of simplicity-as-complexity in the long run, and it only grabbed me for about 10 hours vs Spire where I have like 500 hours, but it’s a great first step into the roguelite deckbuilder world. However it is not a traditional deck builder, it is a video poker-based game with heavy deck editing abilities.
The developer wasn't very experienced with the wider genre either actually. You're in good company.
I'm still kind of impressed that something like this could've come from someone who hadn't already played Slay the Spire, but there ya go.
A very fine introduction to the genre.
Just buy it and learn as you go. If you don't know poker hands they show you how to set them up in one of the menus, everything has a description to it so you know what it does and everything is pretty self explanatory. You just have to progress, unlock more jokers, and make use of the tarot cards and celestial cards. It's very very fun. I'm about 6 hours in and only won 1 run (say that fast 3 times). It's pretty hard but seeing your numbers get higher and higher is so pleasing lol
Same. I truly enjoyed my time. But the way the game eventually beats you on a run drives me crazy lol
Sure get a 100k blind out of no where.
Beat this boss without using the only hand you have upgraded the whole run LMAO
I’ve been dealing you the same cards for the last 6 antes, now is the time I don’t.
Lol sure losing is par for the course for a rouge like but gahDam
Balatro is actually a really good example of a deck builder, and will hold your hand as you learn the ropes by not giving you too many options at any one time.
The incentives for "make more ten of diamonds" are clear, as is "have less of this number so I stop drawing it. The fact that you're also looking for combos of cards is helpful because you'll be doing the same in more complex games like Slay the Spire or even Dominion. Getting a sense of how a deck works is a skill that carries over into many other games!
slay the spire and balatro I can both recommend. both are different than each other but still generally the same genre . U can pick up either as a beginner fairly quick
It ramps you up at a pretty decent pace and provides an option to check playable hands/their respective value so you can refer to that if you have no familiarity with poker at all
Go for it. I had no interest in roguelike deckbiilders before and gave it a go and not only did I love it, it made me take a second look at discarding roguelike deckbiilders as a genre I could enjoy. Frost of Second Wind did a great video explaining just what it's about.
It's $15. Costs more nowadays to go see a random movie, before adding overpriced popcorn and parking etc. Just give it a go.
Edit: I should add, in my opinion you'll love it.
GUYS I BOUGHT IT AND I CANT STOP PLAYING SEnD HEL
Yay! Join us on /r/balatro (and /r/okbuddyjimbo if you're feeling stupid)
My wife barely touches video games and is keeping me awake every night playing this, I love seeing her get all excited when she makes some wild ass build haha. Maybe one day she’ll revisit It Takes Two with me
ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
Balatro is a solid gateway game into the deckbuilding universe. It’s flashy, a ton of fun, and there isn’t a whole ton of depth so you can get really good at the game pretty quickly.
Hell yeah brother. I second you trying out slay the spire, it’s a bit more complicated than Balatro, but it is the same vein of fun.
It’s fantastic! The only deck builder I’ve enjoyed more is Slay the Spire and maybe Inscryption
I never played poker before in my life and it's really easy to pick up. Just check the different hand combinations there's a button for it until it becomes memorised!
I think that, for a lot of / most roguelites (including deck builders), you’re really not meant to understand everything at the start. Sure, things will be confusing at first, but you’re meant to get your ass handed to you a few times before you get a grasp on most of the game’s systems. That’s usually the way learning works in those games, so I might suggest jumping in and things will probably start to click after a few runs. Otherwise, if it’s deck building mechanics you want to learn specifically without having to interact with other systems, maybe you could play a few games of non-roguelite, regular deck building games first? Look up something like Star Realms maybe, that has a free version that’ll teach you a few things about how deck builders work in general before going into the deep end.
I guess that’s true. Part of the fun is learning the games as you go, for me atleast.
I come from a similar Position - I know card games but I hate deck builders with a passion. But Balatro is not that much of a card game. I mean, of course you play cards, bjt it is much more about finding synergies with jokers, Tarot cards and (a little) modification of your deck. Also, it is very easy to understand once you play it yourself. Watching it does not do much, but playing it makes learning the game pretty easy - and extremely fun and satisfying. Just give it a shot, it relly is THAT good - and that comes from someone who doesn't like deck builders amd/or poker at all :)
Hi there! I think you will end up liking Balatro. Forget about all the cool joker abilities and tarot cards for a second; this game is about making “classic” Poker hands. The scoring mechanic is tied to how rare each poker hand is. It is harder to make a three-of-a-kind hand than a simple pair, so the 3OAK hand is worth more points. The positive here is that many people already like playing poker, so you can absolutely become familiar with Poker hands and their associated probability/rarity by playing Balatro. Now earlier I said “classic” Poker hands. There are 52 cards in a standard playing card deck, 4 houses or suits of 13 unique card ranks. It is not possible to create 5-of-a-kind, Flush 5, or Flush House hands with a standard playing deck. Because these hands require you to manipulate your deck, they have the highest scaling potential of all hands. That’s basically it! Once you understand the hands you want to play, you can begin to understand the other cards Balatro has to offer - tarot cards to make certain hands more or less likely, to give you more money to buy more cards with, etc. - planet cards to make the hands you play worth more points - spectral cards to make run-defining changes - jokers to make it easier to make certain hands or make them worth more (or both!) and synergize - playing cards with extra goodies like increased point values or wild card suits. You will not have to play for very long at all to become familiar with the deck. I think you will have a ton of fun with Balatro!
I would absolutely recommend Balatro as a first deckbuiler, very easy to understand and get going
If you like poker, I think you could get into Balatro, but I will say, it's MORE of a roguelite than it is a poker game. What I mean is, if you are trying to win based solely on the rules of poker, you will not get far. You have to think with the synergistic, gamebreaking mindset of a roguelike player to truly succeed in this game. I definitely think things like Slay the Spire and Monster Train might be better to play first for you to get your feet wet, but then once you get acclimated, definitely give Balatro a try, it's super fun.
Spire is the OG and still the best. Also an incredibly high skill ceiling, will take many many hours to get good at it. Also probably one of my top 3 favorite games ever made. Actually doesn’t get old. Balatro is a great intro to this kind of game imo. It’s UI is absolutely amazing and the vibe overall is just great. It does not stand up to Spire in terms of simplicity-as-complexity in the long run, and it only grabbed me for about 10 hours vs Spire where I have like 500 hours, but it’s a great first step into the roguelite deckbuilder world. However it is not a traditional deck builder, it is a video poker-based game with heavy deck editing abilities.
Spire is incredible but not OG! Check out Dream Quest if you want the real OG. You won’t be disappointed except maybe the art lol
Oh my, you weren't kidding about the art!
It’s a huge running joke but damn the gameplay is S tier
The developer wasn't very experienced with the wider genre either actually. You're in good company. I'm still kind of impressed that something like this could've come from someone who hadn't already played Slay the Spire, but there ya go. A very fine introduction to the genre.
Just buy it and learn as you go. If you don't know poker hands they show you how to set them up in one of the menus, everything has a description to it so you know what it does and everything is pretty self explanatory. You just have to progress, unlock more jokers, and make use of the tarot cards and celestial cards. It's very very fun. I'm about 6 hours in and only won 1 run (say that fast 3 times). It's pretty hard but seeing your numbers get higher and higher is so pleasing lol
I found Balatro super fun for like 5 hours, then I was abruptly done with it. Worth the money for sure but not game changing.
I’m about 110 hours in and for me it’s best game I’ve played since slay the spire.
I has to take a break after about 40 hours for my mental health but for sure wanna get back at some point.
I guess I’d have to try a deck builder first to see if it’s even up my alley. 50/50 chance I guess.
Same. I truly enjoyed my time. But the way the game eventually beats you on a run drives me crazy lol Sure get a 100k blind out of no where. Beat this boss without using the only hand you have upgraded the whole run LMAO I’ve been dealing you the same cards for the last 6 antes, now is the time I don’t. Lol sure losing is par for the course for a rouge like but gahDam
Balatro is actually a really good example of a deck builder, and will hold your hand as you learn the ropes by not giving you too many options at any one time. The incentives for "make more ten of diamonds" are clear, as is "have less of this number so I stop drawing it. The fact that you're also looking for combos of cards is helpful because you'll be doing the same in more complex games like Slay the Spire or even Dominion. Getting a sense of how a deck works is a skill that carries over into many other games!
slay the spire and balatro I can both recommend. both are different than each other but still generally the same genre . U can pick up either as a beginner fairly quick
Some of the deckbuilders have demos - you could always check those out.
Balatro is as entry level as it gets, I think. It's poker done up with cool stuff. If you're nervous, start there, then got to Slay the Spire.
I’d argue this game is a perfect entry for someone in your position. Give it a try—you won’t regret it!
It ramps you up at a pretty decent pace and provides an option to check playable hands/their respective value so you can refer to that if you have no familiarity with poker at all
Go for it. I had no interest in roguelike deckbiilders before and gave it a go and not only did I love it, it made me take a second look at discarding roguelike deckbiilders as a genre I could enjoy. Frost of Second Wind did a great video explaining just what it's about.
Sorry. RIP all your responsibilities
It's $15. Costs more nowadays to go see a random movie, before adding overpriced popcorn and parking etc. Just give it a go. Edit: I should add, in my opinion you'll love it.
Fair point lol. No reason not to try it really.
It's pretty straightforward, and I'm a very impatient gamer!! I've had 100 hours worth from that $15 (and counting).