Balatro Playing Card Deck - Review
This is something that arrived to me a few days ago, and I didn't really think of writing about it at the time, but after thinking about it more I feel like it's very fun!
A few weeks ago, due to Desert Bus 2025 and the holidays coming up, I did a little bit of shopping in Fangamer for stuff. Most of it was for friends, however I did get a thing for myself (aside from the yearly Desert Bus shirt, of course), which was the Balatro Playing Card Deck!
Balatro is one of the games I have played the most this year, although admittedly I haven't actively played it in quite a few months — I don't think I've even mentioned it here, ever. It is an extremely fun and addictive game that takes the general rules of Poker and gives a fun Roguelike twist to them!
Rather than getting the game through Steam like I usually would, I got it through the Apple App Store, so I can keep my progress between my devices… and also because that way I cannot get time shamed but anyways (lighthearted)
The game involves cards, and so it just made sense that they'd sell physical ones eventually!
They're specifically based on the red deck, which is the standard one you start the game with. The deck features the 52 regular cards with their standard colours, rather than the high contrast colours that I am personally more used to. Even in the standard mode, though, they're still a little different, as Clubs are slightly green compared to Spades, and Diamonds slightly orange compared to Hearts.
As for the jokers, it includes four of them, which all fit pretty well for a standalone set! They're the standard +4 Mult joker, the Juggler which gives +1 hand size, the infamous Gros Michel which gives +15 mult but has a 1 in 6 chance to go extinct, and the iconic Blueprint which copies the ability of the joker to its right!
All of these cards look amazing! They do actually have a similar finish to those on standard playing cards, or at least the Bicycle ones that I am more used to, and they feel great! Also for some reason they kinda smell more like Magic: The Gathering cards to me than playing cards? Though that may just be because they're new.
I am a massive fan of all types of games, and although I've only really talked about video games here so far, I am just as big of a fan of tabletop games. Of course, these cards serve perfectly as just standard playing cards, however I am curious about if I could create a fun game actually utilizing the jokers they come with!
I've always loved making my own games, even if I only kept them to myself, and I feel like there is a lot of potential for something fun and unique!
Oh also, the order came with a Deltarune card and Metal Gear Solid sticker, so that's fun! I just wanted to show them off here. :)
