Balatro dev gives look at first prototype Joker Poker
LocalThunk shows how 2024's breakout deckbuilder evolved in the course of its three-year development.
LocalThunk shows how 2024's breakout deckbuilder evolved in the course of its three-year development.
Justin Carter
Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.
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FAQs
How does madness work in Balatro?
Madness is an uncommon multiplicative Mult Joker that fuels itself with the sacrifice of other Jokers. At the start of every Small and Big Blind it gains X0. 5 Mult and destroys another Joker at random. The destruction of another Joker and gaining X0.
Do you keep Jokers in Balatro?
Jokers are special cards at the core of Balatros gameplay. Instead of being included in Decks and played alongside standard cards Jokers are obtained through the Shop and occasionally other means and are held in the players dedicated joker slots until the player sells them or they are destroyed.
How do you unlock the invisible Joker in Balatro?
Unlock Requirement Win a game while never having more than 4 jokers. Invisible Joker is a rare Joker that can be sold after two rounds to duplicate a random Joker in the players inventory. The copied Joker will retain almost all the properties of the original including any scaling Edition and Stickers.



