Image: LocalThunk
Bring your Balatro addiction into the physical realm.
Good news for anyone addicted to playing this year’s smash-hit poker roguelike game Balatro: the game is officially getting its own set of physical playing cards. Game creator LocalThunk announced the news on Twitter/X, confirming that a deck of 52 playing cards themed after Balatro will launch in 2025.
Balatro is officially getting its own set of themed playing cards
The Game Awards GOTY nominee Balatro is getting a physical deck of playing cards, thanks to a collaboration between game developer LocalThunk and Fangamer. The deck will be “actually playable and not just a collector’s item” according to the game’s creator, and comes with four Joker cards: Joker, Juggler, Blueprint, and Gros Michel.
That might mean players have a shot of recreating an actual game of Balatro in real life. The deck will consist of 52 “linen-finish” playing cards “based on LocalThunk’s original in-game designs.” Pre-orders for the deck are now open on Fangamer, and buyers will receive the cards in a tuck box accented with silver foil.
However, you’ll have to wait until sometime in March 2025 to receive the cards, giving you a few more months of virtual Balatro before the real thing – so to speak – arrives at your doorstep. While the cards are referred to as more than just collector’s items, fans will clearly treat them as such, considering that they come with the same pixelated art they’ve become used to seeing in-game.
The only downside? This physical deck comes with only four joker cards, compared to the actual game’s vast collection of special jokers. These cards equip the player with special abilities to create builds, go on runs, and defeat blinds. Granted, depending on this set’s success, more jokers could very well be on their way in the future.
Balatro has been nominated at The Game Awards 2024 for Game of the Year. Here’s how you can tune into the show on December 13, 2024.
