APPLE ARCADE

Play your cards right in Balatro

Break – and remake – the rules in this acclaimed card battler.

Know the rules of poker? If so, you’re halfway to wrapping your head around this brilliant roguelike deck-builder, which puts its own twist on the classic game.

What we love: Playing familiar poker hands, then tweaking them with powerful joker cards, like one that counts all your red and black cards as the same suit. (Flushes made easy!) With new cards to collect each round, anything is possible.

Pay attention to the perk you get for skipping a blind deal. It may net you a joker – or better yet, reroll the Boss Blind’s dastardly ability.

Quick tip: Don’t invest too heavily in one hand type – you never know when a Boss Blind (such as “playing a Two Pair sets money to $0”) might upend your strategy. Stay on your toes!

Meet the creator: Balatro was built by Canada-based LocalThunk. Influenced by the poker-inspired Cantonese card game Big Two, LocalThunk perfected Balatro’s game loop over two and a half years of development.

Available on Apple Arcade, home to 200+ amazing games with no ads or in-app purchases, Balatro+ is playable across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV:

Or play the standalone version of Balatro: