this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2025
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Balatro

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Welcome to Balatro Lemmy and Mbin Community.

This community is for the game Balatro, which is developed by LocalThunk and published by Playstack. For more Balatro conversation, please head to the stickied FAQ and check out the official Discord channel. Also make sure you read our rules before posting.

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[–] bizzle@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I haven't played Balatro I'm here from all, but I thought I remember the devs coming out and saying it was explicitly NOT a gambling game. Is that not true?

[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@piefed.world 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It's gambling in the sense that you're playing a rogue-like version of poker and are trying to manage RNG.

It's not gambling in the sense that they need a warning to keep kids from spending Mom and Dad's credit card on loot boxes or something.

[–] eRac 6 points 1 week ago

It's a roguelite. That makes every run a gamble. You take chances and sometimes they make a good build, sometimes they fall apart.

It's not gambling in the sense of casino-style betting money on chance.

[–] lemming741@lemmy.world -4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If you think loot boxes are not gambling, you could probably make that argument. The game is built around buying those loot boxes between rounds and being strategic about which category of them to buy.

[–] NightFantom@slrpnk.net 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Balatro is not lootboxes though a

[–] lemming741@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

You don't pay real money for them but does a Buffoon booster not fit the criteria? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loot_(video_games)

[–] MrQuallzin@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Loot boxes are a particular type of randomized loot system that consists of boxes that can be unlocked through normal play, or by purchasing more via microtransaction.

I'd say it counts as random loot, but doesn't fit the criteria to be a loot box