Games Like Balatro
Quick Answer
The closest games to Balatro are Slay the Spire, Luck be a Landlord, Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers, Monster Train 2 and Peglin. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Balatro, and what does not.
What Made Balatro Work
Balatro is poker as a deckbuilder — the hands are just scoring templates and the real game is the jokers, which multiply each other into absurd numbers. It is a run-based roguelike where the fun is finding a combination that breaks the rules. Card games without the build are the wrong answer.
Balatro is a 2024 roguelike deckbuilder made by a solo developer known as LocalThunk and published by Playstack. You play poker hands to beat escalating score targets called blinds, but the real game is the Jokers you buy between rounds, which modify how chips and multipliers are scored and can stack into enormous numbers. It won several awards in 2024, including at The Game Awards. Fans usually want another game where building a broken combination is the point.
9 Games Like Balatro
1.Slay the Spire
The deckbuilding roguelike everything since is measured against.
Why it fits: MegaCrit's 2019 roguelike deckbuilder (early access in 2017) set the template: build a deck during a run, find relics and climb a spire.
What is different: You fight monsters rather than chase a score, and there is no poker hand to build; each card is an attack, block or skill.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS and Android.
More about this game →2.Luck be a Landlord
A slot machine as a synergy engine — the closest structural cousin.
Why it fits: TrampolineTales' roguelike, fully released in 2023, has you add symbols to a slot machine so they combine to pay rent.
What is different: You pick symbols for a slot machine rather than playing hands, so there is less decision per spin.
More about this game →3.Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers
Blackjack rebuilt as a roguelike, and very funny.
Why it fits: Purple Moss Collectors' 2024 roguelike, published by Devolver Digital, has you build a deck of unusual cards to win blackjack games.
What is different: Blackjack instead of poker, with a dungeon of opponents to beat, and card effects that bend the rules of the table.
Where to play it: PC.
More about this game →4.Monster Train 2
Deckbuilding with more moving parts and huge combo ceilings.
Why it fits: Shiny Shoe's 2025 deckbuilder has you defend a multi-floor train with units and spells, creating large synergy combos.
What is different: A combat deckbuilder with units and spells on three floors; there is no scoring hand.
More about this game →5.Peglin
Pachinko plus deckbuilding, and the same one-more-run pull.
Why it fits: Red Nexus Games' roguelike, fully released in 2024, combines pachinko-style orb shots with a deckbuilding-like orb collection.
What is different: Aim and bounce an orb rather than play cards; luck feels more physical and less about hand choices.
More about this game →6.Inscryption
A card game that keeps changing what kind of card game it is.
Why it fits: Daniel Mullins Games' 2021 card game, published by Devolver Digital, blends deckbuilding with escape-room puzzles and changes form as it goes.
What is different: A story-driven horror game with puzzle rooms; the card game is only the start, and it is not endlessly replayable.
Where to play it: PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.
More about this game →7.Backpack Battles
Inventory as the build, and the synergies are the whole game.
Why it fits: PlayWithFurcifer's 2024 game has you arrange items in a backpack to create synergies before automatic battles against other players.
What is different: Spatial item arranging and automatic fights against other players' builds, rather than solo hands.
Where to play it: PC.
More about this game →8.Balatro Friends of Jimbo
The free collaboration updates, if you have not seen the guest face cards.
Why it fits: LocalThunk's free collaboration updates, starting in 2024, add alternative face-card art featuring characters from other games and series.
What is different: Not a separate game: it is cosmetic card art inside Balatro, so it changes the look, not the play.
Where to play it: Part of Balatro wherever you play it.
More about this game →9.Vampire Survivors
Same escalating-numbers pleasure, no cards involved.
Why it fits: poncle's 2022 roguelike (early access in 2021) is about stacking weapons and upgrades until the screen fills with damage.
What is different: Real-time and hands-off: you move and the weapons fire themselves, so there are no cards or turns.
Where to play it: PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, iOS and Android.
More about this game →
Where to Start
Slay the Spire is the essential next game — it defined the genre Balatro plays with. Luck be a Landlord is the closest in feel, with a slot machine in place of poker. If you want something short and strange, try Inscryption.
How We Picked These Games
We looked for run-based games where you assemble a build from random options, and where synergies between items or cards are the main source of fun. Most picks are deckbuilders; a few use slots, pachinko or inventory instead of cards.
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How These Picks Match Balatro
Balatro is catalogued here as a puzzle game and art-led game among PC and multi-platform games. Eight of the nine picks share at least one of its genre tags — eight strategy games and eight puzzle games among them. The other one — Vampire Survivors — is a different genre and is on the list for one specific thing Balatro did, so read the reason before ruling it out.
Going by the "where to play it" notes, five can be played on PC, three can be played on a PlayStation, three can be played on a Nintendo system and three can be played on an Xbox. Slay the Spire, Luck be a Landlord, Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers, Monster Train 2, Peglin, Inscryption, Backpack Battles, Balatro Friends of Jimbo and Vampire Survivors are from small or self-published studios.
| Game | Genre | Shares with Balatro | Where to play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slay the Spire | Strategy, Puzzle, Indie | Puzzle, Strategy | PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS and Android. |
| Luck be a Landlord | Puzzle, Strategy, Indie | Puzzle, Strategy | — |
| Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers | Puzzle, Strategy, Indie | Puzzle, Strategy | PC. |
| Monster Train 2 | Strategy, Puzzle, Indie | Puzzle, Strategy | — |
| Peglin | Puzzle, Strategy, Indie | Puzzle, Strategy | — |
| Inscryption | Puzzle, Strategy, Indie | Puzzle, Strategy | PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch. |
| Backpack Battles | Strategy, Puzzle, Indie | Puzzle, Strategy | PC. |
| Balatro Friends of Jimbo | Puzzle, Strategy, Indie | Puzzle, Strategy | Part of Balatro wherever you play it. |
| Vampire Survivors | Action, Arcade, Indie | Different genre — see the reason above | PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, iOS and Android. |
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