45 Years Later, Balatro Perfected A Beloved Cantonese Card Game
The new marshmallow test.
As seen at sushi restaurants, on an episode of Black Mirror, and just casually weaved in throughout daily life, the poker-like Balatro is popping up nearly everywhere these days. Whenever I come across someone playing the trance-inducing roguelike out in the wild, I am never really surprised. Once you try out Balatro, it is hard to free yourself from its grasp. I had already lost dozens of hours to it on PC when it originally released last year, and then later when it came to mobile. Now, this month, console owners beware, it’s come to PlayStation Plus.
Much has been written about Balatro already and you’re likely already familiar. But for the uninitiated, here’s a brief recap: It’s a card game where the Jokers control your fate. While in poker, you ordinarily discard Jokers, in Balatro, the Jokers are valuable and have their own special powers. And unlike with true gambling, cheating is encouraged. You stack your own deck heavy with royal flushes, aces, and other goodies until victory is inevitable. As you build, the goal is a higher and higher score. When the number becomes unattainable, it’s game over. Then, the siren call to start a new game beckons.
Balatro on mobile. It is now on PlayStation Plus, as of May 2025.
The heart of Balatro felt oddly familiar to me, even when I first got started. In interviews, developer LocalThunk, who has kept a relatively low profile, has explained that it’s loosely inspired by a Cantonese card game called Big Two. It’s no wonder I found it eerily nostalgic. Big Two was commonly played across school yards, and at my dad’s gatherings with his friends. He would challenge me to beat him, to play in an aggressive but clever way.
The objective of Big Two is to be the first person to discard all the cards in your hand successfully. But you’re limited to playing what your opponent has selected — so a pair must follow a pair, for instance. Twos are actually considered higher ranking than aces, hence the name. And while the game is simple, it can be tricky. Playing a bold move early on, for instance, can ruin your chances of winning later on. It’s a game that, like the marshmallow test, is all about delaying instant gratification. So it was fitting for a Taiwanese dad to play with his daughter, in hopes of imparting some lessons for the wise.
I can’t help feel that if my dad were alive today, he would have loved Balatro. While the rules of Big Two have been wildly adapted, the immaculate vibes remain glorious. Playing a game means contemplating strategically, taking care to think ten steps ahead, and of course, not simply making moves that are just eye-catching and feel good in the moment. The only times I’ve been able to beat Balatro are with the green deck, where you gain money for the amount of discards you have not used.
Balatro also swept the BAFTA Games Awards.
It’s the same philosophy as with Big Two — rather than play the best cards I have at once and use up all my advantages immediately, playing with the green deck incentivizes me to save up and bide my time. Ordinarily, I’m the kind of player who likes to rush into battle, not caring for the consequences and face-tanking my enemies for any Pyrrhic victory I can get. In Balatro, I only find success when I tame my worst instincts, and just let the chips fall where they may. It’s in that way that Balatro ascends beyond simple video game, into a metaphor about investments and how you can make numbers go up exponentially with math.
Mostly though, it’s just great fun to see all kinds of strange strategies pay off. Every run is a different experience, and I’ve found success by leaning on all types of cards. When the perfect combination of Jokers, spectral, Planet, tarot, and Wild cards align, the scoreboard froths over in flames, letting you know you’ve done it again. You’ve made the numbers go up. What sweeter joy is there?
