In the weeks leading up to my impending doom (graduation), I have needed something to take the edge off. Most games I play hadn’t been doing it for me as of late, but I had heard of a new game that interested me and decided to give it a try.

Balatro, a rogue-like poker game (with no real money involved), was released by LocalThunk in 2024. The game achieved success fairly quickly, selling five million copies by January of this year, and won game of the year as well. 

The player builds starting with a 52-card deck and has to defeat three blinds through eight antes. After each round, the player has access to a shop, where you can purchase cards to enhance your deck, enhance hands played, purchase vouchers, and purchase jokers. The game has 150 jokers that add to your score multiplier, chips, and many other benefits.

I got access to the game through Xbox’s Gamepass over spring break and immediately got addicted. One can easily get locked into a fairly long run that feels like minutes but lasts an hour. I have found it very easy to get lost in the experience, trying to win using Joker’s I have yet to use.

My favorite part of the game, outside of its features, has been playing it with my group of friends who also play it. It’s an easy play-and-pass game that you can play while lounging around, doing homework, or just passing the time. We have all collectively spent late hours in the night playing runs with one another, and that adds a lot of the replay value to me. 

My favorite part of the game is just seeing big numbers. There is a satisfying feeling in after crafting a full set of Jokers and building my deck, seeing the score at the end of each hand releases a large amount of dopamine. 

Another positive bonus is the game’s low price point. If you don’t have Gamepass or Apple Arcade, the game’s price is a low $10. Every run will be different from the others, and with 15 total decks to play, each with many different difficulty levels, each run will feel brand new. It’s also incredibly easy to pick up and set down at any time. The game saves your run’s progress if you need to stop, and you can restart a run at any time. 

Overall, this game is a fun time killer, a group game, or a way to study all the different ways you can score. For its low point and replay value, it’s very easy to see how it won game of the year, and has sold so many copies.