Balatro Like Games: 13 Roguelike Picks on Steam

The best Balatro like games capture the moment a run tips from desperate to ridiculous: one Joker turns a humble pair into a fortune, the score counter spins past the target, and you are suddenly playing a different game from the one you started. Balatro is a roguelike deckbuilder, which means each run starts fresh with a small deck that you grow and reshape as you go, and losing sends you back to the start with new ideas. Every pick below shares that loop of small choices, stacking synergies and “just one more run”.

What makes Balatro so hard to put down?

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Balatro, from solo developer LocalThunk and publisher Playstack, came out on Steam on Feb 20, 2024. It is single-player, has full controller support and runs on Windows and macOS. You play poker hands from a standard deck to hit a chip target called a blind. Each ante has a Small Blind, a Big Blind and a Boss Blind with a nasty rule twist, and between rounds you shop for Jokers, Tarot cards, Planet cards, Spectral cards and Vouchers.

The magic is in the math. Every hand produces Chips multiplied by Mult, and Jokers bend that equation in wild directions. A run that starts with modest flushes can end with numbers too big to read. There are eight difficulty levels, plus challenge and seeded runs (a seed fixes the shuffle so you can replay the same run).

So what should Balatro like games actually deliver? Four things matter most:

• A clear score target. Rent, debt, a boss’s health bar: something you must beat each round.
• Rule-breaking upgrades. Items that change how the game works, not just add a bit of damage.
• Snowballing synergies. A synergy is two or more pieces that make each other stronger. The best runs feel slightly broken.
• Short, readable runs. You should see why you lost and want to try again straight away.

The picks are grouped by which of those itches they scratch hardest, closest matches first.

Balatro like games built on slot machines and physics

These four drop the poker deck but keep the core feeling: you feed a machine, watch it pay out, and spend the winnings making the machine more absurd. If the Joker shop was your favourite part, start here.

Luck be a Landlord

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Luck be a Landlord is widely recognised as one of Balatro’s inspirations, and it shows. You have one coin, a slot machine and a landlord demanding rent. Each spin pays out based on the symbols on your reels, and after every spin you pick a new symbol to add. Symbols interact with their neighbours, so a run becomes a puzzle of which combinations pay best, much like building a Joker lineup.

It suits players who love the economy side of Balatro: planning ahead to meet a rising target. The store page states plainly that there is no real-money gambling or microtransactions. It is single-player with full controller support and Steam Workshop, and offers screen reader support. Released Jan 6, 2023, on Windows, macOS and Linux, from TrampolineTales.

CloverPit

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CloverPit’s own store page calls it the offspring of Balatro and Buckshot Roulette, which is a fair summary. You are locked in a rusty cell with a slot machine and an ATM, and you must pay off a debt at the end of each round or fall to ruin. Charms and prizes tilt the odds, and the goal is the same snowball you know from Balatro: small boosts that turn into dazzling lucky runs.

Pick this if you want the combo chase with a horror mood and an escape-room atmosphere. It has meta-progression (permanent progress that carries between runs), seeded runs, run modifiers and an Endless Mode. Single-player with full controller support, released Sep 26, 2025, on Windows, from Panik Arcade and Future Friends Games.

Ballionaire

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Ballionaire calls itself an “autobonker”: you build a pachinko board, drop a ball, and the board does the scoring as balls bounce off triggers, earn money and spawn more balls. Each round you draft new triggers, and rule-bending boons let you build a scoring engine, a ball-spawning machine or both. Three Elders demand tribute during a run and throw tribulations at you, a lot like Boss Blinds.

It is the best fit for players who enjoyed the theorycrafting in Balatro, working out a broken combo on paper and watching it go off. Multiple boards, including a pinball table, keep layouts fresh. Single-player with full controller support and Steam Workshop, released Dec 10, 2024, on Windows, from newobject and Raw Fury.

Peglin

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Peglin’s store page describes it as Peggle crossed with Slay the Spire. You fight enemies by firing orbs onto a peg board; every peg hit adds damage. Between fights you travel a new map each run, collecting orbs with special effects and relics that change both the enemies and the physics.

This suits Balatro fans who want a little aim and skill on top of the luck, and anyone who liked watching a single hand rack up hit after hit. Crit potions, refresh potions and bombs add timing decisions. Single-player with full controller support, released Aug 27, 2024, on Windows and macOS, from Red Nexus Games Inc.

Card and dice roguelikes that bend familiar rules

Part of Balatro’s charm is taking a game you already know, poker, and twisting it. These games pull the same trick with blackjack, dice and a rather sinister card game.

Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers

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This is the closest thing to “Balatro, but blackjack”. You work your way through a tavern full of gambling-obsessed townspeople, playing a corrupted version of blackjack whose rules you learn as you go. Your deck grows beyond normal cards into tarot cards, business cards and stranger things, and you can remove cards to slim it down.

Suits matter: hearts heal, spades protect, diamonds earn shop currency and clubs deal extra damage. If you liked shaping your Balatro deck with Tarot cards, this scratches the same itch. Single-player, full controller support, playable at your own pace. Released Aug 8, 2024, on Windows, macOS and Linux, from Purple Moss Collectors and Yogscast Games.

Dicey Dungeons

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In Dicey Dungeons you play a giant walking die fighting through a dungeon run by Lady Luck. Each turn you roll dice and slot them into equipment, so the puzzle is making the most of whatever you rolled. Six characters each change the rules: the Thief steals enemy equipment, the Robot builds dice with a push-your-luck blackjack game, and the Inventor destroys gear after fights to craft new gadgets.

It suits players who enjoy Balatro’s “work with the hand you’re dealt” puzzles. The free Reunion DLC adds six more episodes. Single-player with full controller support, released Aug 13, 2019, on Windows, macOS and Linux, from Terry Cavanagh.

Inscryption

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Inscryption starts as a card-based roguelike in a dark cabin, played against a mysterious figure called Leshy, and blends in escape-room puzzles and psychological horror. You draft woodland creature cards and grow your deck through some unsettling methods. It is best to go in knowing as little as possible.

It fits players who loved the quirky, self-aware tone of Balatro’s rule-breaking and want a stronger story around the cards. It is less about endless replay and more about a journey with a beginning and end. Single-player, released Oct 19, 2021, on Windows, macOS and Linux, from Daniel Mullins Games and Devolver Digital.

Games like Balatro and Slay the Spire: the classic deckbuilders

If Balatro got you hooked on deckbuilding in general, these are the games the genre grew from and grew into. They swap score targets for fights, but the drafting, the relics and the run-to-run discovery feel very familiar. Among Balatro like games, these offer the deepest long-term strategy.

Slay the Spire

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Slay the Spire is the game that defined the modern roguelike deckbuilder. You climb a tower along a branching map, choosing risky or safe paths, fighting monsters with a deck you build as you go. Relics play the role Jokers do in Balatro: passive items that warp how your cards work and can make a run feel unstoppable.

It now has four characters, each with its own card pool, plus 350+ cards and 200+ items. Pick it if you want more strategic depth per decision than Balatro. Single-player with full controller support and Steam Workshop, released Jan 23, 2019, on Windows, macOS and Linux, from Mega Crit.

Slay the Spire 2

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The sequel returns to a reawakened Spire with new and returning characters, new cards, relics and potions. Steam lists it as released Mar 5, 2026, and still tags it Early Access, meaning content is still being added.

The big change for Balatro fans who have wished for company: Steam lists online co-op for up to four players, alongside solo play. It suits anyone who has finished the first game or wants to share runs with friends. Full controller support and Steam Input support, playable at your own pace, on Windows, macOS and Linux, from Mega Crit.

Monster Train

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Monster Train adds a spatial layer to deckbuilding: you defend three vertical battlefields on a train heading through a frozen hell. You pick a primary and supporting clan from five, mixing both card pools, then upgrade and even duplicate cards along the route.

That clan mixing is a lot like choosing a Balatro deck and then building Jokers around it. It suits players who love chasing absurd scaling numbers. Single-player plus online PvP multiplayer, full controller support, released May 21, 2020, on Windows, from Shiny Shoe and Good Shepherd Entertainment.

Deckbuilders with a fresh twist

These three keep the roguelike structure but change what a “deck” means or how combat works. Good choices once you have played the obvious Balatro like games and want something that surprises you.

Cobalt Core

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Cobalt Core is a sci-fi deckbuilder with single-axis combat: your ship and the enemy face each other across one line, and you play cards to dodge missiles, line up cannons and raise shields. You bring three crew members whose decks mix together, and each character has their own playstyle and story, tied to a time-loop mystery.

It suits players who like Balatro’s clear, readable puzzles but want more positioning. Hundreds of character and ship combinations keep runs varied. Single-player with full controller support, released Nov 8, 2023, on Windows and macOS, from Rocket Rat Games and Brace Yourself Games.

Wildfrost

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Wildfrost is a tactical deckbuilder across a frozen tundra. Your deck holds companion cards you rescue along the way, plus elemental items and clunker cards. Each run starts with a tribe leader whose skills and stats are randomised, so your first few picks shape everything after.

It suits players who enjoy Balatro’s charming look and want card battles with a bit more board tactics. Single-player with full controller support and Steam Workshop, released Apr 12, 2023, on Windows, from Deadpan Games, Gaziter and Chucklefish.

Backpack Hero

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Backpack Hero replaces the deck with an inventory grid. Where you place each item in your backpack changes how powerful it is, so every new find is a small spatial puzzle. Between dungeon runs you rebuild the hometown of Haversack Hill, adding a cozy layer of progression.

Pick it if you liked arranging Jokers in the right order in Balatro, since placement-based power is the whole game here. With 800+ items and 100+ enemies there is plenty to discover. Single-player with full controller support and Steam Workshop, released Nov 14, 2023, on Windows, macOS and Linux, from Jaspel.

How to choose your next Balatro like game

The quickest way to choose is to ask which part of Balatro you kept coming back for:

• The score counter going wild: Ballionaire, then CloverPit.
• Meeting a target with limited resources: Luck be a Landlord, then Dicey Dungeons.
• Twisting a familiar game: Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers.
• Long-term strategy and mastery: Slay the Spire, Monster Train.
• Something to play with friends: Slay the Spire 2 with its online co-op.
• A story with your cards: Inscryption, then Cobalt Core.

Common mistakes when picking a follow-up

• Assuming “poker” is the hook. For most players it is the multiplier math, not the card game. A slot machine or pachinko board can feel more like Balatro than another poker game would.
• Jumping straight into the hardest option. Slay the Spire and Monster Train ask more of you per turn. If you play Balatro to unwind, Luck be a Landlord or Peglin are gentler steps.
• Quitting after one bad run. Roguelikes teach through failure. Give any of these a few runs before deciding, just as Balatro only clicked once you saw your first broken Joker combo.
• Ignoring platform info. Several picks, including CloverPit, Ballionaire, Monster Train and Wildfrost, are listed for Windows only on Steam, so Mac and Linux players should check the table first.

A worked example

Say your favourite Balatro runs were the ones where you stacked Mult Jokers and watched one hand blow past the Boss Blind. Start with Ballionaire, where the board scores on its own and the joy is entirely in building the engine. If you then miss making choices each turn, move to Peglin, which adds aiming and enemies. If that sparks an interest in fights and relics, Slay the Spire is the natural next step. That path takes you from pure combo-watching to full deckbuilding strategy one small step at a time.

For more roguelikes and strategy picks, browse our games like the ones you love hub, the best strategy games on Steam, or the best puzzle games on Steam if the number-crunching side of Balatro is what kept you up late. Fans of run-based progression with a darker look can also try our games like Cult of the Lamb, and the upcoming games page tracks new releases worth watching.

Questions and answers

What are the best Balatro like games on Steam?

Luck be a Landlord is the closest match: you build a slot machine instead of a poker deck, but the rent targets and stacking symbol combos feel very similar. CloverPit adds a darker horror setting to slot machine scoring, Ballionaire and Peglin turn the combo chase into physics, and Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers does for blackjack what Balatro did for poker.

What games are like Balatro and Slay the Spire?

Peglin sits right between them: its store page describes it as Peggle crossed with Slay the Spire, with orbs and relics on a branching map. Dicey Dungeons and Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers also mix fights against enemies with luck-driven builds. If you want more Slay the Spire itself, Slay the Spire 2 is on Steam in Early Access with online co-op.

Are there games like Balatro that don't use cards?

Yes. Luck be a Landlord and CloverPit are built around slot machines, and Ballionaire and Peglin use pachinko-style boards where balls bounce off pegs and triggers. Dicey Dungeons and Dicefolk replace drawing cards with rolling dice. Backpack Hero swaps a deck for a backpack, where the spot you choose for each item changes how strong it is.

Do any Balatro like games have multiplayer?

Balatro itself is single-player, and so are most games like it. The exceptions on this list are Slay the Spire 2, which Steam lists with online co-op for up to four players, and Monster Train, which Steam lists with online PvP multiplayer. Everything else here is a solo experience you can play at your own pace.

Do slot machine roguelikes like Luck be a Landlord involve real gambling?

No. Luck be a Landlord's store page states it contains no real-world currency gambling or microtransactions, and CloverPit's page says its slot machine is designed to be broken and overcome and will never ask you for real money. In both, the coins are in-game resources you spend on building a stronger machine during a run.