Balatro was one of the surprise hits of 2024. It is a roguelike deck-building game with a poker theme. And, while that poker theme helped make the game a little more understandable and brought some of its appeal, it also gave the game’s developer, LocalThunk, a bit of a headache.
On Balatro’s launch, the game received a PEGI 18 rating. The developed railed against the rating, pointing to the PEGI 3 rating that games like FIFA are given, despite the use of microtransactions and randomized results of opening packs.
Poker Hands
Balatro combines unique joker cards with traditional poker hands that are used in Texas Hold ‘Em. However, the game is a far cry from live poker or video poker games, which are popular at online casinos, including anonymous casinos reviewed by Techopedia. According to gambling expert Vlad Grindu, different variants of video poker are played at different sites, but all poker games use the same hand ranks.
These hand ranks form part of the basis of Balatro. And, as a result, the game teaches poker hand rankings. According to PEGI’s initial rating, the fact that the game teaches poker hands is enough to warrant giving it an 18 rating.
PEGI 18 Rating
The game’s publisher, Playstack, said that the 18 rating was “due to a mistaken belief that the game ‘contains prominent gambling imagery and material that instructs about gambling.’”
Despite PEGI initially doubling down on its claims and maintaining the 18 rating, it has now reassessed the game’s age recommendation, assigning it a PEGI 12 rating and saying that “although the game explains the various hands of poker, the roguelike deck-building game contained mitigating fantastical elements that warranted a PEGI 12 rating”.
Following its initial 18 rating, the game did not enjoy prominent ranking on a lot of storefronts and play stores, which prioritize family games suitable for players of all ages. Unfortunately, the renewed rating may have come too late for Balatro, as storefronts also tend to prioritize newer games.
About Balatro
Balatro launched on February 24, 2024, on Windows, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It was later released on Mac and mobile versions were made available in September. Balatro was added to Xbox Game Pass last month, which means subscribers can install and play the game as part of their subscriptions.
It has received positive ratings from critics and players alike. It is celebrated for its sound and visual effects, as well as its gameplay, and the use of existing poker hands to make the game more accessible.
In the game, players work to build the best possible poker hands. Whereas jokers are rarely used in competitive poker play, they form a significant part of the game in Balatro, bringing effects like increasing score multipliers or gaining extra chips if the winning hand contains certain cards or sets. There are 150 jokers available in the game, many of which need to be acquired from the store. The game is single player and there are no multiplayer game modes available.
