Games like Balatro if you need one more run

Luck be a Landlord is the closest game to Balatro: a short run, a scoring engine you build, and a target that keeps rising. Slay the Spire, Peglin and Inscryption come next, and most of them are on phones.

What Balatro is

Balatro is a poker roguelike by the solo developer LocalThunk, published by Playstack in February 2024. You play poker hands to beat score targets called blinds. Jokers change the rules, so a pair can end up worth more than a flush.

It came to iPhone and Android in September 2024, with a Balatro+ version on Apple Arcade. The fun is the engine: you find a combo, then watch the numbers explode.

Real games like Balatro

Luck be a Landlord. TrampolineTales' slot machine roguelike. Add symbols after each spin and pay the landlord's rent on time. On iPhone and Android since 2023.
Slay the Spire. The deckbuilder that set the rules for the genre. Fights instead of poker, but the same card-by-card growth.
Peglin. Shoot orbs into pegs, pachinko style, to hit monsters. Relics stack into silly combos.
Inscryption. A card battler with a dark mystery around it. Slower than Balatro, but the twists stay with you.
Ballionaire. A 2025 pinball-style roguelike from newobject and Raw Fury. You place triggers on a board and drop balls through them.
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate. A chess roguelike where you are a king with a shotgun. Each card buffs you and the enemy pieces at once.

How to find your next Balatro

Ask what you liked most. If it was the scoring engine, play Luck be a Landlord or Ballionaire. If it was the cards, play Slay the Spire. If it was a classic game turned strange, try a chess or dice twist like Shotgun King or Dicey Dungeons.

Most of these are one-time purchases with no ads, which is part of why the runs feel calm.

Roam games with the same itch

Pumpkins Pay Out. A card-based farm slot roguelite. Plant the cards, spin the pumpkins, pay the tax. The closest Roam game to Luck be a Landlord.
Mate the Machine. A chess roguelike card battler. Your pawns and cards against its King.
Crypt Deck. A dungeon deckbuilder with a boss on every floor.

Play it on Roam

Make your own card roguelike with Roam

Pick the theme and the scoring rule. Roam returns a playable game, and you tune it by telling it what to change.

Try: "roguelike card game in a casino on the moon, the jokers are my friends, beat 8 blinds"

Create it with Roam See Roam

Questions people ask

Is Balatro on mobile?

Yes. Balatro has been on iPhone and Android since September 2024, and on Apple Arcade as Balatro+.

Is Balatro gambling?

No. There is no real money or betting. It uses poker hands as a scoring system in a single-player game.

What is a game like Balatro but with slots?

Luck be a Landlord. You build a slot machine instead of a deck, and runs last about as long.