The poker roguelite game Balatro has cultivated a thriving community of players, thanks to its ability to deliver unexpected surprises during gameplay. On the day of its launch on mobile devices, developer LocalThunk confirmed a unique feature that may appear to be a glitch but is actually intended.
This noteworthy characteristic involves the Misprint joker card, specifically the seemingly random text that appears in its ability description. Players have discovered that if they pause a run and check the Misprint in their card collection, they will occasionally see random sequences of numbers, letters, and symbols flashing in the ability text. These sequences are not arbitrary; they reveal the top card of the deck indicated by the displayed characters. For example, a sequence ending in “4S” predicts the drawing of the four of spades, while “9H” indicates the nine of hearts.
The Balatro team acknowledged this feature, confirming that it has been part of the game since its launch. Alongside their announcement, they shared a GIF featuring the game’s mascot, Joker, smiling in recognition of this discovery.
Balatro is now available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The mobile versions for both iOS and Android, as well as a special Balatro+ edition for Apple Arcade subscribers, were officially released today.
