Not content with simply being one of the best PC games of the year and subsequently dominating on mobile too, Balatro is now getting ready to launch on the most important platform of all—real life. In partnership with Fangamer, developer LocalThunk has opened preorders for a real deck of Balatro cards, complete with a selection of fan-favourite jokers.
Okay, so you won’t quite be able to play actual Balatro with them, but they’ll certainly give your next poker night or solitaire session the edge. It’s a bit disappointing that the pictures on the order page seem to be just renders rather than actual product photos, but they sound like they should be good quality—they’re 300gsm white core card stock (pretty normal for poker decks, I think) but with a glossy linen finish which should make them durable with a pretty premium feel.
“This took us a while but we wanted to make sure we got it right,” says LocalThunk on social media. “I love playing cards (clearly) and wanted to make sure that these cards were actually playable and not just a collector’s item.” In addition to the standard suits in the recognisable Balatro art style, there’s also a Joker (the generic +4 mult one), a Juggler, a Blueprint, and a Gros Michel.
The bad news is, you can immediately banish any thoughts of this being the perfect Christmas present for the Balatroholic in your life. While you can preorder now, the packs aren’t expected to be sent out until March next year, which I believe is officially past the period of even late gift giving. Still, that’s long enough that if you preorder one now you’ll have probably forgotten about it by March, and it’ll be a surprise gift to yourself.
It’s not the first time LocalThunk’s made official merch available—on the Balatro website you can also preorder a Jimbo plushie, and there’s a selection of clothing and other items too. I can speak to the quality of the t-shirts at least—I grabbed a Jimbo shirt a while back and it’s super comfy, in addition to letting everyone I meet know what a cool dude I am.
