Complete Guide to Cheats and Their Usage

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Want to Cheat at Balatro? Here’s How!

You’re interested in bending the rules of Balatro, the captivating pseudo-poker roguelike that has captured the hearts of gamers in 2024 and earned a nomination for Game of the Year at The Game Awards. Its appeal largely comes from its challenging nature—a tough battle to conquer the high-stakes Blinds, unlock all the Jokers, and complete various achievements. Fortunately, cheats can assist with these challenges and much more.

It’s crucial to understand that Balatro does not come with a built-in cheat feature. If you’re keen on cheating, it involves a bit of tinkering with game files. However, the process is straightforward enough for most players to manage successfully, and even if something goes awry, there’s a simple remedy. Furthermore, utilizing these cheats won’t prevent you from earning achievements. Keep reading to learn how to access the debug menu and start cheating in Balatro.

How to Use Cheats in Balatro

Extracting the Game Files

To begin cheating in Balatro—which has been recognized as one of the top indie games of 2024—you’ll need a file archiving tool such as 7-Zip. This software is free and is the only tool you’ll need for this process. Unfortunately, this method is limited to PC players, as console and mobile users won’t have this option.

Start by launching Steam and locating Balatro in your library. Right-click the game, select Manage, and then choose Browse Local Files. In the new window, find the Balatro.exe file, right-click it, and navigate to the 7-Zip submenu to select Open Archive.

Note: If you don’t see 7-Zip in the initial menu, click Show more options at the bottom to access additional options. If it still doesn’t appear, ensure it is installed correctly and try restarting your computer.

You will now see all the files associated with Balatro displayed in the 7-Zip window. Next, you’ll modify one of these files to unlock the debug menu and enable cheats.

Modifying Balatro’s Files

In the 7-Zip window, click on the folder labeled “engine” and locate the file named controller.lua. Drag this file to another folder on your computer, like your Desktop, and open it with Notepad. Press Ctrl + F to open the search function and enter “if not _RELEASE” (you can also copy and paste that phrase).

Within this line, you’ll see “if not _RELEASE_MODE then.” Simply remove the word “not” and one space next to it, then save and close the file. Drag the modified controller.lua file back into the 7-Zip window. A prompt will appear asking if you’d like to copy the files back to the archive—click OK. After this, you can delete the copy of controller.lua on your Desktop. You’ve just finished modding the game files.

What you’ve accomplished is the unlocking of a critical developer tool: the debug menu. Now, while playing Balatro, just hold the Tab key to open this menu and access cheats, which will simplify the game’s gambling elements.

Cheat List & Their Effects

Once you’ve got the debug menu open by holding Tab, you’ll find a range of cheats at your disposal. Below is a comprehensive list of the cheats available in Balatro along with their corresponding effects. Cheats that require specific key presses need you to tap that key to activate, while others can be clicked directly.

Cheat	Effect
1	Unlocks an item from your Collection. Hover over the item with the debug menu and press 1.
2	Reveals an item from your Collection.
3	Creates an item from your Collection.
Q	Switches the edition of any card (Base, Foil, Negative, etc.).
H	Isolates the background (all cards and UI will disappear).
J	Plays the splash animation.
8	Toggles visibility of the cursor.
9	Toggle visibility of tooltips.
$10	Instantly adds $10 to your bank.
+1 Round	Moves the game forward by one round.
+1 Ante	Advances the game by one Ante.
+1 Hand	Gives you one extra hand.
+1 Discard	Offers one additional discard.
Boss Reroll	Changes the Boss Blind for the current Ante.
Background	Switches the typical background to a plain green.
+10 Chips	Adds 10 extra chips to your current hand. Must be used with selected cards.
+10 Mult	Adds a 10x multiplier to your current hand. Must be used with selected cards.
x2 Chips	Doubles the chips earned with your current hand. Must be used with selected cards.
x10 Mult	Multiplies the current hand’s multiplier by 10. Must be used with selected cards.
Win this Run	Automatically marks the current run as a win.
Lose this Run	Automatically marks the current run as a loss.
Reset	Removes any chips/multiplier added using the debug options.
Jimbo	Brings Jimbo the Joker onto the screen.
Jimbo talk	Plays a sound effect of Jimbo speaking.

Disabling Cheats in Balatro

After using the cheats, if you want to return to a fair gameplay experience in Balatro, it’s simple to remove them. Navigate to your Steam library, right-click on Balatro, and open the Properties menu. Click on Installed Files, then select Verify Integrity of Game Files. Steam will take a moment to process this, and once that’s done, you should be able to restart Balatro without the cheats.

By following these instructions, you can enjoy the game in a way that suits your playstyle while exploring all that Balatro has to offer!

Let me know if you need more assistance!