Balatro, the 2024 breakout hit selling over 3.5 million copies and earning multiple Game Awards, maintains immense popularity. However, mastering its mechanics might leave players seeking fresh challenges. While mods offer one solution, accessing Balatro's built-in developer debug menu provides an alternative, preserving achievements. This guide details how to enable and utilize this cheat menu.
To activate Balatro's debug menu and cheats, you'll need 7-Zip (free, open-source software). Locate your Balatro installation directory (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Balatro). If unsure, find Balatro in your Steam library, right-click, select "Manage," then "Browse Local Files."
Right-click Balatro.exe and choose to open the archive with 7-Zip (may be under "Show More Options"). Locate conf.lua and open it with a text editor (e.g., Notepad).
Change _RELEASE_MODE = true to _RELEASE_MODE = false, then save. If saving fails, extract conf.lua to your desktop, make the change, and replace the original file. The debug menu will now activate by holding the Tab key in-game. To disable, revert the _RELEASE_MODE parameter to true.
Balatro's cheat menu is user-friendly. Unlock items by hovering and pressing '1'; add Jokers by hovering and pressing '3'. Initially limited to five Jokers, pressing 'Q' four times on a Joker in your hand transforms it into a negative, effectively increasing your Joker count.
| Cheat / Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Unlock Collectible (hover over in collection) |
| 2 | Discover Collectible (hover over in collection) |
| 3 | Spawn Collectible (hover over in collection) |
| Q | Change Joker Edition (hover over in hand) |
| H | Isolate Background |
| J | Play Splash Animation |
| 8 | Toggle Cursor |
| 9 | Toggle All Tooltips |
| $10 | Adds $10 to Total |
| +1 Round | Increases Round by 1 |
| +1 Ante | Increases Ante by 1 |
| +1 Hand | Adds one additional Hand |
| +1 Discard | Adds one additional Discard |
| Boss Reroll | Rerolls the Boss |
| Background | Removes Background |
| +10 Chips | Adds 10 Chips to Total |
| +10 Mult | Adds 10 Mult to Total |
| X2 Chips | Doubles Chip Total |
| X10 Mult | Increases Mult by 10 |
| Win this Run | Completes Current Run |
| Lose this Run | Ends Current Run |
| Reset | Resets Current Run |
| Jimbo | Makes Jimbo Appear |
| Jimbo Talk | Makes a Text Box Appear by Jimbo |
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