Balatro, the breakout hit of early 2024, boasts over 3.5 million copies sold and three Game Awards wins. Its enduring popularity stems from its innovative gameplay and virtually limitless replayability. However, seasoned players might seek ways to revitalize their experience.
While mods offer one solution, accessing Balatro's built-in developer debug menu provides another, cheat-enabled option that preserves achievements. This guide details how to enable and utilize this menu.
Quick Links
Enabling Cheats in Balatro
To activate Balatro's debug menu and cheats, you'll need 7-Zip, a free, open-source archiving tool. Locate your Balatro installation directory (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Balatro). If you can't find it, navigate to your Steam library, right-click Balatro, select "Manage," then "Browse Local Files."
Right-click Balatro.exe and choose to open the archive using 7-Zip (this might be under "Show More Options"). Locate conf.lua and open it with a text editor (like Notepad).
Modify _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 the menu, revert _RELEASE_MODE to true in conf.lua.
Using the Debug Menu in Balatro
Balatro's cheat menu is user-friendly. Unlock collectibles by hovering and pressing '1'; spawn 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 allowing unlimited jokers.
All Balatro Cheats (Hold Tab to Access Menu)
Cheat / Key
Effect
