A High-Stakes Game of Blackjack Like No Other

There are tons of card games out there, but few are as stressful as blackjack. It’s a game that hinges around high-stakes risk and reward, where strategy can only get you so far. You’re at the mercy of the draw at a certain point. It’s hard to imagine that simple premise becoming any more tense, but a new video game accomplishes exactly that.

Imagine a roguelike where you have to beat opponents in blackjack games, with the added twist of being able to augment your deck with wacky cards, passive boosts, and playable effects. This is the world of Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers, a new card game available now on Steam.

The Core Gameplay

The core idea of Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers is simple. Players try to get as close to 21 without going over, with the ability to hit or stay as they see fit. But there’s a twist - a lot of them. As players progress, they can slowly augment their standard deck with a variety of cards, each with its own effects.

Some of these effects are straightforward - a “Big 2” card can either be played as a 2 or a 12, while negative cards run the count down. Others are more complex, and often very funny. The “Gerald of Riviera” card destroys one of the opponent’s played cards, all while poking fun at The Witcher. The “Charred Lizard” card looks a lot like Charizard’s original Pokémon card, and can either be played as a 10 or sold to the opponent’s discard pile for 10 chips.

Combat Hook

While the deck-building aspect of the game can feel a bit hit-or-miss at times, the combat hook is where Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers truly shines. Opponents aren’t just playing hands to win chips - winning a round causes damage to the opponent equal to the number difference between the final hands. If one player goes bust, they take the full amount of their opponent’s hand in damage.

This genius dynamic ratchets the tension of blackjack up even more. Going bust isn’t just a matter of losing one hand; it could lead to some devastating damage. When an opponent stays at a high number like 20, it can be much safer to stay at 16 and take four damage rather than pull a bad card and take 20.

A game of blackjack in progress

A Different Take on Deck-Building

Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers feels like a completely different game from Balatro. It’s not a “numbers go up” deck-builder about raising a score. It’s a mental game where knowing when to press your luck or stand down is paramount to long-term success. If anything, the more Balatro-like card hooks get in the way of that elegant idea.

Verdict

Even if parts of its design feel a little forced to chase a trend, Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers is a smart spin on blackjack that understands the tension inherent in the simple card game. If you’ve wanted to check out Balatro, but are more of a blackjack enthusiast, you may as well try your luck with this one.

 A collection of tarot cards from Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers