Why does our mind like cards and chips?

Roguelike deckbuilder games are usually based on cards. But it isn't the only thing such games have in common with casinos.

Balatro is a compelling new indie game that will have you hooked on playing cards for hours on end. It’s not the first roguelike deckbuilder game to do so – before, people spent hours in titles like Slay the Spire, Monster Train, or Dicey Dungeons, to name a few.

Balatro is based on poker but has the premise of breaking traditional card game rules by adding new cards, sometimes with surprising rules to “trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos” (from the store description).

Traditional cards and the Balatro’s aesthetic remind us of the disliked, shady uncle of video games – gambling. Balatro isn’t the exception, a lot of video games use mechanics that can be spotted in casinos. In roguelike deckbuilders, such elements are part of the core loop, typical for this genre.

Let’s leave the moral judgment for later with one important remark – I’m talking about buy-once games which don’t try to reach your pocket and get your “real” money. Only your time – but this is part of the deal, you bought them to entertain you, didn’t you?

So to really understand why games like Balatro are engaging, we need to understand why gambling is so captivating. Why is it fun to risk your money? Spoiler, it isn’t about winning, at least not only.

Imagine that you are doing some activity in order to get a reward. 

Option 1: You’re getting a certain reward for your job - 2 dollars. 

Option 2: You’re getting a random reward - you can get 1 or 2 dollars.

What option looks more motivating? The researchers proved that the answer is counterintuitive – people invest more effort, time and money to qualify for an uncertain reward than a certain reward – even of higher expected value! 

Why?

Uncertainty is the answer.

We, humans, are attracted to unpredictability. Our brain loves guessing, even more than guessing right. A moment before smoking a cigarette is more exciting for the brain than smoking itself. The same is true with betting in the game - not a win itself, but the anticipation of the win is the moment of the highest dopamine kick.

Roguelike deckbuilders have a lot of moments of such anticipation. What cards will I draw? What rewards will I get? Will enemy action end how I predicted? 

Such games have challenging difficulty by design as losing and starting over is an inherent part of their loop. You never know if the next battle bring you another even more shiny reward or if you will lose and need to start from scratch. To keep you even more engaged dying often brings you new unlocks that encourage you to start a new run.

Is such an attitude just a tool for designers or something morally questionable? Is that bad that the game tries to keep players engaged? On the ground level that is something universal for game makers who want to provide entertainment. But the line between engaging and addictive is thin and it’s also a responsibility of creators to think about it. We don’t want players to have remorse and regret spending too much time with our game after all, right? 

Maybe it’s better to give the player a convenient exit point after a satisfactory session instead of keeping them in the loop and evoking one more turn syndrome. Maybe it’d be a good idea to ask players how much time they would like to spend in the game (like Book of Demons by Thing Trunk does) before they even start the run.

After all, the games are for players, not the otherwise.