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 new challenges. While mods offer one solution, accessing Balatro's built-in developer debug menu provides an alternative, allowing for cheat usage without impacting achievements.
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How to Enable Cheats in Balatro
To activate Balatro's debug menu and utilize built-in 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 not found, access it via your Steam library: right-click Balatro, select "Manage," then "Browse Local Files."
Right-click Balatro.exe and open the archive using 7-Zip (may 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 debug menu, revert _RELEASE_MODE
to true
in conf.lua
.
How to Use 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, but pressing 'Q' four times on a joker in hand converts it to a negative, effectively increasing your joker limit).