Friends of Jimbo

The Friends of Jimbo updates (1.0.1g, 1.0.1m, 1.0.1n, and 1.0.1o) allow players to customize the face cards of all suits in their deck, through an option on the main screen, to feature various characters from other games/franchises. This has no impact on gameplay as it acts more as a cosmetic tool, with high-contrast versions of all suits being provided.
At the end of the 1.0.1g release trailer available on YouTube, Jimbo says "That will do...for now", implying that more friends would be visiting in the future. This was confirmed by the second release trailer on YouTube for Friends of Jimbo 2 released with 1.0.1m. Another release trailer was released on YouTube for Friends of Jimbo 3 with 1.0.1n featuring English actor Ben Starr, and a fourth trailer which included an announcement of Balatro coming to Xbox Game Pass.
Due to regulatory reasons, the names of games with ESRB ratings above E10+ (M or T) are altered in non-desktop versions of Balatro.
Spades
Face cards in the Spades suit can be replaced with characters from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cyberpunk 2077, Shovel Knight, Don't Starve, Assassin's Creed, or Slay the Princess.
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

- The Jack is Dandelion the bard, world famous bard and secondary protagonist in the series.
- The Queen is Yennefer of Vengerberg, a powerful sorceress and secondary protagonist in the series.
- The King is Geralt of Rivia, the main character of the series.
Cyberpunk 2077

- The Jack is Jackie Welles, the best friend of the main character, V.
- The Queen is Rogue Amendiares, the owner of the Afterlife bar.
- The King is Johnny Silverhand, the game's deuteragonist and a legendary figure in Night City's history.
Shovel Knight

- The Jack is Shield Knight, Shovel Knight's partner and love interest.
- The Queen is The Enchantress, the main antagonist of the first campaign.
- The King is Shovel Knight himself, the main protagonist of the series.
Don't Starve

- The Jack is Wilson, the first available playable character.
- The Queen is Charlie, the one who kills players if they stay in the dark.
- The King is Maxwell, the antagonist of the base game.
Assassin's Creed

- The Jack is Sir Jacob Frye, an assassin during Britain's Victorian era and one of the protagonists of Assassin's Creed: Syndicate.
- The Queen is Fujibayashi Naoe, an assassin during Japan's Sengoku era and the protagonist of Assassin's Creed: Shadows.
- The King is Ezio Auditore da Firenze, an assassin during the Italian Renaissance and the protagonist of Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood and Revelations; collectively known as the Ezio Trilogy.
Slay the Princess

- The Jack is The Narrator, embodied as an image on a shattered mirror.
- The Queen is the Princess, potential world-ender.
- The King is The Player, the Hero of the story.
Hearts
Face cards in the Hearts suit can be replaced with characters from Among Us, The Binding of Isaac, Cult of the Lamb, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Critical Role, or Bugsnax.
Among Us

- The Jack is Red with the Crowned hat and a red Mini Crewmate following behind it.
- The Queen is a Red Impostor with the Double Crown hat exiting a vent.
- The King is a Red Impostor in its true form with the Bean Baron hat.
The Binding of Isaac

- The Jack is Guppy, Isaac's deceased pet cat, whose body parts are collectible items in the game, with his head, collar, paw, body, and tail being featured on the card.
- The Queen is Isaac's mom, the primary antagonist of the game, who commonly appears in game as a dismembered leg stomping on the map.
- The King is Isaac, the main character of the series, holding his signature item, The D6.
Cult of the Lamb

- The Jack is Ratau, the guide for the player at the beginning of the game.
- The Queen is the Goat, the deuteragonist (and mirror image) of the Lamb holding the Traitor's Razor.
- The King is the Lamb, the main protagonist of the game holding the Crusader's Blade.
Divinity: Original Sin 2

- The Jack is Fane, an eternal scholar.
- The Queen is Lohse, a human bard.
- The King is the Red Prince, a red-skinned lizard prince.
Critical Role

- The Jack is Scanlan Shorthalt, a gnome bard and the resident troublemaker of Vox Machina.
- The Queen is Vex'ahlia, a half-elf ranger/rogue known for her archery skills and her friendship with the tamed bear, Trinket.
- The King is Percival de Rolo, a human gunslinger of noble birth from the city of Whitestone.
Bugsnax

- The Jack is Filbo Fiddlepie, self-appointed Mayor of Snaxburg.
- The Queen is Elizabert Megafig, a famed explorer investigating the Bugsnax of Snaktooth Island.
- The King is Bunger, a burger-like Bugsnak.
Clubs
Face cards in the Clubs suit can be replaced with characters from Vampire Survivors, Slay the Spire, Potion Craft, Warframe, Dead By Daylight, or Fallout.
Vampire Survivors

- The Jack is Poe Ratcho, an elderly vampire slayer who wields garlic.
- The Queen is Queen Sigma, a vampire slayer who wields the Victory Sword.
- The King is Bisconte Draculó, a vampire lord who antagonizes the Belpaese family.
Slay the Spire

- The Jack is the Defect, a self-aware automaton.
- The Queen is the Silent, a deadly huntress.
- The King is the Ironclad, a soldier.
Potion Craft

- The Jack is the Mushroomer, who sells mushroom-type ingredients.
- The Queen is the Herbalist, who sells herb-type ingredients.
- The King is the Fellow Alchemist, who sells important progression items.
Warframe

- The Jack is Volt, a warframe with focus on electricity.
- The Queen is Mag, a warframe based around magnetism.
- The King is Excalibur, a sword-themed warframe.
Dead by Daylight

- The Jack is The Legion, a serial killer composed of four separate people who carry the same mask and hunting knife.
- The Queen is Anna, also known as The Huntress, a serial killer raised in the wild who wields a giant axe.
- The King is Evan MacMillan, also known as The Trapper, a serial killer known for targeting his prey with bear traps.
Fallout

- The Jack is a suit of T-60 power armor, an advanced model of power armor.
- The Queen is a deathclaw, a ferocious government experiment.
- The King is Vault Boy, the mascot of Vault-Tec.
Diamonds
Face cards in the Diamonds suit can be replaced with characters from Dave the Diver, Stardew Valley, Enter the Gungeon, 1000xRESIST, Civilization VII, or Rust.
Dave the Diver

- The Jack is Cobra, entrepreneur and investor in Bancho Sushi.
- The Queen is Dave, the eponymous main protagonist and scuba diver with his harpoon gun.
- The King is Bancho, sushi chef extraordinaire.
Stardew Valley

- The Jack is Pierre, a shop owner.
- The Queen is Marnie, a farmer.
- The King is Lewis, the mayor of Pelican Town.
Enter the Gungeon

- The Jack is a Bullet Kin, one of the most common enemies.
- The Queen is a Shotgun Kin enemy, probably the most basic red variant.
- The King is a Sniper Shell enemy.
1000xRESIST

- The Jack is Watcher, the protagonist.
- The Queen is Iris, the ALLMOTHER.
- The King is Principal, the administrative sister.
Civilization VII

- The Jack is Niccolò Machiavelli, a Florentine noble who has been called the father of modern political science.
- The Queen is Hatshepsut, an Egyptian woman who superseded her husband and became the second female pharaoh of Egypt.
- The King is Charlemagne, a Frankish king who united most of Western Europe into the Carolingian Empire.
Rust

- The Jack is the main player character, nearly naked, at the beginning of a game.
- The Queen is a player character equipped with a Bone Helmet and Armor and a Salvaged Sword.
- The King is a player character equipped with a Hazmat Suit and an Assault Rifle.
Credits
- The collab art for The Witcher III: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077 was created by CD Projekt Red artist Olgierd Ciszak.[1]
- The collab art for Slay the Spire, The Binding of Isaac, Shovel Knight, and Bugsnax was created by the pixel artist and Twitch streamer Neato.
- The collab art for Stardew Valley was created by its developer ConcernedApe.
- The collab art for Assassin's Creed, Slay the Princess, and Vault-Tec was created by the pixel artist Franek, who also did the art for the game Arco.
- The collab art for Critical Role was created by the artist Grace Berrios.
All other art is assumed to be created by LocalThunk.
Trivia
- Critical Role is the first Friend of Jimbo to not be a video game.
- The Jack from the Enter the Gungeon set is the only card from any set that appears exactly the same in high-contrast mode.
- Charlemagne also appears on common playing cards, but usually on the king of hearts instead of diamonds.
- The following Friends of Jimbo lack gradients on their suit colors in high-contrast mode: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, Cyberpunk 2077, Shovel Knight, Don't Starve, Assassin's Creed, Slay the Princess, The Binding of Isaac, Cult of the Lamb, Divinity: Original Sin 2, and Potion Craft.