Ice Cream

Ice Cream

Effect

+100 Chips
-5 Chips for every hand played

Rarity

Common

Unlock Requirement

Available from start.

Stats

Buy Price

5

Sell Price

2

Type

Chips

Activation

Independent

Compatibility

Copyable

✓ Yes

Perishable

✓ Yes

Eternal

✗ No

Ice Cream is a Common Chips-type Joker that provides a large Chips boost initially, which slowly fades over time. When Ice Cream reaches 0 Chips, it is destroyed (Denoted by the text "Melted!").

Ice Cream starts at 100 Chips and will decrease by 5 Chips after each hand played, so the first hand will provide the full 100 Chips, not 95.

The sell value of Ice Cream does not depend on its current chip value, so it is best to sell Ice Cream when it is at +5 Chips, instead of letting it get destroyed (worth $0).

The Non-Perishable ( ) challenge bans Ice Cream.

• Plasma Deck ( Balance [[Chips|{{hl|blue|Chips}}]] and [[Mult|{{hl|red|Mult}}]] when calculating score for played hand <br> {{hl|red|X2}} base Blind size Win a run with any [[Decks|deck]] on the {{Stake|Blue}} difficulty or harder Plasma Deck.png) benefits the most from Ice Cream, as the large amount of chips, when balanced, greatly boost score for the played hand.

It's recommended to play strong, 5-cards hand to score large with Ice Cream. If you can beat blinds with fewer hands, then Ice Cream will last longer. However, when paired with other jokers, Ice Cream can be part of a strategy that makes low-chip hands, like High Card or Pair, high scoring.

Ice Cream can synergize with the following jokers:

• Throwback ({{xmult|0.25}} for each [[Blinds|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] skipped this run <br> {{currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Continue a saved run from the main menu Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Independent Throwback.png): Ice Cream melts with every hand played, and Throwback wants to skip blinds.

As a chips-type Joker, Ice Cream pairs well with any additive mult or multiplicative mult Jokers.

• If a hand that is not allowed is played during The Psychic ( Boss The Psychic.png), The Mouth ( Boss The Mouth.png) or The Eye ( Boss The Eye.png), Ice Cream will still lose 5 Chips.

Ice Cream is one of the best early-game Jokers. Most chips-type Jokers have significant tradeoffs, or require more hands to boost properly, which makes them unsuitable for the early-game.

Without any other jokers, enhanced cards, or leveled hand types, the best hand is a Royal Flush, worth 100 Chips, plus 50 Chips for the cards, and 8 Mult. A fully topped ice cream is worth the equivalent of x1.66 Mult for this hand. For a more typical good hand (like a KKKQQ full house), worth 40 Chips, plus 50 Chips for the cards, and 4 Mult, a fully topped ice cream is worth the equivalent of x2.2 Mult! There are no jokers in the deck this effective for a starting build.

As Ice Cream melts, it becomes significantly less valuable. If you depend on Ice Cream, keep an eye out for its replacement. Try not to add editions to it, as you'll lose them when it melts away.

In the early game, when paired a strong global + Mult joker, like Mystic Summit ({{Mult|+15}} when {{hl|orange|0}} discards remaining Common Additive Mult Independent Mystic Summit.png) or Gros Michel ({{mult|+15}}<br>{{hl|green|1 in 6}} chance this is destroyed at the end of round. Common Additive Mult Independent Gros Michel.png), Ice Cream can allow otherwise low-value hands to score big, letting you beat blinds without using hands or discards, thereby racking up an early economy. Once you get past Ante 2 or 3, Ice Cream loses its relative effectiveness, compared to other build strategies.

• Ice cream is a cold dairy product eaten as a treat. As it heats up, it becomes less solid and melts over time, reflected in game by the Ice Cream losing potency as hands are played.
• The text "Melted!" will flash under Ice Cream when it disappears.
• This Joker is part of the group of "Consumable" Jokers that can be destroyed with usage, dubbed "Food Jokers" due to their shared theme. The other Jokers in this group are Popcorn ({{Mult|+20}} <br> {{Mult|-4}} per round played Common Additive Mult Independent Popcorn.png), Gros Michel ({{mult|+15}}<br>{{hl|green|1 in 6}} chance this is destroyed at the end of round. Common Additive Mult Independent Gros Michel.png), Cavendish ({{xmult|3}} <br> {{hl|green|1 in 1000}} chance this card is destroyed at the end of round Common Multiplicative Mult Independent Cavendish.png), Egg (Gains {{Money|3}} of {{Hl|orange|sell value}} at end of round Common Economy N/A (Passive) Egg.png), Seltzer (Retrigger all cards played for the next {{hl|orange|10}} hands Uncommon Retrigger On Scored Seltzer.png), Turtle Bean ({{hl|orange|+5}} hand size, reduces by {{hl|red|1}} each round Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Turtle Bean.png), Ramen ({{xmult|2}}, loses {{xmult|0.01}} per {{hl|orange|card}} discarded Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Mixed Ramen.png), and Diet Cola (Sell this card to create a free [[Tags|{{hl|orange|Double Tag}}]] Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Diet Cola.png).^[1][2][3]
• It is one of the five Jokers to have a physical card from Balatro: Special Edition. The four other jokers where that is also the case are Joker ({{Mult|+4}} Common Additive Mult Independent Joker.png), Hack (Retrigger each played {{hl|orange|2}}, {{hl|orange|3}}, {{hl|orange|4}}, or {{hl|orange|5}} Uncommon Retrigger On Scored Hack.png), Abstract Joker ({{Mult|+3}} for each [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] card<br>{{Currently|{{mult|+0}}}} Common Additive Mult Independent Abstract Joker.png) and Throwback ({{xmult|0.25}} for each [[Blinds|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] skipped this run <br> {{currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Continue a saved run from the main menu Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Independent Throwback.png).
• While it is unknown what flavors the Ice Cream joker's scoops are, the blue, orange, and red colors are a reference to Jimbo--or a Joker's--traditional color scheme in Balatro.
• Ice Cream is one of the few "food jokers" to get merch from Makeship in the recently campaigned Food Joker Pin Set alongside Popcorn ({{Mult|+20}} <br> {{Mult|-4}} per round played Common Additive Mult Independent Popcorn.png) and Egg (Gains {{Money|3}} of {{Hl|orange|sell value}} at end of round Common Economy N/A (Passive) Egg.png).^[4]