Ride the Bus

Ride the Bus

Effect

This Joker gains +1 Mult per consecutive hand played without a scoring face card
(Currently +0 Mult)

Rarity

Common

Unlock Requirement

Available from start.

Stats

Buy Price

6

Sell Price

3

Type

Additive Mult

Activation

Mixed

Compatibility

Copyable

✓ Yes

Perishable

✗ No

Eternal

✓ Yes

Ride the Bus is a Common Joker that provides a slow but steady source of scaling Mult. It starts at +0 Mult and gains +1 Mult added for every hand played without a scoring Face card, and it resets to +0 Mult if a Face card is scored.

Acquiring it early and carefully avoiding scoring face cards will lead to a high amount of Mult in the late game, especially if an Edition like Polychrome can be applied to it.

Face cards can be played safely as long as they do not score. For example, playing an Ace and a Queen will not count as playing a face card (because it is an Ace High Card). Playing a hand with debuffed face cards also does not reset Ride the Bus.

• Abandoned Deck ( Start run with no {{F|}}[[Card Ranks#Face cards|{{hl|orange|Face Cards}}]] in your deck Win a run with the {{D|Green}} on [[Stakes|any difficulty]] Abandoned Deck.png) is perfect for this Joker, as it starts without face cards.
  • Similarly, Medusa ( ) is also perfect for this Joker, as it also starts without face cards.
• Erratic Deck ( All [[Card Ranks|{{hl|orange|Ranks}}]] and [[Suits|{{hl|orange|Suits}}]] in deck are randomized Win a run with any [[Decks|deck]] on the {{Stake|Orange}} difficulty or harder Erratic Deck.png) might have more or less face cards than usual, making it harder or easier to play around Ride the Bus.
• Blue Deck ( {{hl|blue|+1}} hand every round Discover at least {{hl|orange|20}} items from your [[collection]] Blue Deck.png) gives +1 hand every round, allowing for more scaling.

Any hand will work with this Joker. However, the smaller the hand type, the better Ride the Bus is. This makes it ideal for High Card or Pair builds, while Straights and Flushes builds can be more difficult.

• Jokers whose effects trigger based on numbered cards can be more useful, such as Even Steven (Played cards with [[Card Ranks|{{hl|orange|even}}]] rank give {{Mult|+4}} when scored <br> {{hl|gray|(10, 8, 6, 4, 2)}} Common Additive Mult On Scored Even Steven.png), Odd Todd (Played cards with [[Card Ranks|{{hl|orange|odd}}]] rank give {{Chips|+31}} when scored <br> {{hl|gray|(A, 9, 7, 5, 3)}} Common Chips On Scored Odd Todd.png), Fibonacci (Each played {{hl|orange|Ace}}, {{hl|orange|2}}, {{hl|orange|3}}, {{hl|orange|5}}, or {{hl|orange|8}} gives {{Mult|+8}} when scored Uncommon Additive Mult On Scored Fibonacci.png), and Hack (Retrigger each played {{hl|orange|2}}, {{hl|orange|3}}, {{hl|orange|4}}, or {{hl|orange|5}} Uncommon Retrigger On Scored Hack.png).
• Canio (This Joker gains {{xmult|1}} when a {{hl|orange|face}} card is destroyed <br> {{currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Find this [[Jokers|Joker]] from the [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Soul}}]] card. Legendary Multiplicative Mult Mixed Canio.png) scales greatly from destroying face cards, thus both thinning the deck and providing a significant XMult to complement the additive Mult of Ride the Bus.
  • Though, Canio encourages adding face cards to the deck in order to destroy them, which can make it harder to work around Ride the Bus.
• Trading Card (If {{hl|orange|first discard}} of round has only {{hl|orange|1}} card, destroy it and earn {{Money|3}} Uncommon Economy On Discard Trading Card.png) can destroy face cards, making it easier for the player to avoid resetting Ride the Bus.
• Burglar (When [[Blind|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] is selected, gain {{hl|blue|+3}} Hands and {{hl|orange|lose all discards}} Uncommon Effect On Blind Select Burglar.png) adds 3 extra hands and removes all discards, allowing Ride The Bus to scale faster.
  • However, missing out on discards can be dangerous, as the player might be forced to reset Ride The Bus. It is especially important to remove face cards from the deck when running Burglar and Ride the Bus.

• The Plant ( Boss The Plant.png), The Goad ( Boss The Goad.png), The Head ( Boss The Head.png), The Club ( Boss The Club.png), The Window ( Boss The Window.png), The Pillar ( Boss The Pillar.png), Verdant Leaf ( Showdown Verdant Leaf.png): When face cards are debuffed, it's safe to play them without resetting Ride The Bus.
• Crimson Heart ( Showdown Crimson Heart.png): If Ride The Bus gets disabled, it's safe to play a hand with face cards.

• Strength (Increases rank of up to {{hl|orange|2}} selected cards by {{hl|orange|1}} Available from start. Tarot Strength.png) can help turn your Kings into Aces, and reduce your face cards in the deck.
• Death (Select {{hl|orange|2}} cards, convert the {{hl|orange|left}} card into the {{hl|orange|right}} card<br>{{hl|gray|(Drag to rearrange)}} Available from start. Tarot Death.png) and The Hanged Man (Destroys up to {{hl|orange|2}} selected cards Available from start. Tarot The Hanged Man.png) can help remove some face cards in the deck.
• The Tower (Enhances {{hl|orange|1}} selected card into a [[Card Modifiers|{{hl|orange|Stone Card}}]] Available from start. Tarot The Tower.png) can turn Face Cards into Stone Card and reduce your face cards in your deck.
• Incantation (Destroy {{hl|orange|1}} random card in your hand, add {{hl|orange|4}} random [[Card_Modifiers#Enhancements|{{hl|orange|Enhanced}}]] [[Card Ranks#Number cards|{{hl|orange|numbered cards}}]] to your hand Available from start. Spectral Incantation.png), Grim (Destroy {{hl|orange|1}} random card in your hand, add {{hl|orange|2}} random [[Card Modifiers#Enhancements|{{hl|orange|Enhanced}}]] [[Card Ranks#Aces|{{hl|orange|Aces}}]] to your hand Available from start. Spectral Grim.png), and Cryptid (Create {{hl|orange|2}} copies of {{hl|orange|1}} selected card in your hand Available from start. Spectral Cryptid.png) can add non-face cards to your deck, lessening the chance of drawing face cards. Not only that, the former two might also destroy a Face Card as well.
• Immolate (Destroys {{hl|orange|5}} random cards in hand, gain {{Money|20}} Available from start. Spectral Immolate.png) can destroy face cards.

• Grabber (Permanently gain {{hl|blue|+1}} hand per round Base Grabber.png) and Nacho Tong (Permanently gain an additional {{hl|blue|+1}} hand per round Play a total of 2,500 cards Upgraded Nacho Tong.png) give additional hands per round, allowing Ride The Bus to scale even higher.

• Black Deck ( {{hl|orange|+1}} Joker slot <br> {{hl|blue|-1}} hand every round Discover at least {{hl|orange|100}} items from your [[collection]] Black Deck.png), Blast Off ( ), and Golden Needle ( ) all have poor synergy with Ride the Bus due to their number of reduced hands.
• Mad World ( ) doesn't work with Ride the Bus, as this Deck starts with an Eternal Pareidolia (All cards are considered {{hl|orange|face}} cards Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Pareidolia.png), which means Ride the Bus will never scale or gain + Mult.
• X-ray Vision ( ) randomly flips cards, which can cause players to accidentally play a face card.

• Pareidolia (All cards are considered {{hl|orange|face}} cards Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Pareidolia.png) will ruin Ride the Bus' multiplier as soon as any hand is played.
• Splash (Every {{hl|orange|played card}} counts in scoring Common Effect N/A (Passive) Splash.png) can trigger a face card that otherwise would have done nothing.
• The following Jokers' effects rely on scoring face cards, meaning they cannot be utilized without resetting Ride the Bus.
  • Business Card (Played {{hl|orange|face}} cards have a {{hl|green|1 in 2}} chance to give {{Money|2}} when scored Common Economy On Scored Business_Card.png)
  • Midas Mask (All played {{hl|orange|face}} cards become [[Gold Cards|{{hl|orange|Gold}}]] cards when scored Uncommon Effect On Played Midas_Mask.png)
  • Photograph (First played {{hl|orange|face}} card gives {{xmult|2}} when scored Common Multiplicative Mult On Scored Photograph.png)
  • Scary Face (Played {{hl|orange|face}} cards give {{Chips|+30}} when scored Common Chips On Scored Scary Face.png)
  • Smiley Face (Played {{hl|orange|face}} cards give {{mult|+5}} when scored Common Additive Mult On Scored Smiley Face.png)
  • Sock and Buskin (Retrigger all played {{hl|orange|face}} cards Play a total of {{hl|orange|300}} face cards Uncommon Retrigger On Scored Sock and Buskin.png)
  • Triboulet (Played Kings and Queens each give {{xmult|2}} when scored Find this [[Jokers|Joker]] from the [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Soul}}]] card. Legendary Multiplicative Mult On Scored Triboulet.png)
• Baron (Each {{hl|orange|King}} held in hand gives {{xmult|1.5}} Rare Multiplicative Mult On Held Baron.png) and Hit the Road (This Joker gains {{xmult|0.5}} for every {{hl|orange|Jack}} discarded this round<br> {{Currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Discard {{hl|orange|5 Jacks}} at the same time. Rare Multiplicative Mult Mixed Hit_the_Road.png) require a lot of face cards in the deck to work well, which does not synergize with Ride the Bus.

• The following Boss Blinds flip cards, which can cause players to accidentally play a face card:
  • The House ( Boss The House.png)
  • The Wheel ( Boss The Wheel.png)
  • The Fish ( Boss The Fish.png)
• Cerulean Bell ( Showdown Cerulean Bell.png) can force a face card to be picked. If you don't have any discards and you can't play at least a Ace or a numbered pair, Ride The Bus will be forced to lose its mult.

• Familiar (Destroy {{hl|orange|1}} random card in your hand, add {{hl|orange|3}} random [[Card Modifiers#Enhancements|{{hl|orange|Enhanced}}]] [[Card Ranks#Face cards|{{hl|orange|face cards}}]] to your hand Available from start. Spectral Familiar.png) adds face cards to the deck and might destroy a non-face card while at it.

• The 15 Minute City ( ) challenge starts the player with an Eternal () copy of Ride the Bus.

• According to LocalThunk, the name of the card is a reference to the drinking game Ride the Bus.^[1]
• A bus usually keeps driving until it has to stop to pick up passengers. In Balatro, the face cards — Jacks, Queens, and Kings — represent people, and the "Route 210-A" could be read as allowing cards 2-10 and Ace to continue onward.
• The design of this Joker is based on a bus stop sign near LocalThunk's apartment in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.^[2]
• During the first demo, Ride the Bus provided +2 Mult per consecutive hand played without scoring Face Cards, making it as strong as Spare Trousers (This Joker gains {{Mult|+2}} if played hand contains a [[Poker Hands|{{hl|orange|Two Pair}}]] <br> {{currently|{{mult|+0}}}} Uncommon Additive Mult Mixed Spare Trousers.png) without any hand requirement. Upon release, it was nerfed to only provide +1 Mult for balancing purposes.

This information has been manually compiled. Some updates may not be included yet.