Sandbox

Overview

Sandbox strips away the calculation and asks what's left. No score preview — you play what you feel is enough and find out if you were right. Modified jokers reward commitment over optimization. Reworked spectrals remove permanent penalties. Custom stakes separate sticker types across clean difficulty tiers instead of stacking them all on Gold.

Changes are based on the Standard ruleset.

Gameplay Changes

Score Preview: Disabled — forces pattern recognition over arithmetic
Comeback Gold Mechanic: $3 per completed Ante (was $4 per life lost)
Glass Cards: Justice back in Tarot pool, glass cards break at 1/3 rate (instead of 1 in 4)

Modified Jokers

Joker	Old Description	New Description	Notes
The Order	X3 Mult if played hand contains a Straight	X3 Mult if played hand contains a Straight. Gains X0.5 Mult for each consecutive Straight played this round, resets when any other hand is played	Scaling momentum reward for committing to straights. Finally viable?
Loyalty Card	X4 Mult every 6 hands played	X6 Mult every 4 hands played with selected handHand randomized upon purchase	Monogamous with one hand type. Loyalty pays better than optimization ever did.
Misprint	+0 to +23 Mult	-23 to +46 MultMult value revealed on purchaseRange doubled by Oops All 6s	One roll of the dice when you buy it. At least you know what disappointment you're getting.
Castle	Gains +3 Chips per discarded card of suitSuit changes every round	Gains +10 Chips per discarded card of its suitSuit locked on purchase	Monogamous with its suit. Till death do you part.
Mail-in Rebate	Earn $5 for each discarded card of rankRank changes every round	Earn $5 for each discarded card of rankRank never changes	One rank, forever. Pick your income stream and commit.
Square Joker	This Joker gains +4 Chips if played hand has exactly 4 cardsStarts at 0 Chips	This Joker gains +16 Chips if played hand has exactly 4 cardsStarts with 64 ChipsOnly applies with 4-card hands	Actually good now but ONLY with 4-card hands. No cheating.
Throwback	X0.25 Mult for each Blind skipped this run	X0.25 Base Mult for each Blind skipped this runX0.75 additional mult next Blind after skippingLoses X0.75 mult when blind not skipped	Momentum mechanic - keep skipping or watch it crumble.
Vampire	This Joker gains X0.1 Mult per scoring Enhanced card playedRemoves enhancement from card	Gains X0.2 Mult per scoring Enhanced card playedPlayed enhanced cards transform into StoneStone cards give $3 when played	Turns your enhancements into a stone economy. Vampire economist arc.
Steel Joker	Gives X0.2 Mult for each Steel Card in your full deck	Steel cards are retriggered when played	From passive multiplier to active retrigger engine.
Baseball Card	Uncommon Jokers each give X1.5 Mult	Uncommon Jokers each give X2 Mult	The change that broke the server. If you know, you know.
Golden Ticket	Played Gold cards earn $4 when played	Now an Uncommon card. 1 in 2 chance for Gold cards to earn $5 when played	Risk-reward trade-off: Increases ceiling but adds variance.
Idol	Each played card of specific rank and suit gives X2 Mult when scoredCard changes every round	Split into two variants. Both appear in the shop, but buying one permanently removes the other. The Zealot — picks a rank every blind. Every card of that rank scores X1.5 Mult The Collector — scales with your most common card. Stack duplicates and watch it grow	Split into two jealous gods. They don't play nice together.
Hit the Road	Gains X0.5 Mult for every Jack discarded this roundResets each round	Gains X0.75 Mult for every Jack discardedDiscarded Jacks are destroyed	Permanent scaling but Jacks never come back.

Spectral Cards

Card	Old Description	New Description	Notes
Ouija	Converts all cards in hand to a single random rank-1 hand size	Destroy 3 random cards in handThen convert all remaining cards to a single random rankNo hand size penalty	Immolate's chaotic cousin.
Ectoplasm	Add Negative to a random Joker-1 hand size (increments per use)	Add Negative to a random JokerRandomly apply one of: -1 hand, -1 discard, or -1 hand sizeDoes NOT increment on repeated use	Fixed cost ceiling means you can actually use this repeatedly. RNG penalty type keeps it spicy.

Extra Credit

Sandbox v3 adds 26 jokers and 1 deck from the Extra Credit mod, selected in collaboration with Balatro University. If you have Extra Credit installed, the full EC pool is available in Sandbox.

Extra Credit Jokers

Joker	Rarity	Description
Forklift	Common	+2 consumable slots
Starfruit	Common	1 in 2 chance to level up first played hand each round. 5 uses, then self-destructs
Espresso	Common	Gain $30 when you skip a Blind, then self-destruct. Payout decreases by $5 each round. Expires if payout reaches $0
Pyromancer	Common	+20 Mult when remaining hands ≤ remaining discards
Lucky 7	Common	All scoring cards count as Lucky when a 7 is in the scoring hand
Farmer	Common	Earn $2 for each card of [suit] held in hand at end of round. Suit changes each round
Double Rainbow	Uncommon	Retrigger all Lucky cards
Candy Necklace	Uncommon	Gain a random Booster Pack Tag when leaving shop. 5 uses, then self-destructs
Bobby	Uncommon	-2 hands, +4 discards at start of each Blind (halved if only 2 hands remaining)
Monte Haul	Uncommon	After 1 round, sell this joker to gain 2 random Joker Tags (Foil, Holo, Poly, Negative, Uncommon, or Rare)
Ambrosia	Uncommon	Fill consumable slots with Spectral cards when skipping a Blind. Self-destructs when you sell a Spectral card
Clown College	Uncommon	Fill consumable slots with The Fool after defeating Boss Blind
Warlock	Uncommon	1 in 7 chance for played Lucky cards to be destroyed and spawn a Spectral card
Traffic Light	Uncommon	X2.5 Mult, decreases by X1 each hand played, resets to X2.5 after reaching X0.5
Werewolf	Uncommon	All enhanced cards in played hand become Wild cards
Tuxedo	Uncommon	Retrigger all cards of [suit]. Suit changes each round
Go Fish	Uncommon	Once per round: destroy played cards of rank [rank] (rank changes each round)
Pocket Aces	Uncommon	Gain $2 for each Ace played. Paid at end of round, resets each Ante
Hoarder	Uncommon	Gains $1 sell value whenever you earn money
Alloy	Uncommon	Gold cards also count as Steel. Steel cards also count as Gold
Clown Car	Rare	+44 Mult, but costs $3 each hand played
Chain Lightning	Rare	Mult cards give X Mult that chains through consecutive Mult cards. Starts at X1, gains X0.1 per Mult card
Ship of Theseus	Rare	Copy destroyed/broken cards back into deck. Gains X0.4 Mult per card copied
Jokalisa	Rare	Gains X0.1 Mult per unique enhancement type in scoring hand (permanent)
Joker of the Year	Rare	Retrigger all cards when playing a 5-card hand
Coupon Sheet	Rare	Gain Coupon Tag and Voucher Tag after defeating Boss Blind

Extra Credit Deck

Deck	Description	Notes
Echo Deck	Retrigger all playing cardsX1.2 base Blind sizeIncreases by X0.2 each Ante	The Community Favorite.

Stakes

Sandbox runs a custom stake rotation designed for cleaner difficulty progression.

Available Stakes:

White Stake - Base difficulty
Black Stake - Shop can have Eternal Jokers
Planet Stake (NEW) - Applies Black Stake effects, plus:
- Shop can have Perishable Jokers (debuffed after 5 Rounds)
- Required score scales faster for each Ante
Spectral Stake (NEW) - Applies Planet Stake effects, plus:
- Rental Jokers appear in shop
- Required score scales faster for each Ante (cumulative with Planet)
Spectral+ Stake (NEW) - Applies Spectral Stake effects, plus:
- Required score scales even faster for each Ante

Design Notes: Each stake introduces one sticker type (Eternal → Perishable → Rental) with increasingly aggressive ante scaling. Discard reduction from vanilla Blue Stake removed entirely.

Changelog

Sandbox v3: Gods and Guests

Idol removed and replaced with two variants: The Zealot and The Collector
Mail-in Rebate nerfed from $8 to $5
Golden Ticket from $4 to 1/2 chance for $5, now Uncommon
Added Extra Credit with 26 jokers and Echo Deck

Sandbox

The Order

Loyalty Card

Misprint

Castle

Mail-in Rebate

Square Joker

Throwback

Vampire

Steel Joker

Baseball Card

Golden Ticket

Idol

Hit the Road

Ouija

Ectoplasm

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