American culture references in Balatro

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  • Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
  • Explaining the many cultural references in the popular computer game Balatro. Featuring cameo appearance by ‪@JREG‬, everyone's favorite!
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Комментарии • 616

  • @TroubleToby3040
    @TroubleToby3040 7 дней назад +885

    Hmmmm, guess I'm gonna have to look into this Bagalago. Sounds fun, and I LOVE the name! Truth be told, I wasn't really interested until Greg described it as, "A love letter to American card culture." That guy has a way with words! 👍👍👍💯💯💯❤❤❤️

    • @lvademetre6792
      @lvademetre6792 7 дней назад +5

      H U H?

    • @peepeevs
      @peepeevs 7 дней назад +21

      Oh, are you talking about that Balalaika game or whatever it's called?

    • @TroubleToby3040
      @TroubleToby3040 7 дней назад +10

      @ You mean Bababooie? Balaklava? Babadook? Baklava?
      Anyway, one thing's for sure, they're ALL a love letter to American card culture... As Greg would be the first to tell you. Dude f'n LOVES to celebrate American culture!!!

    • @Chryssantha
      @Chryssantha 4 дня назад +6

      ah, babagaboosh! one of the most jokery indie games

    • @TroubleToby3040
      @TroubleToby3040 4 дня назад +4

      @ THANK YOU! I couldn't think of the right name for the life of me.
      I've heard it's about to get a celebrity endorsement from that big British star of Dr. Strange... Bandersnitch Cumberbund? Camberdick Binderbund? Bendabitch Cunnybuns????

  • @JREG
    @JREG 7 дней назад +1387

    Great video JJ did you enjoy playing it? Playing the video game? You know, the game that this video is about? Did you like playing it?

  • @ChessedGamon
    @ChessedGamon 7 дней назад +1160

    Holy hell if it's reached JJ Balatro really has taken off

    • @russiancamel3365
      @russiancamel3365 7 дней назад +11

      Speaking of taking off, it’s been great seeing your channel grow so rapidly in the past week

    • @ChessedGamon
      @ChessedGamon 7 дней назад +1

      @@russiancamel3365 I appreciate it friend

    • @Neverknot47
      @Neverknot47 7 дней назад +3

      Why are you asking like he isn't very much interested in pop culture?????

    • @thegamechangerchannelclass9711
      @thegamechangerchannelclass9711 7 дней назад +3

      The Js in JJ Balatro are short for Joker.

    • @sucros
      @sucros 7 дней назад +8

      I'm pretty sure all it took was for someone on twitter to describe it as JJ-core and be correct. The man will see a pack of stickers and go "does this represent a cultural canon?"

  • @ryvengeance6467
    @ryvengeance6467 7 дней назад +208

    The address on the Mail-in Rebate is an actual address in New York. Specifically, it's the apartment where Jerry lived in the show Seinfeld.

  • @Rauncy
    @Rauncy 7 дней назад +417

    Balatro contains the most pertinent americanacore aspect, addiction

    • @MangyForestCat
      @MangyForestCat 7 дней назад

      This isn’t China and opium, Jesus Christ. Or China and tobacco.
      Phillip Morris could kill every Chinese person on earth by simply increasing the tar content of Marlboro reds.
      So no. Americanacore is abstinence and temperance. Clown.

    • @EMLtheViewer
      @EMLtheViewer 6 дней назад +14

      with none of the actual gambling (not that PEGI cares)

    • @cloakedhornets6515
      @cloakedhornets6515 6 дней назад

      ​​@@EMLtheViewer Yet Fifa has had purchasable card packs for years, and PEGI gives it a 3.
      Real gambling for kids is fine but GOD FORBID you put rules from gambling into a game that doesn't have real gambling.

  • @WaldoHandFord
    @WaldoHandFord 7 дней назад +658

    I love how Jreg has become the youth correspondent for this channel like how Pete Davidson was on SNL years ago.

    • @LuckyOtter_WorldBuilding
      @LuckyOtter_WorldBuilding 7 дней назад +31

      funny thing how JREG left hight school a decade ago tho,
      this is the sort of position ones bound to age out of pretty quickly

  • @martins.4423
    @martins.4423 7 дней назад +304

    Some cool details JJ missed:
    The hanging chad joker causes the first card played to be scored again (i.e. recounted) twice.
    The trading card joker removes a card and gives you cash, similarly to how one might sell cards from a booster pack at a card shop.
    The mail-in rebate gives you money for discarding (i.e. returning) certain hands.
    The baseball card rewards you for holding many uncommon and thus valuable jokers.
    The driver's license requires at least 16 enhanced cards for its effect, referencing a common minimum age for obtain a real one.

    • @patricklippert8345
      @patricklippert8345 7 дней назад +38

      @@martins.4423 The red card rewards you for skipping booster packs, like when you throw out a bad player in soccer

    • @talllankywhiteboy
      @talllankywhiteboy 7 дней назад +40

      Indeed, I was disappointed JJ didn't really cover how well Balatro integrates joker theme with gameplay. It's one thing to have cultural references as optional cosmetics in a game, but the fact that you can actually use cultural information to remember precisely what each card does is super interesting!

    • @MrVal05
      @MrVal05 4 дня назад

      I honestly didnt realize the driver license requirement were a reference to the minimum age. Maiinly bcs in my country its a minimum of 17 years😅

    • @Whiskers--5
      @Whiskers--5 2 дня назад

      You don’t get money for discarding a hand, you get money for discarding a card rank. Small correction

  • @justsomebusiness
    @justsomebusiness 6 дней назад +131

    Fun fact, the name "Balatro" is Latin for a professional jester (or clown/buffoon) back in Roman times, so is actually fitting with the "joker" theme of the game and not a random word that sounds cool like I thought initially.

    • @ThatGuySizzleMac
      @ThatGuySizzleMac День назад +4

      Balatro is also where the word "ballistic" came from as in acting incredibly hysterical/chaotic (i.e they were acting ballistic) which is also where the name for the weapon known as the "Ballista" came from which is why bullets, arrows, and missiles are known as ballistic weaponry.

  • @Gazpacho8
    @Gazpacho8 7 дней назад +466

    I wish I could watch JJ/s new video but I don't want to pay the 25% tariff.

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +236

      Too soon.

    • @muke001
      @muke001 7 дней назад +35

      ​@@JJMcCulloughYou're right, it is too soon since the tariffs have been pushed back to Tuesday

    • @masterimbecile
      @masterimbecile 7 дней назад +7

      It’s ok. After we take over Greenland and Panama Canal, North Montana should be easy peasy. No tariffs after that.
      🙄
      (To clarify: good joke and nice reference, but it would be funny if it weren’t so sad)

    • @Goblin-Nixon
      @Goblin-Nixon 6 дней назад +5

      It sucks now, but these tariffs will help the American JJ video industry start back up

  • @joshuamitchell5018
    @joshuamitchell5018 7 дней назад +204

    4:03 "No, you would say that." I sprayed tea on my screen.

    • @GAISENSE
      @GAISENSE 7 дней назад +12

      Balatro really is one of the more contrived excuses to talk about "card culture" - but if the shoe fits 🤷‍♂️

    • @Wheelman2004
      @Wheelman2004 7 дней назад +27

      5:06 "So as Greg very explicitly said, Balatro is very much a love letter to American card culture"
      😂

  • @patricklippert8345
    @patricklippert8345 7 дней назад +199

    Part of the fun is knowing the Joker references and how they tie into the mechanics of the game. Like how Gros Michel is a species of banana that was susceptible to a fungus that made the species unsustainable and growers switched to the Cavendish. Which is why there's a 1 in 6 chance Gros Michel goes extinct and why it's the only way you can find a Cavendish later, which has a better effect and a lower chance of going extinct.

    • @Mimi.1001
      @Mimi.1001 7 дней назад +44

      Or the mentioned Hanging Chad joker, which causes the first played card to be recounted twice specifically. Much like the 2000 election ballots, which were first recounted automatically before the eventual manual recount.

    • @BrianTimm
      @BrianTimm 7 дней назад +55

      totally.
      - driver's license requiring 16 enhanced cards like the age requirement of 16 for a driver's license in the US
      - Baseball card specifically powering up based on how many other uncommon jokers you have (how good of a collector you are)
      - Red card rewards you for skipping a booster pack ("ejecting" instead of accepting those cards)
      - Mail-in Rebate pays for specific discards (rebates always have conditions)
      - Credit card being a way to get into Debt in Balatro...
      - Card Sharp benefitting on repeat hands (because he's playing the table)
      I really enjoyed this video, but I feel like JJ missed something by neglecting the mechanics and how they affect the game. It's all part of the design and what makes Balatro so fun. It showcases the amount of thought that went into creating this game which feels so cohesive and well designed.

    • @dylan10182000
      @dylan10182000 6 дней назад +8

      ​@@BrianTimmfor real I wish he would've at least PLAYED the game before making a damn video on it. It's so simple once you learn the mechanics it's literally solitaire 2.0

    • @RakoonCD
      @RakoonCD 3 дня назад

      @@dylan10182000 It really felt like lazy research to get a video out.

  • @TheLazyEconomist
    @TheLazyEconomist 7 дней назад +331

    Oh. So that's why you were asking JREG about Balagago.

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +147

      That kid knows his ‘lago (cool slang for the game)

    • @pranavflame
      @pranavflame 6 дней назад

      ​@@JJMcCulloughthat could also be said about any kid who's visited Trump in Florida

  • @StarkMaximum
    @StarkMaximum 7 дней назад +104

    "Would you say it's a love letter to American card culture?"
    "No. You would say that. So I explicitly would not say that."
    Damn, he IS a zoomer.

  • @manusbyrne8972
    @manusbyrne8972 7 дней назад +298

    This video feels like clicking every hperlink in a Wikipedia article

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +113

      As much as I hate Wikipedia, I'll allow it.

    • @quokka_yt
      @quokka_yt 7 дней назад

      ​@@JJMcCullough I've uploaded a freely licensed image of you to Wikimedia Commons and added it to the draft article about you on Wikipedia.

    • @megajor232
      @megajor232 7 дней назад +49

      @@JJMcCullough hating Wikipedia is a little unhinged

    • @alexfaulkner4805
      @alexfaulkner4805 6 дней назад

      First time manusbyrne8972 ?

    • @FairyCRat
      @FairyCRat 6 дней назад

      ​​@@megajor232He made a whole video on the topic, was controversial since most JJ fans are definitely also Wikipedia fans (myself included).

  • @gerarddip
    @gerarddip 7 дней назад +82

    13:39 I mean, you really didn’t have to say “British man” when you were just going to show the most *british man* I’ve ever seen in my life.

  • @kormagogthedestroyer
    @kormagogthedestroyer 7 дней назад +24

    I love how it’s incredibly obvious that JJ has never played balatro

  • @TheMrDunker
    @TheMrDunker 7 дней назад +49

    A fun little fact that I'm not sure if you know... Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic, is the Great-Great Grandson of James Garfield.

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +17

      Oh wow. What about the comic strip cat Garfield?

    • @hunterstar989
      @hunterstar989 7 дней назад +6

      ​@JJMcCullough He would be the great grandfather, so right in the middle of the bloodline, basically.

    • @MetalMockingjay
      @MetalMockingjay 6 дней назад +2

      And of course the latest in this lineage is British actor Andrew Garfield.

  • @hlibushok
    @hlibushok 7 дней назад +37

    They were beating your ass on Twitter for asking Jreg about "Bagalago" without actually playing it.

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +20

      I have no intent of playing the game

    • @hlibushok
      @hlibushok 7 дней назад +29

      @@JJMcCullough I respect the dedication to being a boomer.

  • @highflyer54321
    @highflyer54321 6 дней назад +13

    14:33 The name of Card Sharp may also be a reference to card sharks, who pretend to be bad at the game in order to lure other players into playing for money or betting higher than they otherwise would, thinking they are playing against a novice. The shark would then reveal their true skill and win the higher bet. This is referenced in the Card Sharp’s ability of only giving its 3x bonus on the second time a certain hand has been played that round, as typically the shark wouldn’t reveal their true abilities until the second game.

  • @DiamondKingStudios
    @DiamondKingStudios 7 дней назад +41

    I had no idea red cards weren’t introduced to association football until this late. I can only imagine how chaotic World Cups used to be.

    • @phamquanghuy8000
      @phamquanghuy8000 7 дней назад +1

      Look up Hooligans culture in football.

    • @DiamondKingStudios
      @DiamondKingStudios 7 дней назад +1

      @@phamquanghuy8000 I’ve heard of that, but on the players’ side of the game is a whole other thing.

  • @homicidal_duck
    @homicidal_duck 7 дней назад +32

    my game of the year discussed on my favourite channel? We truly are blessed

  • @djbs222
    @djbs222 7 дней назад +39

    Hey JJ, great vid as usual. Had a few thoughts I think may interest you.
    UFO50 - love letter to the early development of video games by mimicking a company's game catalogue over the course of the 1980s -- it's an anthology that has 50 fully thought out games, most of which are tropes on game styles but all have innovative twists that make them really enjoyable for the modern age
    Red Dead Redemption (1&2) and Grand Theft Auto series -- both arguable commentaries on the wild west and modern America, made by the same company
    Papers, Please -- you play the role of border guard of a fictional soviet-era country
    ... I can think of many more, depending on the nature of the topic you're looking to delve into.
    Also worth checking out is the board game Twilight Struggle -- you basically replay the cold war using historical events for tactical gameplay (2 player, one is Russia other is USA).

  • @standardsloshy
    @standardsloshy 7 дней назад +16

    Take a look at The Binding of Isaac. It also features several items of varying cultural origins, and the gameplay is based on the 2D Legend of Zelda games. The visuals and characters in the game are based heavily around American Christian iconography, as well as a lot of what can best be described as gross-out imagery. Satan, personified sins, bloat flies, piles of poop, and the main character's mother are just some of the bosses in the game. The creator is from California and put a lot of his personal childhood experiences in the game, going so far as to naming the main character's cats after some of his own childhood cats.

    • @DudokX
      @DudokX 3 дня назад +1

      Playing Isaac in 2014 would be a career suicide.

  • @BeatingBros
    @BeatingBros 7 дней назад +91

    this feels like the ultimate reward for getting gold stake on all jokers a few days ago, thanks jj

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +34

      I don’t know what that means but I’ll take it!

    • @BeatingBros
      @BeatingBros 7 дней назад +16

      @@JJMcCulloughbasically the most difficult and time consuming achievement in the game 👍

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +19

      @@BeatingBros Wow congratulations!

    • @BeatingBros
      @BeatingBros 7 дней назад +6

      @@JJMcCullough Thank you! Great video, learned a lot more than I was expecting to especially about the general history of playing cards. The origins of the back design of playing cards was a really nice touch and a design I know I took for granted.

    • @JacksonJacksonJacksonJackson
      @JacksonJacksonJacksonJackson 7 дней назад +1

      what was ur last joker lmao

  • @suorastas1
    @suorastas1 7 дней назад +24

    It’s fun how the mechanics of the Jokers also reflect their design. For example you have to have 16 enhanced cards in your deck to activate the 3x multiplier Driver’s licence gives you since 16 is when you get your licence in the US (I’m glad they didn’t localize that for us Europeans and change it to 18).

  • @__Obscure__
    @__Obscure__ 6 дней назад +28

    You missed a really important point about the Hanging Chad. The _function_ of some Jokers can also carry cultural references, in addition to the Joker's appearance. If you have a Hanging Chad card in your active collection of Jokers, its function is to retrigger the first card in your played hand two more times, essentially tripling the amount of points (and other bonuses) that played card would grant you. This retriggering effect is an explicit reference to the recounts in Florida, which were triggered due to hanging chads on Florida ballots.

    • @thinkublu
      @thinkublu 5 дней назад +3

      Wait that's so cool??? I had no idea
      I'd never make this connection as a European

  • @KingUnKaged
    @KingUnKaged 7 дней назад +14

    Can't wait until 10years from now when Jreg needs to find an even younger friend to explain culture to him so that he broken telephone it up to JJ

  • @averyb9568
    @averyb9568 7 дней назад +8

    I went to a local museum that had the original family's calling cards. The mom had hand written one everyone else had theirs printed. It was really intriguing that mom refused to use a modern way

  • @3ggztr3m3b33tz
    @3ggztr3m3b33tz 7 дней назад +20

    19:28 When I played LA Noire for the first time, I was genuinely surprised to see the driver's licenses in-game that didn't have a photo on them

    • @Default78334
      @Default78334 4 дня назад

      New Jersey didn't phase out non-photo drivers licenses until 2004.

  • @enzolabre6295
    @enzolabre6295 7 дней назад +15

    brick by brick we inch closer to the NL and J.J collab, the vancouriest collab ever seen in this platform

    • @Jose-ii3xx
      @Jose-ii3xx 7 дней назад +3

      A vancouvery collab? Nay, the vancoumost!

    • @lrgogo1517
      @lrgogo1517 4 дня назад

      Who’s “NL”?

    • @enzolabre6295
      @enzolabre6295 4 дня назад

      @@lrgogo1517 E-sports Legend Northernlion. he is a variety streamer based in vancouver

    • @TheWrathAbove
      @TheWrathAbove 2 дня назад +1

      ​@@lrgogo1517 Canadian RUclipsr and Twitch streamer Nothernlion (or NL for short). He's got a sizable following and in this context is notable for being a major content creator that played Balatro when it first released and could be considered a reason as to why the game hit the ground running.

  • @freakishuproar1168
    @freakishuproar1168 7 дней назад +25

    I like the blanket term of "Americanacore" to describe a lot of the indie game scenes recent manifestations, including mascot horror, surreally rustic point n' click games, strange and edgy reimagining's of various mundane pastimes, activities and occupations one inevitably associates with the USA. Your talent for concocting a useful cultural appellation I'll be adding to my vocabulary has been demonstrated yet again J.J. :3
    JREG, "Beloved children's entertainer"... xD

  • @pegm5937
    @pegm5937 7 дней назад +5

    I adore how JJ intensely digs down on minutia, then ponders if anyone else does, then thinks it would be charming if said other person took it for granted without thinking so much. I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of that. JJ is a kindred soul. I've not ever known anyone who thinks the way I do ❤

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +5

      Haha thanks! I’m fascinated by the things people take for granted because I can’t take anything for granted.

    • @pegm5937
      @pegm5937 6 дней назад

      @@JJMcCullough preach

  • @Goatman_Gamer
    @Goatman_Gamer 5 дней назад +4

    I like how most Americanacore Games are horror games lmao. Tells you a lot.

  • @phlan6850
    @phlan6850 7 дней назад +6

    I think the iconography is really important for the reception of the game. Playing cards have been around for a lot longer than the usual adventure style game, so a broader audience of people are able to parse what's going on, and most already know how to make poker hands going in. Solitare has always been the go-to game for bored office workers of all ages for this reason I think.

    • @TurtleMarcus
      @TurtleMarcus 7 дней назад

      It's really its own aesthetic. Poker cards, chess, checkers, backgammon - all invoke a certain "game as game itself" type feeling. It is culturally acceptable to enjoy these, and they may even feel "dignified" or "less childish". They don't need a story, theme or lore - they are just games being games. And at the same time, the games themselves are abstractions, long removed from their source: chess being a war fought between two monarchies; poker cards using everyday objects of old like spears and clubs, abstract beyond recognition. It's a weird space in our culture, for sure.

  • @mikek1686
    @mikek1686 4 дня назад +1

    Great video, it's good to appreciate both the subtle and non subtle nods to culture, there's tons of them in the game.

  • @ritwique
    @ritwique 7 дней назад +6

    I feel like saying Poker originated in the US is a lot like saying American Football originated in the US. I mean yes, but some forms of it existed much earlier as well.

  • @ComfortableTool86
    @ComfortableTool86 6 дней назад +4

    Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers is a new roguelike with a ton of cultural references. This definitely has some broad cultural references but has way more references to other games/video games than Balatro does

  • @northatlanticcommonwealth1188
    @northatlanticcommonwealth1188 7 дней назад +37

    I remember the Jreg tweet abt this

  • @theone360
    @theone360 7 дней назад +2

    This video was so informative, amazing stuff. I never knew what a "hanging chad" was, but it makes so much sense why that card pretty much "recounts" cards. Phenomenal video

  • @juanandrealvarezmeza6179
    @juanandrealvarezmeza6179 7 дней назад +3

    I feel like it would have been interesting if he also talked about how the different references are reflected in the effects each card has.

  • @trilby3447
    @trilby3447 6 дней назад +3

    I feel jreg failed to mention that roguelikes also have the unique feature of progress having a lot of randomly generated elements to player progression with your potential upgrades and items, in balatro the jokers and your card will never to rarely end up the same setup you had in a previous run

  • @captainkarnage9874
    @captainkarnage9874 7 дней назад +5

    8:44 actually the main reason we moved to foil packs from wax packs wasn't because of the technology, but was a way to keep people from peeking into the packs themselves so they'd know which ones had high value cards
    Im fairly certain Magic The Gathering 4th edition was the first time that was done

    • @valutaatoaofunknownelement197
      @valutaatoaofunknownelement197 7 дней назад

      That makes a lot of sense. I don't know how rarities in old Baseball cards worked, but I can see how wax packs are susceptible to scalping eyes

  • @benjaminmajeski140
    @benjaminmajeski140 7 дней назад +2

    I was so excited for this video! I’m so glad you delivered!

  • @KyleSzalai
    @KyleSzalai 6 дней назад +2

    Just wait until John Balatro sees this! He's gonna be so stoked

    • @KyleSzalai
      @KyleSzalai 6 дней назад

      I hope you enjoy the game JJ! It's great!

  • @MrMegaManFan
    @MrMegaManFan 4 дня назад

    I'm so hooked on this game I pre-ordered a pack of playing cards from Fangamer, so seeing you cover this subject is top notch!

  • @MrMultiPat
    @MrMultiPat 7 дней назад +5

    I am playing Balatro while watching your video about Balatro.

  • @hrolfthestrange
    @hrolfthestrange 7 дней назад +7

    Omg the phrasing on the driver's license piece had me thinking JJ had turned into a sovereign citizen and I had to rewind it twice:
    'South Dakota was the last state to require drivers have licenses and Tennessee was the last state to require licenses have pictures on them'

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +4

      huh?

    • @TurtleMarcus
      @TurtleMarcus 7 дней назад +3

      So did you initially interpret the statement "the last state to require a driver's licence" to mean "the final hold-out state to give up requiring licences, and so, no state requires a licence anymore" instead of "the final hold-out state to adopt requiring licences, since every other state had already started using them."?

    • @hrolfthestrange
      @hrolfthestrange 7 дней назад +1

      @@TurtleMarcus yes, it was just me not fully paying attention really and then rewinding to just the same phrase a couple times.
      But I think it's funny that the phrasing can in theory mean opposite things.

    • @TurtleMarcus
      @TurtleMarcus 7 дней назад

      @ I also found JJ's phrasing ambiguous, and that is interesting.

    • @gemstonegynoid7475
      @gemstonegynoid7475 7 дней назад +1

      I did find the statement slightly confusing on first listen.

  • @BooToThePast
    @BooToThePast 7 дней назад +19

    I LOVE YOU JJ THANK YOU FOR COVERING MY FAVORITE GAME OF THE YEAR I AM LITERALLY PLAYING RN

  • @AlternativeTelevision
    @AlternativeTelevision 6 дней назад +1

    Hey, as a long time fan, I’m real glad you fixed the accidental dox at 1:15. I don’t want anyone, especially an anonymous game dev to get potentially hurt by a crazed psycho

  • @improbablelem2670
    @improbablelem2670 7 дней назад +3

    My Balatro addiction has been at an all time high so this is a perfect video for this week.

  • @RedDogRichard2112
    @RedDogRichard2112 7 дней назад +5

    23:03 The one and only time cards have predicted the future accurately🤣

  • @_DREBBEL_
    @_DREBBEL_ 7 дней назад +2

    Lmfao "you would say that, tho" 😂
    Idk why, but I know these are my people. I feel at home here. Thanks, guys.

  • @eldeion4146
    @eldeion4146 6 дней назад +2

    I was thinking that Cuphead’s second to last boss fights are a really good example of the American gambling/casino/vices canon. Whiskey and Martinis, fiches, dominoes, roulette, cigars, horse betting, pool, a rabbit in a top hat, a cymbal monkey, dice… It would be cool if you took a look at those characters and explain them. Like why do we use fiches? Why are rabbits in a top hat? Why do we put olives in alcohol? Where do dominoes come from? Etc.

  • @izumoo
    @izumoo 7 дней назад +1

    A very interesting video as always JJ, thank you for your incredible work detailing the history of so many things we take for granted here!

  • @MaiShibar1
    @MaiShibar1 6 дней назад

    This was incredibly fun and informative, thank you. I hope someone in the future does such extensive coverage of all the game's jokers.

  • @jerryappleby
    @jerryappleby 6 дней назад +1

    I couldn't help but notice a bunch of similarities between Balatro and an indie game called The Binding of Isaac. Definitely think you should check that one out JJ!
    Most of the consumable items from that game were also referenced in this video, like Tarot Cards, Joker cards, standard cards, credit cards, and more!

  • @Ancientfamily305
    @Ancientfamily305 4 дня назад +1

    The bull is a reference to American stock trading and being a bull makes sense the more money you have the more multiplier

  • @edwardcumpstey9061
    @edwardcumpstey9061 7 дней назад +2

    I recently just found a bunch of vintage baseball cards from the early 1960s, and I thought to myself, "There's something inherently American about these cards." Lo and behold, J.J. comes in THE SAME WEEK I find these cards and has an entire video prepared on American card culture and Balatro. Go figure!

  • @kylehoffert2901
    @kylehoffert2901 7 дней назад +1

    I want to mention something I noticed related to the standard deck!
    Every 52-card deck I've seen has three face cards displayed in profile; that is, their faces are depicted in a way that only one eye is showing. These are the King of diamonds, the Jack of hearts, and the Jack of spades. There are other common card conventions as well, such as the King of hearts holding a sword to his head, or the Queen of spades holding a scepter.
    Balatro doesn't follow most of these conventions. There are three cards shown in profile, but they're not the correct ones (King of hearts, Jacks of clubs and diamonds). Most royalty is depicted holding either a scepter, sword, or flower whether or not they also hold those items in real decks.
    There is one convention that is followed, however, which is that the King of diamonds is holding an axe. He's the only royalty shown to be doing this. Is this a happy coincidence, or a small attention to detail by the artist?

  • @rohnheaslip1826
    @rohnheaslip1826 4 дня назад

    JJ, a really timely video on the pros and cons of the three west coast states succession and joining Canada would be very interesting. You are just the right person to take this challenge on.

  • @Afterglow.Studios
    @Afterglow.Studios 7 дней назад +11

    Gotta find one of these local “woo-woo” stores you mention

    • @TurtleMarcus
      @TurtleMarcus 7 дней назад +2

      Honestly, most regular bookstores will have a "woo-woo" section these days, with card packs and related books. They usually don't have crystals and sage, so you gotta know a guy.

    • @DarkFiber23
      @DarkFiber23 7 дней назад

      "Crystal healing" and "spiritual" are keywords to look for! All the fun new-agey buzzwords you can think of will probably return some results.

  • @trulsslemmeli8134
    @trulsslemmeli8134 7 дней назад +1

    Good to see JJ keeping in touch with the youths. Been loving the «tent» for years now🇺🇸🇨🇦

  • @governor_explosion
    @governor_explosion 5 дней назад

    One of my favorite roguelikes that I’ve used as an excuse for a wiki deep dive is called Hades. Both Hades games take two real but obscure Greek gods (Zagreus and Melinoë, both children of Hades and Persephone), and actually pay a lot of care to even minor details (like Hades himself having a ton of gem-encrusted rings, as one of his domains was over gemstones).

  • @gemstonegynoid7475
    @gemstonegynoid7475 7 дней назад +1

    The offshoot suits of cards; acorn, leaf, cups, and bell, are used as the names of the final boss blinds in balatro

  • @oszuli
    @oszuli 6 дней назад +1

    the 'ok, greg' was funnier than i think you intended

  • @hawx00145
    @hawx00145 7 дней назад +1

    I would say that a similar underrated game like Balatro has more Americana. I am talking about Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers. It has most of the themes mentioned in here, plus others, which include; a social security card, a Monopoly get out of jail free card, lottery scratcher card, a library card. greeting cards, uno cards, etc... Plus it is a very cool Blackjack roguelite game with interesting card mechanics.

  • @SuperApplefox
    @SuperApplefox 6 дней назад +1

    I've never heard them referred to as Foil Pocks, but rather booster packs from a booster box.

  • @sheldonius
    @sheldonius 7 дней назад +3

    you should check out Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers, it’s like Balatro but for Blackjack! also uses a bunch of “cards”, credit card, returning customer card, etc

  • @kaloncpu57
    @kaloncpu57 5 дней назад

    If anybody is suddenly interested in playing the game, beware the addiction.
    Anyway, thanks for going in-depth on some of these Joker references. I knew LocalThunk really did his homework, and it's really cool to see that being discussed in greater detail.

  • @dylanp629
    @dylanp629 7 дней назад +1

    Shout out to whomever dedicated their time to researching Joker history and making a site for it

  • @Xelger
    @Xelger 4 дня назад

    One thing about the Driver's License joker is that its effect requires 16+ enhanced cards in your deck, no doubt a nod to the fact that, here in America, people have to be age 16+ to obtain a driver's license.

  • @cocomonkilla
    @cocomonkilla 7 дней назад +1

    JUNIOR EGGORY EPISODE 🥳🥳🥳🥳
    My two favorite Canadians Canadian-ing ❤️

  • @josephfirestick8080
    @josephfirestick8080 7 дней назад +1

    JJ i love this game. Im so happy you made a video on this.

  • @bighairguy7
    @bighairguy7 5 дней назад

    I think it would be really interesting to look at the evolution of American fantasy culture - not just specific creatures but how the genre of fantasy has evolved in the American context. I think it’s this interesting transatlantic literary blend - the default high-fantasy setting is largely inspired by Tolkien, but things like hero classes (cleric, paladin, etc) are a product of TTRPGs like D&D, which is American. I think Warhammer is another good example, being a game that started with a British company that made D&D models creating a game/setting to sell more models. These settings in turn have slowly become more Americanized (a shift in focus towards a certain archetype of hero and story). In essence you have the Americanization of a British game inspired by an American game inspired by a British writer.

  • @BradleyBoy
    @BradleyBoy 5 дней назад

    The hoodie plus sunglasses combo in poker was made famous by Phil Laak due to him being compared to the sketch of the Unabomber which in turn gave him the nickname of Unabomber

  • @Boxish
    @Boxish 7 дней назад +1

    The refusal to play Bagalago is hilarious to me because it is a game that is easy to get into for even a typical non gamer, since the interactions are all simply clicking on cards and the gameplay is poker hands and math(until it gets hard, where it is also different math).
    I commend the doubling down in the comments too

  • @sugar-rice
    @sugar-rice 7 дней назад +3

    I’ve been waiting for this video after I saw Greg’s tweet of you calling it bagalago

  • @jack.h99
    @jack.h99 7 дней назад +7

    Jimbo Joker McCullough

  • @LandryRoom
    @LandryRoom 7 дней назад +1

    I never would have predicted JJ to make this video

  • @Zamorakphat
    @Zamorakphat 7 дней назад +1

    I would love to see more “JJ dives into video games” analysis videos. Really fun as a gamer myself!

  • @vacatiolibertas
    @vacatiolibertas 7 дней назад

    this video is exactly what i come to this channel for. it's long, chock-full of americana, and features jreg as a comedic foil

  • @TheAlexSchmidt
    @TheAlexSchmidt 7 дней назад +1

    I was quite surprised by how fast trading card games became a thing, I would've figured they had some long history but no seems like Richard Garfield (a direct descendant of the president too) just knew that trading cards and card games were both popular so surely combining them would make a lot of money, and since there was a big collectibles bubble in the 90s it did indeed do that. I assume that once the Pokémon people found out about that they thought it'd be a good fit for how you can trade Pokémon in the game.

  • @psychohero039
    @psychohero039 7 дней назад +1

    This is one of those videos where I can’t tell if the RUclipsr who made it really enjoyed creating it or if they hated it and just needed to get something out there. I can really see it going either way lol. But I enjoyed it

  • @CreamsiclePup
    @CreamsiclePup 4 дня назад

    Fun fact: The Driver’s License joker does nothing until you have 16 modified cards, the usual age for most states to get a drivers license.

  • @timlorow2679
    @timlorow2679 7 дней назад +1

    Another popular indie would be UFO 50 which celebrates the history of 1980s video games. Its a pack of 50 games made by a fictional game studio.

  • @dekerta
    @dekerta 7 дней назад +2

    The developer of Balatro is from Saskatchewan, not Winnipeg (Pretty sure Regina, same as the Cup Head guys)

  • @MatthueLoose
    @MatthueLoose 7 дней назад +1

    The whiplash of not having played the game, then proceeding to explain it feels like the Cliffnotes, Wikipedia article, or Readers Digest of a RUclips iceberg. Blurgh.

  • @riversidepark4107
    @riversidepark4107 7 дней назад +2

    Fun fact, the old Bicycle card factory in Cincinnati was recently turned into a mixed use development that’s themed to playing cards. This should also enter into another entry in your city is not unique series as I believe it’s common for a beloved but obsolete industrial building to be turned into a hip commercial property the continent over.

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад

      Ooh that’s pretty cool. I have been wanting to visit Ohio.

    • @abrammills1005
      @abrammills1005 7 дней назад

      @@JJMcCullough make sure you visit the air force museum, it's free

    • @riversidepark4107
      @riversidepark4107 7 дней назад +1

      You should JJ! A genuine heartland of Americana and the zoomer memes are an exaggeration at best. And yes the Air Force Museum is great.

  • @oddstrosity
    @oddstrosity 4 дня назад

    14:38 It’s possible that this Joker card was inspired by professional poker player Philip Laak, who was nicknamed “The Unabomber” because during games he often wore a hood and sunglasses, which made him resemble the iconic sketch of Ted Kaczynski.

  • @samb4067
    @samb4067 7 дней назад +3

    Perfect timing. I just got addicted to this game lol

  • @BritianBallsPolandballmemes
    @BritianBallsPolandballmemes 7 дней назад +1

    This feels like a dream. Just a week ago I got into this game.

  • @James-tg3qg
    @James-tg3qg 7 дней назад

    Thanks so much for making this!

  • @theskyisteal8346
    @theskyisteal8346 7 дней назад +3

    I always assumed that deck contained jokers for mathematical reasons. Let's assume a sheet of whatever you print cards on can fit 9 cards on it. That means you need 6 sheets of raw, unprinted card stock for one 52-card deck. (6x9=54). If you only make 52 cards, then for each deck you're throwing out two cards worth of material so instead of just trashing it, you could print two more cards with stylized images on them to give your deck just a little pizzazz. And maybe they could be incorporated in some of the games people would play.
    To be clear this is pure conjecture and not meant to be taken as historical fact.

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад +1

      I mean that's a theory, but there's nothing wrong with throwing out waste. Most products produce waste during their manufacturing.

  • @cosmocovers4903
    @cosmocovers4903 7 дней назад +2

    With the state of things rn this is exactly what I need. Never miss a j video 🙏

  • @benzur3503
    @benzur3503 7 дней назад +2

    20:51 did you have to mix that guttural sound with the brown portrusions? Your seeming intent of a branching tree gives a simultaneous different association

  • @michaellee4276
    @michaellee4276 7 дней назад +6

    14:33. That references a specific Poker Pro named Phil Laak who is nicknamed The Unibomber because he dresses that way. (The first to get famous for doing that). He is also more famous because of his longtime girlfriend, actress Jennifer Tilly from the Chucky series. She became a professional poker player like many Hollywood stars have tried to do during the Poker Boom.

    • @JJMcCullough
      @JJMcCullough  7 дней назад

      But they all dress like that

    • @michaellee4276
      @michaellee4276 7 дней назад +4

      @@JJMcCullough But they didn't used to. Phil Laak was the first to be noted for that. And he was called "The Unibomber"This was 20 years ago.

  • @homicidal_duck
    @homicidal_duck 7 дней назад +1

    JJ! You should totally do a 35 Tribes of 19th Century/Victorian Canada. You've spoken a lot about how Showa and Victorian era culture has influenced modern sensibilities but there's a real gap for a broad overview of the time's political culture

  • @Taxxman-xq9pw
    @Taxxman-xq9pw 3 дня назад

    You forgot to mention that the driver's licence joker's hability only being activated when you have a certain amount of modified cards may be a reference to the driver's licence being forged/fake

  • @Gen_Warlock
    @Gen_Warlock 5 дней назад +1

    6:43 eyyy Cincinnati mentioned 💪

  • @sciencecafe1543
    @sciencecafe1543 7 дней назад +1

    It's really interesting that this was nominated for game of the year.