Cribbish Review
Cribbish dares to ask, “What if Balatro, but cribbage?”
Cribbish. Fence Post Games
Balatro is a massive indie success from solo developer LocaThunk. This game takes poker and its well-understood hand hierarchy and introduces an addictive, point-driven roguelike gameplay loop injected with a certain humor. Understandably, other developers would want to replicate the formula, to recreate that lighting in a bottle. With Cribbish, Fence Post Games tries to do for cribbage what Balatro did for poker.
Cribbish. Fence Post Games
Cribbish is structured nearly identically to Balatro. Players are tasked with increasingly high point thresholds and challenges in a gauntlet of continuous rounds. Between the hands, there’s a shop to buy new cards, relics—functioning here like Balatro’s Jokers—and other items. When hands are scored, the relics and perks on the cards modify and multiply the score to potentially reach astronomical levels. So the question here is, if it’s so similar, why doesn’t Cribbish work?
There are two factors. The first is cribbage itself as compared to poker. Poker is far more ubiquitous and accessible. Cribbage is one of the classic card games, but its rules feel archaic by comparison. Your hand vs the crib hand, setting aside cards, scoring 15s and jacks, etc., is more steps and makes the gameplay less streamlined. Though pulling off good card combos feels rewarding, it’s much more of a headache than thinking of the well-known poker hand hierarchy.
The larger reason Cribbish fails is its presentation. Putting it plainly, it’s an ugly game. Questionable font choice, cards and relic icons that feel like clip art, and lackluster effects make the game feel cheap and lacking in personality. Balatro oozes style with its pixel art graphics and bombastic scoring effects, and the Joker cards are full of personality. How Balatro looks and reacts to your actions are huge contributing factors to the game’s addictive nature. In comparison, Cribbish falls flat.
Cribbish. Fence Post Games
Cribbish would have potential if it had a visual overhaul. As well as aesthetic improvements, I think quality of life (QOL) updates to the user interface, such as highlighting cards in hand that add up to scorable combinations, would help the game feel friendlier to those not intimately familiar with cribbage. If I hear about these kinds of updates to the game, I’d like to give it another shot. However, as it stands, I’d rather go back to Balatro.
Cribbish is available now on Steam.
Overall Score: 5/10
Played on: Steam Deck
