I mean “not gambling games” very strictly, this post is intended to be about games that give the aesthetic, impulsive feedback and addictively risky gameplay feel of gambling without actually being gambling meaning that either the games are free or you buy them and keep them, no microtransaction crap tolerated in this thread at all.
I think it is very unethical to actually make a gambling video game, so I want to highlight games that explore these territories without hurting the player.
The kind of games I am thinking of are.
The Original Peggle games/other original Popcap Games (NOT EA’s slop)
to a less extent Peglin and Roundguard.
Luck Be A Landlord
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1404850/Luck_be_a_Landlord/
Balatro
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379780/Balatro/
Games I haven’t tried/aren’t familiar with but look like they fit the bill.
Scritchy Scratchy
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3948120/Scritchy_Scratchy/
Raccoin
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3784030/RACCOIN_Coin_Pusher_Roguelike/
Dice A Million
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3430340/Dice_A_Million/
Whatever it means to you though I am interested in your answers!
The ones I recognize aren’t actually gambling at all, they just aesthetically resemble them. From Balatro and what I remember of peggle there’s no risk/reward really. From your description I’d expect something like a mechanic where you bet a resource where you clear a challenge (where the resource is an in game currency for upgrades etc but money or a proxy).
Not necessarily, I consider anything that gives you a similar feeling close enough for this discussion.