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Pine Tar Poker

Sinister Poker

Ratings

Age

9+

Category

Card

Languages

English

Pine Tar Poker is a unique and atmospheric card game that reimagines classic poker as a gritty survival quest. Set in a stylistically retro world, players must build hands, take risks, and navigate a series of increasingly difficult matches against a mysterious house. Use 'Pine Tar' and other strange items to manipulate the deck, bend the rules, and keep your winning streak alive. With its haunting visual style, immersive sound design, and deep tactical layers, Pine Tar Poker is a refreshing and challenging departure from traditional casino games.

Dinsun Expert Review

Our Expert Score

85/100

Pine Tar Poker is a brilliant, unconventional take on the poker genre that feels like it was designed for the 'indie game' crowd. It strips away the flashy casino lights and replaces them with a gritty, nostalgic aesthetic that reminds me of early handheld games. The core gameplay is a clever twist on five-card draw where you're playing against the house (and yourself) in a high-stakes survival format.

The game is filled with weird 'modifiers' and items that can change the rules of the game mid-hand, adding a layer of roguelike strategy I haven't seen in a card game before. It’s dark, atmospheric, and incredibly stylish. The sound design is particularly immersive, with tactile clicks and a moody soundtrack that keeps you on edge. It’s not your grandfather’s poker; it’s a deep, challenging, and artistically unique experience that will appeal to fans of 'Balatro' or 'Inscryption.'

Dinsun reviewed on: Sun Jul 14 2024

Features

1

Unique 'Survival' poker gameplay

2

Hauntingly beautiful retro-pixel art

3

Deep roguelike-style deck modifiers

4

Atmospheric and immersive sound design

5

Challenging and high-stakes strategy

Tips & Walkthrough

Gameplays

Screenshot

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Q&A

While it uses poker mechanics, it is a single-player strategy adventure with no real-money gambling.

Ratings & Reviews

Praise the Elder Flush!
Sat Jan 25 2025 TheGreatCathulhu

I love all things lovecraftian and have a healthy Balatro addiction, and this game is an absolute delight to me. The core gameplay mechanics involve some traditional and other very non-traditional poker/yahtzee hands. It’s a game that has a honestly surprising amount of depth to it both in the mechanics that are discovered through play and a backstory that is revealed as you chat with the bartender eventually requiring some actually rewarding puzzle solving elements to the game that get more interesting as it progresses twords it’s climax.. and yes, there is an end and no I will absolutely NOT spoil it here other than know this… forever has it slept…(developers, PLEASE TELL ME THE REST OF THE TRANSLATION!! YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!) Definitely worth its price, and the game itself on a technical side is great with no bugs or issues and the gameplay itself is hard to put down. 11/10. Fantastic job, Devs.

New Favorite Card Game!
Sat Apr 29 2023 Dascribblenaut01

A great game that makes you think, but not too hard. I just assumed it to be a typical poker game, but it actually feels pretty unique. I would recommend better descriptions for some of the items like the pencil, because people like me who aren’t too familiar with card game strategies don’t really benefit from it. That being said, this is definitely worth the 3.99 I paid, and then some! Thanks to Jerma for introducing me to the game and the developers for the passion that went into making it great!

Late Night, the Bar, Cards Still on the Table
Sun Dec 28 2025 YanzhangKui

The game is set in a bar, creating the feeling that playing cards is also a chance to chat with old friends. It brought me comfort in my loneliness. The tarot and other related mechanics are well designed as well. There are two shortcomings, though: first, there is no cloud save feature; second, the story is too short.

Extremely Addicting!
Tue Jul 09 2024 mthams

What a great game! Love poker and this is a very fun and engaging challenge. Happened across it while browsing to scratch a Balatro itch. Love the art style, piecing together snippets of the world, figuring out how items work and playing round after round. Plus the music is good! Looking forward to additional content or follow-up games from this developer!

Epic and awesome in every way
Mon Sep 30 2024 Likeflint

Great mood and atmosphere. At first it might not seem like much, but there’s a hidden depth to this game, as evidenced by the fact that the endgame involves Lovecraftian imagery, cryptography, and an incredible amount of creativity. Everything about it was perfect to me. If you like Balatro, there is also a roguelite metagame here too. Enjoy! Explore! Well deserved praise. All hail Yog Sothoth

High Replay Value
Mon Dec 01 2025 BICYCLEofDEATH

The game is simple enough. In fact, it introduced me to a variant of poker I can play solo when I camp and don’t want screen time. The game is nice as a quick pass time I can play in a waiting room and swipe away from and come back to whenever. Won’t drain my battery. Doesn’t collect inappropriate data (Thank you!). The old western aesthetic, especially for the cards, is a nice change. If I had to pick something as a con: the music does get repetitive. It’s easy enough to turn that off and play muted, or open up my music app. 10/10 - Would Purchase Again.

Relaxing way to play poker
Tue Dec 20 2022 deadandy

Definitely a relaxing and interesting poker game, good for learning the game or just obsessively trying to complete all the hand variants in each round. I enjoy that there are a couple “outs” in each round as you work on getting all the hands. A fun game with lots of replay value.

I'm amazed this doesn't have more reviews
Thu Jan 23 2025 Jeynonymouse

I'm really enjoying it. It's very polished, the music is great and the card animations. It hits my Yahtzee and balatro itch, but without being as time consuming to get through a whole game as the second. Hope it gets more attention.

Some Youtube Videos found!

News found!

Universal - Pine Tar Poker (by BJ Malicoat)Universal - Pine Tar Poker (by BJ Malicoat)

Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pine-tar-poker/id1606835767#?platform=iphone. Pine Tar Poker. Bird Cartel LLC. Welcome partner.

TouchArcade Mon Mar 11 2024

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