Something interesting I heard about slot machines once is that they rely on intervals, rather than pure chance. In other words, the reels lining up aren’t just a matter of sheer probability, but rather because you happened to sit down and pull the lever after like 20 other people already did, and it was time for a payout. I don’t know how true this is, but it would explain how I managed to make $300 at a casino resort by bouncing around between a bunch of different machines.
For a slot machine to be truly luck-reliant, it’d have to be the only one available to play, and exclusively for your private use. That’s part of the formula that makes up the Roguelike game CloverPit from Panik Arcade, whom you may remember from last year’s Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom.
Of course, a private slot machine wouldn’t be very interesting on its own, which is why CloverPit opts to add some shades of both Balatro and Buckshot Roulette to the mix; pull those slots, make some cash, and boost your winnings with special items, or you’ll fall to a messy death at the bottom of a rusty pit. It’s a metaphor for something, I’m sure, but I’m too busy pulling that lever to care.
A Hybrid Of Concepts And Aesthetics
Here’s the easiest way to describe CloverPit’s whole deal: it’s the base gameplay of Luck be a Landlord, plus the additional wrinkles and modifiers of Balatro, with the delightfully grimy aesthetic of Buckshot Roulette painted on top.
All of this adds up to a hybrid Roguelike and gambling game in which you are sealed within a single-occupancy prison cell, complete with partially-shattered toilet, with nothing but a slot machine to occupy yourself. Your unseen host provides you with a cash goal and a deadline of several rounds. You’ve got to pull the slots and raise enough cash to deposit into the ATM before your round counter runs out, or you’ll be dumped into a deep, dark hole.
The game is definitely hinting at some manner of overarching mystery regarding your presence in this dreary box, but why waste time thinking about that when there’s a lever to pull and numbers to watch go up? Seriously, though, I like the vibe this game is going for.
Your host is very polite and helpful, though it’s also abundantly clear they don’t care whether you live or die. They’re a lot like the Dealer in Buckshot Roulette, but rather than pointing a gun at you, they’re content to let you ruin yourself.
Synergize Or Die (And Die, And Die)
To help you on your way with your little gambling addiction, there’s a multitude of charms you can unlock and purchase with tickets awarded to you between rounds. Different charms affect the slot reels differently; some increase your score values, some increase the frequency of certain symbols, and some give you extra chances to spin or stave off your horrible demise.
Also, some charms are passive, while others need to be manually activated with the big, red button on the machine. Much like Balatro and its Jokers, the key to success in CloverPit is synergizing. Literally, the game told me “Seek interaction between lucky charms or die!”
Seek interaction between lucky charms or die!
If you’re good at finding interactions between Jokers, you’ll settle into CloverPit’s core loop just fine, though I think finding synergies here is a smidge easier just because you don’t need to know the rules of another game prior to understand them. Besides the lucky charms, there’s also another unseen individual who calls you on the phone between every round to offer you little perks, trades, and upgrades.
It’s a bit of a balancing act, figuring out where to allocate your cash and tickets while still safely meeting your deadlines, but it’s a simple enough act that you can play to your comfort level, either going whole-hog on optimizing or just rolling the proverbial dice and hoping you get lucky.
Insidiously Simple, Deceptively Deep
“Simple” is definitely one of the operative words with CloverPit. When you boil it down, it’s just spinning slots, but there are so many little wrinkles hidden here and there that encourage you to stop and think for a moment before pulling the lever. For example, if you deposit some cash into the ATM before you start the slots up, you’ll get an interest payout when the next round starts, which can help move the needle a bit.
Additionally, even if you get the cash you need to meet the deadline, it’s your choice when you spend it. You can plunk it all in right away and get a little bonus for meeting your deadline early, or try to push the envelope while you’ve still got cash to burn.
An excellent component in the flow is the impressive frequency with which you unlock new charms. Some unlock just from playing the game, some from using certain synergies, and some from exploring your crummy cell. Remember that partially-shattered toilet I mentioned?
I got two new charms just for using it (and they’re exactly what you’re thinking). Naturally, a single run also gets progressively harder the further you get in it, ramping up the money requirements for each subsequent deadline, as well as introducing detrimental effects like Pattern 666, which wipes your winnings if you score it on the slots. A charm synergy that carries you through the first couple of deadlines won’t keep you rolling forever, so you have to keep adapting.
Win Big And Keep On Playing
What makes CloverPit so wonderfully insidious, so perfectly perpetuating, is how it always seems to be teasing and tempting you with your next big payout. Meeting certain deadlines unlock additional features in subsequent runs, like drawers you can store unwanted charms in without trashing them, and the whole thing gradually assembles into a mildly grotesque tableau of hellish imagery and gambling addictions.
Like I said, there’s definitely a deeper story to find here if you can put the work in to uncover it, but the game’s also mostly content to just let you pull the slots and set your own pace.
All the fun of dark gambling patterns, except you only have to pay for it once!
It’s not unlike how, in Balatro, you only have to clear eight antes to actually win, but you can keep pushing your luck just to see if you can. The difference with CloverPit, without giving anything away, is that even when deadlines start getting into the hundreds of thousands, well past your initial goal, there is clearly still something the game is pushing you toward. It’s all the fun of dark gambling patterns, except you only have to pay for it once! And such payment may or may not include your soul!
Closing Comments:
CloverPit is very much a “What you see is what you get” situation. If you just like seeing numbers go up, its gameplay is more than simple enough to facilitate that with a high degree of variability and kit potential, though there’s also plenty of room to experiment with builds and perk loadouts, moreso as you play the game and unlock more of its large charm catalog. There’s a goal to reach if you’re so inclined, but it’s also just a great game to turn your brain off and enjoy while watching a YouTube video. The only real nitpick I could offer is that the descriptions of some of the charms are a little dense and percentage-heavy, but that becomes progressively less of a problem as you play the game and pick up more of what it’s putting down. Frankly, it’s a wonder I was even able to put it down long enough to write this, and I’m gonna go start another run as soon as I’m done. The first step is admitting you have a problem, and the second step is pulling the dang lever again.
- Security Camera Installation – indoor/outdoor IP CCTV systems & video analytics
- Access Control Installation – key card, fob, biometric & cloud‑based door entry
- Business Security Systems – integrated alarms, surveillance & access control
- Structured Cabling Services – voice, data & fiber infrastructure for new or existing builds
- Video Monitoring Services – 24/7 remote surveillance and analytics monitoring
Author: 360 Technology Group
