Carnaval Marbles

Carnaval Marbles combines a roguelike structure with French billiards. The game is set in a dark-fantasy carnival world that draws on European folklore and old fairgrounds, mixing anachronistic elements with mythology. Each run is procedurally varied, so the sequence of encounters and available items differs from one attempt to the next.

The core of play is the billiards shot itself: positioning the marbles, judging rebounds and planning trajectories. Layered on top of this are hundreds of Talismans, Marble Bonuses and Runes, which interact with one another to modify how shots and scoring behave. Runs are punctuated by Boss encounters, some of which alter the rules of the game while a run is in progress. The developer cites Balatro as a point of reference for its approach of simple base rules producing a wide range of combinations.

The current demo includes one playable character, with eight planned for the full release. The game includes a tutorial and a user interface intended to make the basics straightforward to pick up, while still allowing experienced players to construct highly specialised builds. Once all Bosses have been defeated, an Endless Mode becomes available for continued play.