I have played Nubby’s Number Factory for an hour and I am already convinced that it is as addictive as Balatro

Recently, after I finished my daily tasks for this wonderful website, I jumped on Discord to see my friend streaming a game to another friend. That game looked like the terrible CGI of a theory exam or work information video had made a horrible hate baby with all the combined resources of Clipart and a child’s drawing that would surely put that child into therapy. Meet Nubby’s Number Factory, a game I couldn’t take my eyes off of.

In Nubby’s Number Factory, you stand in front of a plinko-like hanging board in front of you. On that board, you shoot the purple-gray ball Nubby to get as many points as you need to meet the quota. If you fail to meet the quota, the sun explodes. There is also a skinny guy with cartoon glasses who is almost certainly the developer watching and reacting to your movements. Like Balatro, Nubby’s gives you a simple premise that requires no skill to get started. Then when you can add dancing dinosaurs and pregnancy tests to your inventory, each of which gives you their own buffs that depend as much on luck as strategy, and you’ll feel yourself being pulled in.

Eventually, if you get far enough, you’ll end up begging to activate certain items or perks, as you hope to get another victory and prevent the sun from exploding. What Nubby’s hides behind its strange world and sometimes grotesque visuals is actually a very solid gameplay system, one that is as easy to understand as it is fun to play. You won’t watch someone play and need fifteen YouTube essays to figure out what’s going on, which is why perhaps everyone I’ve shown this game to can’t help but want to take a look for themselves, as if I’m passing on some kind of Nubby’s virus.

With items at the Nubby Mart, food and buffs at the Café Nubby, perks that drop from time to time and even a black market with its own many items, there is so much variety in Nubby’s that you find yourself strategizing along the way, unable to set out with a clear plan in mind like a roguelike like Hades. But this is where Nubby’s Number Factory really impresses.

The idea behind Nubby’s is not that you just get super strong and can blast through the levels like they’re nothing, because the better you do, the more points you have to score the next round to move on. That’s why the game works best when you’re balancing on the edge of victory or bloody defeat, and your heart might as well start paying rent in your mouth as you watch the little idiot ball that is Nubby bounce around, hoping it hits the pins you need. As you build up, you may trust Nubby less and even get bonuses once he bites the dust, but you may also need the little spherical buddy to help you climb to victory. This is where I get the real pseudo-gaming high that Balatro gives.

With its Y2K aesthetic, addictive gameplay and various challenges it gives you, Nubby’s feels like a real indie treasure we’ll be talking about for a while. With about 300 reviews on Steam at the time of writing, it feels very much like a hidden gem right now, but I’m sure that will change. This is not a review or preview, but a piece about an indie that I think could scratch the Balatro itch if you want to trade cards for a little gray ball. Nubby’s Number Factory, you are a strangely compelling mess.