5 Video Games That Let You Cheat To Win

Many gamers remember cheat codes – special button presses or text commands that unlock things like invincibility, unlimited ammo, or funny features like Big Head Mode. While they aren’t as common in games today, plenty of titles still include ways for players to cheat and gain an advantage.

These games let you gain an advantage in several ways—from using powerful cards to reducing the health of tough opponents, and even visiting a shop to quickly improve your characters’ abilities. It just goes to show how far we’ll go to win!

5. Balatro

Some Of These Jokers Really Are A Joke

You don’t have to be a poker pro to have fun with Balatro. Actually, if you’re new to poker, that might even be an advantage! This isn’t really the traditional card game – it takes the core ideas of poker and completely reinvents them.

Balatro is a game all about creating crazy card combinations and using powerful jokers. While you’ll recognize poker hands like flushes and full houses, jokers and special cards will dramatically boost your scores. These effects can stack and combine in unexpected ways – you might change a card’s suit or turn it into a high-value ‘glass’ card that could break if you’re not careful. The sheer variety of card effects is amazing, and watching your score soar into the millions is incredibly satisfying. The game is accurately described as a ‘hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands,’ and it’s also surprisingly easy to pick up and play.

4. Rogue Lords

Cut Foes Down A Peg Or Two

In the horror roguelite Rogue Lords, you play as the Devil and command a team of classic monsters like the Headless Horseman, Hecate, and Dracula. Your goal is to defeat the forces of good by battling them with a party of up to three minions. You directly control the combat, choosing skills to balance attack, defense, and support.

Fans of the genre will enjoy exploring the world, completing quests, and encountering unexpected events, especially as the battles get harder. That’s where Devil Mode comes in handy. When you transform into the Devil, you gain a health bar that lets you manipulate battles. You can spend your Devil HP to temporarily pause the fight and gain an advantage – like transferring negative effects from your allies to enemies, stealing buffs, healing teammates, or even reducing an enemy’s health. You can even bypass ability cooldowns! It’s a clever system that lets you choose how much Devil HP to spend, allowing for both small adjustments and game-changing moves like fully healing the party or instantly defeating a powerful foe. However, you need to use it wisely – running out of Devil HP means instant defeat. New players will need to learn the best ways to use this powerful tool.

3. Card Shark

How Many Ways Are There To Cheat At Cards?

Many reviewers were immediately struck by the beautiful, hand-painted look of Card Shark. But what really stands out is its gameplay, which is as original and diverse as the game’s narrative. The story begins in 1743 in Southern France, as we’re introduced to a young man working at Ms. Porterhouse’s tavern. The player begins by serving a drink to the Comte de Saint-Germaine, carefully filling the glass – a simple act that perfectly demonstrates the unique and deliberate gameplay that defines Card Shark.

The Comte becomes fond of the young man and recruits him to help with a dishonest scheme: cheating at cards to increase his wealth. He teaches him subtle tricks, like secretly glimpsing cards while serving drinks and using a coded wiping motion to signal the opponent’s strongest suit. Later, they add more elaborate methods, such as using a mirror to quickly see each card as it’s dealt. These cheating attempts are presented as interactive minigames that drive the narrative forward, following the Comte de Saint-Germaine and his partner on a journey filled with clever banter and unexpected turns.

2. The Disgaea Series

A Quick Stop At The Cheat Shop

The Disgaea series is known for being over-the-top and dramatic, with huge damage numbers, wild character designs, and generally bizarre concepts. Like many JRPGs, it involves a lot of repetitive gameplay, which can sometimes feel tedious. Luckily, Disgaea offers a clever solution: The Cheat Shop, a truly unique and helpful feature.

Starting with Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness, this feature became a core part of the Disgaea series, appealing to both new and experienced players. It lets you customize the game in many ways, like improving your weapon skills or boosting mana gains. You can even intentionally make enemies stronger for a harder experience! While it seems simple – you adjust sliders to change values – it’s more nuanced than that. Often, increasing one stat requires decreasing another. This kind of detailed customization is usually hidden in a game’s developer tools, but Disgaea actively encourages players to experiment and tweak the game to their liking.

1. Screencheat

The Oldest Cheating Technique In The Book

When playing split-screen with friends, it’s common for someone to be accused of looking at another player’s screen. This is especially true if someone likes to hide and snipe in a shooter – it’s a quick way to catch them! While it’s not exactly fair play, peeking at another player’s screen is just part of the fun when gaming this way. Let’s be honest, you can’t always focus 100% on your own side of the screen, so why not accept the little bit of ‘cheating’? That’s the core idea behind the game Screencheat.

Even though you can’t directly see your rivals, you can track their movements. You’ll also know what weapon they’re using whenever they attack. The game features a huge and ridiculous variety of weapons, ranging from Bear Bombs to a Hobby Horse and even a Candelabra! While everything looks pretty comical, don’t mistake it for a simple party game – there’s a lot of clever strategy and funny moments to be had. Each game mode offers a unique experience; alongside a typical deathmatch, you’ll find modes like One Shot, where you only get one shot and can only reload after everyone else has fired.

2026-01-26 02:40