Pennies 12 is a deceptively simple coin-flipping roguelike with clever mechanics that effortlessly achieves that “one more run” feeling as soon as you start playing.
What is the allure of a game of chance? Taking out the dopamine effect, feeling lucky is more than flipping a coin and predicting the right outcome. Deluding your mind into having luck on your side means thinking everything will turn out great. This is a double-edged sword. I was once swindled at a carnival game where you followed a ball through cups. It had a trick, naturally, and let me win the first few guesses until it was time to bet real money. A lesson learned: do not be led on by the spur of the moment and instead make reasonable decisions when clouded by judgment. Pennies 12 is a deceptively simple coin-flipping Balatro-like that takes this to heart.
The “Balatro-like” genre is one that has taken over the world with increasingly enticing mechanics to hook players with familiar gameplay. Balatro used poker, BallxPit used Brickbreaker, and Raccoin used coin pushers. Taking a page from these examples,
Pennies 12 uses classic coin-flipping. An unassuming video game, when you load it onto the screen, does not even have a main menu to begin playing. It is ready to go when you are.
Pennies 12 puts you in front of an arcadey coin-flipping machine. The goal, seemingly attainable at first, is to flip Heads 12 times across five possible coins. Each round has five turns that you can spend cents on to flip your coins, working your way up from getting one Heads on round one all the way to the elusive 12. If you run out of cents or turns, it’s game over. Here comes the kicker: every coin has a special ability.
Costing 1, 3, 6, 10, and 15 cents to flip from one to all five coins in your roster, being strategic about how to spend your turn is imperative. This comes in handy because you can position your coins however you please. For example, one coin has the ability to flip the coin to the right if it falls on Heads. A lever to ensure coins falling in Heads on the machine helps make it less a game of luck and more one of strategy. Because there are various modifiers on the table, like increasing your percentage of a certain coin falling on Heads, a certain pattern begins to emerge.
This is one of the paths I took in my many runs, and with over 160 unique coins, I’m sure there will be different “builds” that players will discover on their own. I know it sounds complex in the beginning, but much like all the other great roguelikes before it, it’s best to just play and learn on the go. Pennies 12 has a lot going for it. The best roguelikes have that crucial moment where your brain clicks with it. You know there is a risk that could pay off, and that is where the danger is. Changing different coins that may benefit you in the long term but cut your run short makes you wonder if it is worth pursuing.
Offering a classic mode with the aforementioned goal, there are other modes with modifiers to change up the approach. There’s the expected Speedrun mode to complete the run within a time limit. More specific limitations, like beginning with 100 coins but being unable to earn more after each round, add a level of difficulty to the main goal. Successfully completing the first mode is barely scratching the surface.
Wizardry is behind the roguelikes that won’t let you put them down. That intrusive “one more run” thought is built upon hours of programming and creativity that it is baffling to wrap my head around. With a low bar for entry and flexible options to try new builds on every run, its deceptive simplicity reveals a much deeper complexity. What I can attest to is that Pennies 12 is one of those games I am glad to have flipped a coin for. Life is a game of chance, and sometimes we might just get lucky.
Pennies 12 is available on Steam.
