The latest roguelite horror to sweep the indie community is CloverPit – an utterly strange yet compelling arcade game that locks you in a cell with a slot machine and tells you to start gambling for your life.
If you’ve been wondering whether or not to pick up the game from Panik Arcade and Future Friends Games, we’ve got a full CloverPit game summary below, looking at everything from the core mechanics to the potential endings.
The Escapist recaps
- CloverPit is an indie horror-roguelike that focuses on a slot machine. It’s somewhat similar to Balatro with its moreish gameplay loop and roguelike systems, but it’s got much heavier themes.
- The CloverPit demo stormed the indie horror community, and the full release of the game appears to be doing the same, with scores of players falling in love with the simple, addictive gameplay.
- A dedicated CloverPit player base has emerged quickly, with scores of CloverPit mods making their way out across the internet to help (or hinder) avid fans of the game.
- There are two CloverPit endings at the time of writing, each of which requires making steady progress and completing a set number of tasks, like ignoring phone calls or unlocking particular drawers.
What is CloverPit?
CloverPit is a dark, strategic arcade game that centers around a slot machine. In the game, you’re being held hostage, forced to pay off increasingly large sums of money to your captor by winning on a slot machine in your cell.
As noted in the CloverPit trailer, you are quite literally playing for your life – the captor won’t be happy if you can’t pay off your debts.
To improve your chances of winning on the slots, you’ll be able to access lucky charms and power-ups. The former can be purchased with tickets, earned at the end of each round, while the latter can be accessed via the phone after the first round.
CloverPit gameplay is fast-paced and chaotic, focusing on players drumming up impossible stacks of coins to meet each deadline the captor presents.
How does the CloverPit slot machine work?
To use the slot machine, you’ll need to have coins to spend. The amount of coins will change from round to round, shown by the screen at the top of the machine.
When you have the right amount of coins, you’ll be able to select the machine and choose how many times you want to spin that round. Then, you’ll be able to pull the red lever to start spinning for that round, with each score layout shown on the poster to the right.
As noted on the CloverPit Steam page, the game is not actually gambling; it’s merely a tongue-in-cheek take on gambling and doesn’t involve any actual money.
What do CloverPit items & synergies do?
Helpful items called lucky charms can be picked up from the store in CloverPit, and some of them can have great synergy with bonuses obtained from the phone.
A lucky charm can help you buff a particular icon on the slot machine screen – like the treasure chests, for example – or it can provide another bonus, like additional spins each round or add a multiplier to your score.
To create a set-up with strong synergy, make sure you’re thinking about multipliers and reading every item carefully. It’s all well and good picking up a lucky charm that gives you extra coins at first, but if you’ve nabbed a bonus for lemons and cherries from the phone, you won’t be maximizing the potential of your build.
Can you beat the CloverPit slot machine?
Yes, it’s possible to beat the CloverPit slot machine – or rather, beat the captor at their own game. Two different endings have been discovered since the full CloverPit release; one good, one bad.
Beating CloverPit will take some planning and patience, as you’ll need to progress to unlock all four drawer slots and bypass the 250k deadline requirement, along with a handful of other challenges that’ll take several runs to finish.
It’s well worth the time and effort, though – there’s a lot more to CloverPit under the surface. The core appeal of this game is undoubtedly the addictive gameplay loop and eerie setting, but the game has a lot more depth than you might expect at first. Plus, there are plenty of Steam achievements to nab along the way.
Ask The Escapist
Currently, the best place to play CloverPit is on Steam. There are other games like CloverPit on the platform, too, like Balatro and Buckshot Roulette.
CloverPit came out initially as a demo in early September 2025, with the full release being pushed back due to Silksong. The full CloverPit release date was 26 September 2025.
While there has been some discussion about the existential horror of CloverPit online, its core focus is its arcade mechanics, not its horror elements. It’s certainly unsettling in places, but it’s not scary in the sense that Silent Hill is scary.
The CloverPit developer team is Panik Arcade, while the publisher is Future Friends Games.
CloverPit costs around $11 usually, but at the time of writing, the CloverPit price has dipped somewhat on Steam, taking it down to $8.99, with bundle options available.
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