GoKawiilRedditor claims to have trained Google's fruit fly brain model to play Balatro
A Reddit user known as ActualAerie1011 says they used Google's simulated fruit fly connectome to play the card game Balatro, reportedly achieving a roughly 20% win rate on the easiest difficulty with the default deck. The approach reportedly paired a custom seed-finding algorithm with reinforcement-style feedback, rewarding the model for good outcomes and penalizing poor ones. No code or technical documentation has been shared publicly, leading some commenters to question the claim's validity.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
This is part of a broader trend of hobbyists repurposing Google's fruit fly brain map for unconventional tasks like gaming, driving simulations, or trading, testing how far biological neural simulations can be pushed toward practical decision-making. Without open verification, though, it's hard to separate genuine research progress from a viral novelty stunt, which matters for how seriously the broader AI and neuroscience community treats such claims.
- A Redditor claims a fruit fly brain simulation can play Balatro with a 20% win rate on easy mode.
- The training reportedly combined a custom seed-finder with reward-based feedback for the model.
- No public code or proof has been shared, so skepticism about the claim remains widespread.
Source: androidauthority.com, 2026-09-18
Published there as: “Someone trained Google’s fruit fly brain simulation to play Balatro, and it’s working”
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