Turf War

"You've got just three minutes to cover the most territory. You can take out enemies, too, but winning is all about the ink."

- Splatoon's official website

 is a mode in Splatoon. It is the only playable mode for Regular Battles and during Splatfest. Players must ink the most turf to win the match, and are split into two teams of up to four.

History
was announced at E3 2014. It was the only complete mode for people to test out at the time, as only 10% of the game was done at that point in time.

Description
is played by up to eight people, each on their own console. There are two teams of up to four inklings each, with each team assigned its own ink color. The main objective for each team is to cover as much of the stage, as displayed on the overhead Turf Map on the Wii U GamePad, as they can. Players may attempt to splat each other as well to temporarily avoid resistance or for defense. Each team has three minutes to spread their ink. After the timer reaches 0, Judd calculates how much of the stage was covered by each team. The team with the highest percentage of turf coverage wins the round.

In-game Info
"In a, teams have three minutes to cover the ground with ink. The team that claims the most turf with their ink wins the battle! Get inking and try to claim as much turf for your team as you can! You get Battle Points based on how much territory you claim! If you win, a bonus will be added to your score. Battle Points earned determine your level and how much money you get. Covering the ground with ink will fill up your Special Gauge. When the gauge is full, press [R] to unleash your Special on the enemy! Improve your chances by getting the most out of your Special weapons."

- In-game Info, Part 1

"Right, let's really amp up your skills by talking about ! When you're battling, check out to see the Turf Map. Check the map to make sure enemies aren't stealing turf behind your back! Touch a buddy's icon on the Turf Map to Super Jump to their position! Be careful of Super Jumping right into an enemy ambush, though! So make sure to check the Turf Map before doing a Super Jump! If you want to be the baddest battler on the block, you've gotta use !"

- In-game Info, Part 2

Stage Schedule
Stages rotate out every four hours along with the stages from Ranked Battle, at, , , , ,. The change in stages in accompanied by an announcement by the Squid Sisters. This announcement will also eject all players out of all lobbies after they finish their current match.

Strategies
It should be reminded that the player should mainly splatter ink on horizontal surfaces, as walls and other vertical surfaces do not add to the team's score. Walls should only be splattered to get up to high places. In certain maps, climbable objects are the main vantage point for both teams, allowing players to spray ink further while forcing the opposing team back.

Similarly, moving stage elements (such as the spinning platforms in Museum d'Alfonsino and the conveyor belts in Piranha Pit) are scored as they appear at the end of the match.

A quick way for players to be able to see who is currently in the lead is to refer to the Squid icons at the top of the screen. As well as displaying player status (active, splatted/disconnected, or not present), if one team is at least 10% ahead of the other team, their squid icons will appear larger. A "Danger!" icon also appears over a team's icons when the corresponding team is at least 10% coverage behind.

Trivia

 * If a Turf War ends in a tie, 0.1% will be added to a random team, therefore making a tie impossible.
 * The Spawn Points are automatically covered in each team's ink, making the minimum score approximately 0.3%. Therefore, if neither team spreads any ink, the final score will be 0.3% to 0.4%.