Tableturf Battle

Tableturf Battle is an in-universe collectible card game inspired by Turf War battles, but turn-based and designed for two players. Both players use the cards in their custom decks to add ink patterns to a grid-like board, competing to have the most ink on the board at the end of the game.

Tableturf Battle is popular in the Splatlands and can be played at the Tableturf Battle Dojo in Splatsville and Inkopolis Square.

History
Tableturf Battle was announced on 2022-08-10 during the Direct. It was released with the launch of Splatoon 3. Tableturf Battle online was confirmed February 23, 2023 to release at the start of Fresh Season 2023.

Cards

 * Main article: List of Tableturf Battle cards in Splatoon 3

There are currently 198 cards to collect. The cards are based on weapons, characters, and other Splatoon concepts such as Tower Control.



Attributes
The face of every card has:
 * a name at the top,
 * an illustration in the center,
 * an 8-by-8 square grid containing an ink pattern in the lower-right corner,
 * a number inside a diamond in the lower-left corner equal to the number of squares the pattern covers, and
 * a Special Attack cost, indicated by the number of Special Space squares that are shown at the bottom.

The ink pattern depicted in the grid is added to the board when the card is played. Most card patterns contain exactly one Special Space, indicated by their unique color.

A card's Special Attack cost is typically proportionate to its size, roughly equal to one Special Point per three spaces (rounded up). Cards that do not feature a Special Space have a lower Special Attack cost than other cards of the same size.

There are three levels of card rarity: Common, Rare, and Fresh. The color of the card's name and the diamond in the lower-left corner correspond to this rarity, being either purple, yellow, or multi-colored respectively.

Each card has a sequence number that is not shown on the card but can be used for sorting. For example, the .52 Gal card is No. 7.

Each card has an upgrade level that affects the card's appearance. The level is indicated using one, two, or three stars.

Acquiring cards
Every player receives a Starter Deck from Staff at the Tableturf Battle Dojo upon speaking to them for the first time. This deck is always comprised of these 15 cards in this order.

Players can earn either normal or "fresh" card packs by increasing their Tableturf Battle rank or catalog level. The Shell-Out Machine also has a 4% chance to dispense normal packs, but currently does not offer the opportunity to dispense fresh card packs. The player can find up to seven card packs by exploring Alterna as well. A pack contains five random cards, with a fresh pack containing one guaranteed Fresh card. Players cannot own more than one copy of a card; duplicates are converted to a certain number of card bits based on their rarity. Players can spend card bits to acquire new cards or upgrade the appearance of existing cards.

Upgrading cards
Upgrading a card from ★ to ★★ changes its background image.

Upgrading a card from ★★ to ★★★ adds a holographic foil layer.

Card bits
Card bits can be used to create cards or upgrade existing ones. Card bits can be acquired by getting repeat cards you already have from normal or fresh card packs. The amount of card bits you get depends on the rarity of the card. Card bits can be used to make cards that you don't have. Lastly, card bits can be used to upgrade cards that you have already acquired.

Decks
A deck contains 15 cards. A player can save up to 16 decks, assigning a name and a card sleeve design to each one. When selecting or editing a deck, the total number of spaces covered by the ink patterns of cards in the deck is shown.

When the player receives the Starter Deck, it is automatically saved to their first deck slot with the name "Starter Deck" and the default sleeves.

Sleeves
New sleeves can be unlocked by reaching certain Tableturf ranks or by defeating a (non-jellyfish) rival 30 times on Level 3.

Crusty Sean's sleeve design is available as a Wandercrust reward.

Rules
A game lasts 12 turns. Each turn, working simultaneously, both players choose a card from a hand of four cards and decide where to place that card's ink pattern on the board. Players may also pass, discarding one card from their hand and gaining a Special Point.



Ink placement
A card's ink pattern must be placed orthogonally or diagonally adjacent to spaces that already contain the player's ink. On a normal turn, it cannot overlap existing ink.

If both players try to place their ink patterns in the same spot, one of two things happens:
 * If the two cards have different numbers, then the card with the larger ink pattern is placed first, and the card with the smaller ink pattern is placed second. The smaller pattern covers up the larger one. However, Special Spaces can only be covered by other Special Spaces.
 * If the two cards have the same number, then both cards add their ink patterns to the board at the same time. Spaces where the patterns overlap become neutral walls and cannot be inked again. Special Spaces do not become walls unless both are on the exact same square.

Special Spaces and Special Attacks
When a Special Space on the board has no empty spaces adjacent to it (including diagonally), the space begins to glow with a fiery effect. When this happens, the player that the space belongs to earns a Special Point. Special points can also be earned when passing turns.

A player can spend Special Points to play a card as a Special Attack, allowing the card's ink pattern to be placed over existing ink (but not Special Spaces or Walls) and replace it. When a card is played as a Special Attack, its ink pattern must be placed orthogonally or diagonally adjacent to one of the player's own Special Spaces on the board.

End of game
The player with more ink spaces on the board at the end of the game wins. However, the player who resigns always loses, regardless of how many ink spaces they have.

Rank and rewards
Players earn Tableturf Points at the end of each game. 40 points are awarded for a loss or draw, while 100, 115, or 130 points are awarded for a win against a Splatsville rival, depending on the rival's level. For a computer-controlled player, 115, 130 or 150 points can be awarded. This value is fixed for each player that appears, seemingly at random. No points are awarded for resigning (giving up).

At certain point thresholds, the player's Tableturf Rank increases, allowing access to new opponents and unlocking new Tableturf Battle stages (for use when testing out decks in the editor), as well as Splashtag and Emote options.

Opponents
Players can battle their way to the top by challenging the 'Splatsville locals', a group of computer controlled Tableturf opponents. The 'Splatsville locals' are comprised of "Baby Jelly", "Cool Jelly", "Aggro Jelly", Sheldon, Gnarly Eddy, Jel La Fleur, Mr. Coco, Harmony, Judd, Li'l Judd, Murch, Shiver, Frye, Big Man, "Staff", Cuttlefish, Agent 1, Agent 2, "Clone Jelly", Shelly, Annie, Jelonzo, Fred Crumbs, and Spike. Each of the 'Splatsville locals' have 3 difficulty rankings (Rank 1, Rank 2, and Rank 3). When a new 'Splatsville local' is unlocked, only Rank 1 is available for the player to challenge. When the player has beaten a 'Splatsville local' three times at a particular Rank, the next sequential Rank is unlocked.

Most rivals are unlocked as the player increases their rank. Shelly, Annie, Jelonzo, Fred Crumbs, and Spyke are automatically unlocked upon purchasing, regardless of the player's rank.

Some player avatars holding a small spread of cards can be played against; they gather by groups of three to the right of Hotlantis and around the Battle Dojo. Each takes the form of a computer opponent using that player's deck. Beating them can award either 115, 130 or 150 exp, as shown before challenging them. AIs awarding 150 exp have a much more aggressive playstyle.

Version 3.0.0 will allow online play against other human players at the start of Fresh Season 2023.

Computer-controlled opponents
There are twenty-four Splatsville Locals to fight in Tableturf Battle, each of whom wields a unique deck of cards. When the player wins against a rival three times, they unlock access to level 2 for that opponent, then once they are beaten another three times at level 2; level 3 is unlocked.

Stages
There are eight stages:

Quotes
"Remember the discovery of the Tableturf Battle minigame in our Direct? SRL here - we wanted to make sure this competitive card game didn't get lost in the shuffle, so to speak. Collect cards, build out your deck, and see who can ink the most 2D table turf to win!

Of course, Tableturf Battle is deeper than that, and we've discovered that an official manual exists! Nothing beats field research, but you can get a tentacle up by reading through the manual carefully before starting a battle. Did you even KNOW there are Special Attacks?"

- @SplatoonNA on Twitter

Badges
Doing certain things in Tableturf Battle will reward the player with special badges that they can use on their Splashtag.

Trivia

 * Some cards have similar postures to the weapon illustrations from or other promotional material.
 * The player may not challenge Sheldon, Gnarly Eddy, Jel La Fleur, Mr. Coco, Harmony, or Murch without first having spoken to them.
 * If a player tries to battle against any member of Deep Cut or the New Squidbeak Splatoon (including Cuttlefish) before completing Return of the Mammalians, the Staff tells them the character they wish to battle is not available. The player must complete Return of the Mammalians to challenge these characters.
 * During Splatfests, players cannot play against Shiver, Frye, or Big Man.
 * Also during Splatfests, Baby Jelly, Cool Jelly, and Aggro Jelly have their bodies colored to the teams that Shiver, Frye, and Big Man are representing, respectively, showing they are backing those teams.
 * All non-jellyfish Splatsville locals use their own card in their deck. Additionally, some of them use character cards of other characters they are associated with.
 * Each member of Deep Cut also uses the other two members' cards.
 * Agents 1 and 2 each have both Callie and Marie in their deck as a reference to their true identity as the Squid Sisters. In addition, Agent 1 uses DJ Octavio's card and Marie uses Sheldon's card, both in reference to their affiliations in Octo Canyon.
 * Judd uses Li'l Judd's card.
 * The cards based off of special weapons are the only cards to lack a Special Space.
 * The ink pattern on all such cards covers exactly 12 spaces, and the cost to play them as a special attack is three special points (lower than the cost of other cards with similarly sized ink patterns).
 * Each rival's deck (other than the jellyfish) follows a certain theme.
 * The starter deck includes the "basic" weapons of nine different classes including the two introduced in, and the Splat Bomb could be considered the "basic" sub weapon. The other cards reflect the fundamental parts of other aspects of the game.
 * Sheldon's deck is solely themed after weaponry, with no cards themed after brands, Octarians, or Salmonids, referencing his status as the world's premier weapon salesman.
 * Gnarly Eddy's deck seems to focus on cards with a similar shape to his own character card, and other cards such as Luna Blaster that synergize well with them.
 * Most of Jel La Fleur's cards are of gear brands, befitting of his reputation as a connoisseur of fashion.
 * Mr. Coco's deck features remarkably few brands compared to Gnarly Eddy and Jel La Fleur, focusing instead on heavy weapons and other "heavy" things such as the Big Shot, befitting his titanic stature.
 * Harmony's deck seems to have no specific theme, perhaps reflecting the wide assortment of items found at Hotlantis or simply her blasé attitude toward deck building.
 * Judd's deck features the Tower Control, Rainmaker, and Power Clam cards, referencing three of the four modes of Anarchy Battles.
 * Almost all of Li'l Judd's cards are directly themed after Salmon Run Next Wave. The two exceptions are his own card and the Inkjet, with the latter being one of the special weapons available during shifts. His card sleeves also follow this theme.
 * Most of Murch's cards have diagonal patterns, similarly to his own card.
 * Shiver wields both Stringer-based cards, and her Maws, Flipper-Flopper, and Reefslider cards may reference her shark theming.
 * Frye's deck has little theming apart from wielding both Splatana-based cards, but the inclusion of the Steel Eel in her deck might reference her eel theming.
 * Big Man's deck consists primarily of explosives, possibly referencing his boss battle in which he throws out many such explosives, as well as the Triple Inkstrike, in the form of the Manta Storm.
 * Staff has the lowest total ink coverage of any Splatsville local, taking advantage of the claustrophobic board on which she is fought. Her deck seems to have little theming outside of this.
 * Cuttlefish's deck consists solely of characters and enemies found in the Crater, as this is where he assists the player in Return of the Mammalians, and his Bamboozler card references his signature weapon which he uses as a cane.
 * Agent 1 has every roller-based card in reference to her preferred weapon class, as well as a few Octarian-based cards, referencing her brief time working for the Octarians in Octo Canyon.
 * Agent 2 has every charger-based card in reference to her preferred weapon class, and her Undercover Brella card may reference the parasol she holds in Octo Canyon and Return of the Mammalians.
 * There are only eight cards in the base game that do not appear in any rival's deck: Sploosh-o-matic, Splash-o-matic, .52 Gal, Jet Squelcher, H-3 Nozzlenose, Glooga Dualies, Slammin' Lid, and Mudmouth.
 * Cards added after the initial game launch do not appear in any decks.
 * CPU-controlled players that the player may choose to face appear holding the Tri-Stringer, Splatana Stamper, Smallfry, and Trizooka cards in their hands.
 * The Killer Wail 5.1 card is visually incorrect. On it, it shows an Inkling holding a Sloshing Machine using the Killer Wail 5.1, but the Sloshing Machine's special is the Booyah Bomb.
 * This fits in with prerelease material, which showed the Sloshing Machine's special to be the Killer Wail 5.1.
 * In Splatoon 2's Sunken Scroll number eight, it shows that Jelfonzo was both a newcomer and victor in an annual card game tournament based in Inkopolis, which could be Tableturf. In, Jelonzo refers to Tableturf Battle as "a favorite jellyfish pastime", potentially adding to this theory.