Tableturf Battles are a kind of collectible card-based board game in Splatoon 3 where players can battle NPCs for special rewards.
Your goal is to cover as many grids as possible with ink using a deck of cards within 12 turns. That, however, is just on the surface. Your cards decide the pace of each battle, and there are more rules in there for you to understand.
The following guide will explain how and where to play Tableturf Battles as a way to take a break from the traditional ink-splattering contest of Splatoon 3.
Where to play Tableturf Battles in Splatoon 3
You need to unlock the Tableturf Dojo in order to play Tableturf Battles. You can unlock the dojo by reaching leveling 4 through multiplayer matches.
To find the Tableturf Dojo, head to the main plaza and climb up the stairs that lead towards the lobby, and then take a right.
You will come across a building with an orange sign and a black logo on it. On the right side of the building, you will see an alleyway. Enter the alleyway and continue straight forward until you come across a staff member. Speak with them to receive a starting deck for your first Tableturf Battle.
Tableturf Battle rules
Following are some of the basic rules of Tableturf Battle in Splatoon 3 ;
- A deck can have at least 15 cards in it.
- There are twelve turns in a game.
- There’s a ranking system with at least seven ranks.
- You can only ink a spot next to the one you’re already in control of.
- If you and the opponent ink for the same spot, the card with the lower number will be able to win the spot.
- You and the opponent both have to ink a spot if your cards don’t have any ink squares in common.
- If the cards do have ink squares in common, there will be a clash.
- If there’s a higher priority card, then only one card adds ink to the board.
- If cards have the same priorities, they both can add ink to the board, but the space with overlapping shapes will become neutral.
- You can only cover empty squares.
- You can use the special gauge points to play a card as a special attack; however, it must be adjacent to one of your special ink squares.
- The player with the most ink on the board is the winner
How to play Tableturf Battles in Splatoon 3
Tableturf Battles have a set of rules just like any other card game. Every turn, a player has to choose one of their cards to place down on the board. The amount of paint on the cards put down will earn players points.
It is important to remember that players can only ink a spot next to the areas that are already under their control. Once a spot is taken, you cannot take over that spot from the other player.
If both the players try to ink the same spot in the exact same turn, the card which has the lower number will win.
There are also some special spaces on the board that are orange-colored spots. Surrounding these spaces with ink will earn you special points that can be used for special attacks to take over the opponent’s spaces.
How to get more Tableturf Cards
Your primary way of getting more Tableturf Cards is to simply play as many Tableturf Battles as possible. Leveling up in the game rewards you with a new pack of cards.
You can also get more Tableturf Cards by spending shells at the Shell Out machine. The machine uses conch shells and there is a probability that the machine will drop cards in exchange for the shells.
Lastly, you can purchase more Tableturf Cards from the shop in Hotlantis using Catalog Points. However, you can only get normal cards using this method and not higher-ranked ones.
Tableturf Battles rank rewards
Following are the rewards players will receive by winning the Tableturf Battles in different ranks.
| Rank | Reward |
| 1 | None |
| 2 | New Rival: Cool Jelly |
| 3 | Card Pack |
| 4 | New Rival: Aggro Jelly |
| 5 | New Stage: Thunder Point |
| 6 | New Titles: Fun and Tableturf Battler |
| 7 | New Rival: Sheldon |
| 8 | New Stage: X Marks the Garden |
| 9 | Card Pack |
| 10 | Banner |
| 11 | New Rival: Gnarly Eddy |
| 12 | Sticker for Locker |
| 13 | New Rival: Jel La Fleur |
| 14 | New Stage: Square Squared |
| 15 | New Rival: Mr. Coco |
| 16 | Card Pack |
| 17 | New Rival: Harmony |
| 18 | New Stage: Lakefront Property |
| 19 | New Rival: Judd |
| 20 | Card Sleeve |
| 21 | New Rival: Li’l Judd |
| 22 | New Stage: Double Gemini |
| 23 | Card Pack |
| 24 | New Rival: Murch |
| 25 | Tableturf Tile Banner |
| 26 | New Rival: Shiver |
| 27 | New Stage: River Drift |
| 28 | Tri-Stringer Card Locker Decoration |
| 29 | New Rival: Frye |
| 30 | Card Shark Emote and Card Badge |
| 31 | New Rival: Big Man |
| 32 | Sticker for Locker |
| 33 | Card Pack |
| 34 | New Rival: Staff |
| 35 | New Stage: Box Seats |
| 36 | Sticker for Locker |
| 37 | Trizooka Card Locker Decoration |
| 38 | New Rival: Cuttlefish |
| 39 | Sticker for Locker |
| 40 | Card Sleeve and Badge |
| 41 | New Rival: Callie |
| 42 | Sticker for Locker |
| 43 | Smallfry Card Locker Decoration |
| 44 | New Rival: Marie |
| 45 | Sticker for Locker |
| 46 | Banner |
| 47 | New Rival: Clone Jelly |
| 48 | Holographic Sticker for Locker |
| 49 | Card Sleeve |
| 50 | Badge and New Titles: The Strongest and Card Gamer |
