Sweet Spot Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup (2 Player, 1-on-1 Singles)
• Playing a Round
• Scoring a Rally
• After A Rally
• After A Round
• Stamina
• Running Out of Cards
• Avatar
• Card Types
  • Service Cards
  • Return Cards
  • Tactic Cards
  • Hidden Cards
• Card Symbols
• Doubles Mode (4 Player Game)
  • Hand Size in Doubles Mode
  • Serving in Doubles Mode
  • Switching In
• Solo Mode (1 Player Game)
  • Easy Mode
  • Hard Mode
• Tips & Tricks

Setup (2 Player, 1-on-1 Singles)

Setup for Solo and 4 player games is described at the end of this manual.

1. Winners are determined in a 'Best of 3 rounds' format. Each round, players compete to score 4 points before the other side does the same. In each round, the initial score is 0 and the 4 points are known as '15' '30' '40' and 'game' just like in real Tennis scoring. However unlike real Tennis scoring, there is no Deuce in this card game. When a round hits a score of 40-40 on both sides, it becomes a 'Sudden Death' and whoever scores next wins the round.
2. Shuffle all Tactic cards (BLUE) into a Tactic deck and place it at the centre of the table.
3. Shuffle all Service cards (RED) into a Service deck and place it left of the Tactic deck.
4. Shuffle all Return cards (GREEN) into a Return deck and place it right of the Tactic deck.
5. Each player chooses an Avatar to play as. (Eg. Roger, Raphael, Serena etc) Place the Avatar card in front of each player, with the Special Power side showing 'Ready'.
6. Each player places 1 cube token onto the value 10 of their stamina track, which is on their Avatar cards.
7. Toss a coin. The winner of the toss decides who will serve in the first round. The Service player has to play the service role for the entire round. In the following rounds after, service is then alternated to the opposing team and back again. A Service player must always serve for an entire round, and cannot be switched during a round.

Note: As a Service player, you may tend to get exhausted a little quicker than the opponent, but you can better control the pace of rallies with the power to choose the initial ball value to start off with.

Playing a Round

1. All players begin with full 10 Stamina if this is the first Round of the game.
2. If you are playing this round as the Service player, draw 2 cards from the Service deck, 2 cards from the Tactic deck, and 6 cards from the Return deck to form your initial hand of 10 cards. This is always the case at the start of every new Round that you are the Service player.
3. If you are not the Service player, draw 2 cards from the Tactic deck, and 8 cards from the Return deck. This is always your starting hand combination if you are not serving in a Round.
4. Do not reveal the cards to your opponents. These cards are known as your Hand.
5. After every player has drawn their starting Hand of 10 cards, if you are the Service player, you must now choose and play a Service card from your Hand to start the round. This represents the ball being served over to the other side, hence starting a rally. All Service cards have a fixed Ball Value stated on their cards, which also represents the initial Ball Value that starts the round.
6. If you are a player from the Receiving side, you must play a Return card in response. This represents the ball being returned by the receiving side back to the serving side. Return cards have Modifiers stated on their cards, which will change the Ball Value of that rally.
7. After the very first card, Service cards are no longer used until the start of a new rally. Players will be taking turns to play one Return card at a time until one side scores a point in the rally. Note that some specific Tactic cards can be used in place of a Return card, such as the 'Buggy Whip'. You may play an 'accompanying' Tactic card along with your Return card, to a maximum of 1 each time you do a return. Some Tactics can be played any time, depending on their effect.
8. At any point in the game when required to do so, you may choose not to play any Return card at all. If so, you automatically lose the point for that rally. This is sometimes a strategy to save your cards in a situation where playing your card would still cause you to lose anyway. It is also a strategy to save on Stamina by not overspending Stamina unnecessarily.
9. At an appropriate time depending on your Avatar's ability, you may use your Avatar's Special Ability once per game. After using it, simply flip the Avatar card over to reflect that its power has been used up.

Scoring a Rally

A rally is over when the Ball Value is modified to anywhere from 0 through 3. The team that modified it to that range is the team who scores a point for that rally. This is also known as IN. The opponent cannot return a ball that is already 'IN', unless they have a Saving Move (Dive, Lunge or Stretch card).

If the Ball Value goes below '0', the ball is considered to be hit too hard and is OUT. Similarly, if the Ball Value is anywhere between '4 to 6', the ball is considered to have been blocked by the net in the middle of the court and is considered DOWN. Either way, the team who modified the Ball Value to a DOWN or OUT status becomes the team that loses the rally instead.

Ball Value	Ball Status	Team that 'returned' the ball
Less than 0	OUT	Loses the rally.
0, 1, 2 or 3	IN	Wins the rally.
4, 5 or 6	DOWN	Loses the rally.

After A Rally

When a point is scored in a rally, the following occurs in the exact order sequence:

1. You may play any cards stating that they can be done so after a rally ends.
2. You may choose to discard up to 2 cards of your choice from your hand. (optional)
3. Count the number of cards left in your hand now. Regain 1 Stamina for every 2 cards in your hand. If you have 5 cards, you only regain 2 Stamina. If you have 8 cards, you gain 4 Stamina.
4. If you have less than 2 cards in your hand, you still regain a minimum of 1 Stamina.
5. Finally, draw back up to 10 cards from any of the 3 decks (Tactic, Return, Service) in any combination of your choice. Yes, you get to choose the type of cards you wish to form your hand. Only the initial hand of every round is fixed. Important Note: When refilling your Hand, DO NOT look at cards as you draw them. You must draw all the cards facedown, until you have enough, then you can look at the new cards drawn. REMEMBER that if you are the Service player, your hand MUST have at least 1 Service card to start the new rally. If you ever end up with no Service card by mistake, you will not be able to start a new rally and it is considered a Double Fault! In such a situation, you immediately lose the rally point. If your opponent has not yet won the round, you may then discard up to 2 cards, and hopefully remember to take at least 1 Service card this time! No stamina is regained by either party in a Double Fault situation.

After A Round

If a point ends a Round, the steps stated in the earlier section 'After A Rally' do not occur. Also, cards or abilities with the description to use them 'after a rally ends' cannot be performed during this time, as this is not the end of a rally, but rather the end of a Round. Instead, the following then occurs in the exact order sequence:

1. You regain a fixed amount of 4 Stamina.
2. You may then choose to keep up to 2 cards from your hand, and discard the rest. You may also choose not to keep any card. If you choose not to keep any card, you may regain extra 2 Stamina.
3. You then draw your new 10 initial hand cards. (Recap: If you are serving, then draw 2 from Service, 2 from Tactic and 6 from Return. If you are not serving, then draw 2 from Tactic and 8 from Return)
4. Discard back down to 10 cards if you have more than 10 cards. A new Round then begins all over again with the new Service player.

Stamina

Many cards in the game require Stamina to play. Whenever you play those cards, you spend Stamina as stated on the cards. You cannot play a card if your current Stamina will go below zero when you play it. Stamina never goes beyond 10, and never goes below 0.

Running Out of Cards

At any point that cards run out in any of the deck types, simply reshuffle the used cards back to form a new deck again. Do not do this until existing draw piles are completely exhausted.

Avatar

An Avatar represents a player's character in a Tennis match. They all have their own unique abilities to tip the match in their favour. These abilities are only useable once an entire game though, and should be carefully conserved. All Avatar cards are double sided. Players begin the game with their Avatar cards showing their unused Abilities face-up. After using the Ability of an Avatar, the player simply flips the Avatar's card over to show the side that states the Ability has been utilized (used). Note that abilities NEVER affect the cost of Switching In when playing DOUBLES mode. You must always pay stamina for Switching In.

Card Types

Service Cards

These cards always begin the rally of a point. They have a fixed Ball Value, which represents the initial number of the tennis ball. In the event a player who must serve the ball finds himself without any Service card to play, he loses the rally immediately and discards up to 2 cards of his choice, then choose from which deck type to redraw from to get back to 10 cards. This is called a Double Fault, and no one regains any Stamina at all.

Return Cards

These cards are highly reliable for returning balls, and mostly cost only 1 Stamina. They are the staple cards of any Sweet Spot player. If a player does not have any Return card to play or chooses not to play one when required to do so, the point for that rally goes to the opposing team. It is always a choice to give the ball up and lose the point.

Tactic Cards

While a few of these cards have the ability to be played in place of a Return card, they are generally dangerous and unreliable because by default they cannot be played on their own. You may also only play a maximum of 1 Tactic card each time you return a ball. However, they are also usually game changing and very impactful if used correctly and at the right time.

Hidden Cards

Some cards in the game have a Shadow icon behind their Ball Value area. They are called Hidden cards and are played face down so that the opponent does not know what card you have played. They are only revealed after the opponent has responded with a Return card. An opponent can never play a Hidden card in response to your Return which already has a Hidden card.

Card Symbols

• Accompanying Card: When you are playing a Return card, you may play this card as well. You can only play ONE such card every Return. Cannot play with Service cards!
• Return Card: For all purposes of game play, treat this card as a Return card. Remember that when returning balls, you always only play a maximum of ONE Return card, and a maximum of ONE Accompanying Card. A card with this symbol can be played together with an Accompanying card!
• Value Out: The Ball Value (BV) must be X at the point that it is being returned to the opponent. (Example: A card you wish to use, has this symbol, and its X value is >10. This means you need to return the ball to the opponent with a Ball Value of at least 11 or higher in order to play this card.)
• Hidden Card: This card is played face-down and only revealed when the opponent plays a Return card after it. Hidden cards always resolve first, followed by the opponent's newly played card(s). The opponent's Return and accompanying card (if any) cannot be Hidden cards. (i.e if team A has played a Return with a Hidden card, team B cannot respond with a Hidden card too)

Doubles Mode (4 Player Game)

In this mode, players team up in a 2v2 format. The rules are all the same as a SINGLES game. There are only 3 exceptions - Hand Size, Serving and Switching In.

Hand Size in Doubles Mode

Throughout the entire game, the Hand Size limit of all players is 8 instead of 10. Also, the fixed Hand combination at the start of every new Round is now:

• Service player - 2 Service, 2 Tactic, 4 Return
• Non-Service player - 2 Tactic, 6 Return

Serving in Doubles Mode

A team that is required to serve for the Round, can decide which of the 2 players on that team gets to serve. As with the original Singles game, a Service player has to serve for the entire Round and cannot switch during the middle of a Round. Also, a player who has been a Service player in Round 1 cannot be a Service player again in Round 3 (if it gets to Round 3). The partner has to be the Service player instead.

Switching In

In Doubles mode, it is required for players in the same team to alternate between themselves and take turns returning a ball. (Example: Player A and B are on the same team. If Player A hits the ball across to the opposing team, and they hit it back, Player B needs to be the one to return the ball now.) However, in times of danger or strategy, a player can suddenly cut in and return a ball twice in a row or more. This requires a bigger exertion though. Whenever a player returns a ball consecutively, he must spend 2 extra Stamina each time. In other words during a Doubles game you can return a ball 3 times in a row, if you can afford to spend additional 4 Stamina - and this is on top of any other Stamina you have to spend to play your cards. If you do not have at least 2 extra Stamina to spend, you cannot perform a Switch In.

Solo Mode (1 Player Game)

In this mode, you go up against an AI. Everything is done exactly the same as a Singles mode of 1-on-1, except for a few exceptions. The biggest exception is that the AI ignores all Stamina costs.

The AI also does NOT have a 'hand'. Instead it plays directly from the 3 decks.

The AI always serves in the first round, followed by you, then by the AI again if there is a 3rd round. When the AI is serving, simply play the top card of the Service deck. The AI will never play Weak Serve. If the revealed card is a Weak Serve, discard it and draw a new one.

After you return or serve a ball, reveal the top 3 cards from the Return deck. The AI will always play the card that brings the Ball Value down to the amount listed below, with highest priority to the lowest possible number it can achieve: 0, 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19+

It will never attempt to hit the ball above 25. If the AI cannot return the Ball Value to any of the above numbers using any of the 3 revealed cards, then reveal the top 3 cards from the Tactic deck. Again in order of priority, the AI will perform the following if any of the cards are revealed:

1. Shank - Regardless of stated conditions, the AI wins instantly unless you use a Focus Control.
2. Return Ace - Regardless of all stated conditions, the AI immediately brings Ball Value to 3.
3. In order of priority, AI will play the following cards only if they can bring the Ball Value to any of the earlier stated numbers: Brutaliser, Buggy Whip, Top Spin Feint, Under Spin Feint, Stretch, Lunge, Dive.
4. If all the above 3 scenarios cannot be done by any of the 3 revealed Tactic cards, AI will give up the point.

Note: For the AI, Under Spin Feint and Top Spin Feint are just considered as '-2' and '+2' Ball Value modifiers accordingly, and are treated as ordinary Return cards.

Whenever you win the point through an 'IN' (bringing Ball Value to 0, 1, 2 or 3), reveal the top 3 cards from the Tactic deck. The AI will immediately play any Saving Move (Stretch, Lunge or Dive) or 'Too Much' if they are revealed. Otherwise, you win the point. If 'Too Much' is revealed, it will attempt to play that card on your Return card.

Other notes: Only the AI plays differently as per the above rules. You still play everything according to standard game rules, and you are even allowed to play Hidden cards! When this happens, the AI always takes the known 'face value' and plays from there, it will not know the actual Hidden number. (Example: The AI hits a ball value of 15 to you. You play an Egg Shot and a '-5' modifier as the Hidden card. The AI will not know that the new value is 10. It will assume the value is still 15, and plays from there.)

Easy Mode

The AI now has 10 Stamina at the start of every new rally. It loses 1 Stamina each time it plays a Return card. It loses 2 Stamina each time it plays a Tactic card. If it has only 1 Stamina left, it can no longer play any Tactic cards, including Saving moves. If it has 0 Stamina left, it automatically loses that rally. Remember that it resets to 10 Stamina for every new rally. It is NOT immune to Brutaliser's Stamina loss effect.

Hard Mode

The AI can now react if 'Shank', 'Approach Shot', 'Jamming Feint' and 'Too Much' are played against it. Reveal the top 5 Tactic Cards. If there is at least 1 'Focused Control', it will play it.

Tips & Tricks

When refilling your Hand back to 10 (or 8 in DOUBLES), learn to balance between the deck types. Players should always have more Tactic cards than Returns because playing Tactic cards are where points are scored the most! However, do not fall into the trap of having too many Tactic cards because many of them cannot be used directly to return a ball. Return cards are the staple of any Hand, and a good player should always have a few available.

When serving, it is always good to draw at least 2 Service cards instead of just 1, so that you always have an alternative choice in the event you get a bad Service card.

The best players manage to balance between having a lot of Tactic cards which usually win the game, with just enough staple Return cards to tide them through the typical rally. Expanding on that, always monitor the card colours on the back of your opponent's Hand. If a player has very few Green cards, you would want to drag a rally out just so there is a high chance he will face a situation where he does not have any returning card to play and lose the point. Similarly, if an opponent has much lower stamina than you, dragging the game is always good too.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A MATHEMATICAL GENIUS TO BE GREAT AT THIS GAME! If you are playing this game for the first time, or introducing first timers, simply inform them of the following below.

Just remember the 4 simple tricks below:

1. When it is your turn to return the ball, avoid modifying the ball down to: 16, 10, 9, 8, 7
2. Aim for 11~! This number simulates a very good and tight shot and is the hardest ball to return, though there are a few rare cards that can still create trouble for you. If you are the one getting an 11, try to play defensively by playing cards that bring the ball value up instead. The Sledgehammer totally kills '11' though.
3. Approach Shots are great when you can return the Ball at values 13, 12 or 11. The next return by the opponent is a guaranteed -5 which will get the Ball Value to either 8, 7 or 6. From there, either it is already OUT or you just have to return a simple ball to get it IN.
4. Jamming Feints are best used when you can return the Ball at values 9, 8 or 7. The next return by the opponent is a guaranteed -3 which will get the Ball Value to either 6, 5 or 4 (OUT).