Famers Duel — Digital Tennis Card Game

The central design problem was translating the rhythm of a tennis rally into cards while keeping the logic of the sport. I built the exchange around serving, reading the opponent’s return and building enough pressure to force a failed return.

Each card represents a tennis action or a way to change that action. The rally has a recognizable beginning, a back-and-forth exchange and a clear reason for ending.

The design gives each player a starting hand and separates the serve deck from the main deck. A serve starts the exchange. Players draw and play on their turns, alternating returns until one side cannot make a successful response.

A return is a choice about the current shot and the cards worth spending on it. A successful response sends the decision back to the opponent. A failed exchange resolves the point, feeding into the tennis-style game and set structure.

Three attributes gave shots different jobs. Power applied pressure, Accuracy made that pressure more or less reliable, and Spin controlled how much the opponent could do in response.

In the design, a smash could offer high Power at the cost of reliability. A lower-power drop shot could apply pressure through Spin. Manoeuvres let players change those trade-offs to fit the exchange.

The main deck combined return actions, modifiers and situational shots. The separate serve deck made the opening decision different from the decisions made during the rally.

The legends were designed to change how a player used the same rules. Bonuses, unique cards and preferred shots gave each deck a reason to play differently without requiring a separate ruleset.

These four examples come from premade-deck design drafts. They describe the explored playstyles, not the released roster or final abilities.

The opponent’s last shot sets the problem: its Power establishes the return threshold and its Spin can limit the response cards available. The right card changes with the shot, the hand and the resources the player wants to keep.

One draft modifier adds two Power and costs one Accuracy. Another exchanges Spin for a more reliable shot. Drawing and discarding changes the hand rather than the current shot. The trade-offs give players a reason to consider the next exchange before spending a strong card.

I designed a longer loop around match play: players could earn XP or rewards, unlock cards, and use them to evolve a premade deck. The deck drafts explored replacing related cards with earned legend cards while preserving deck size.

A 32-level XP progression was explored during design. The files also propose daily login rewards, quests, challenges, events and tournaments as different routes to unlocks. These were engagement concepts; the exact XP curve and reward schedule are not confirmed in the release.

The surviving files document several iterations of the rules, card values, legend abilities, premade decks and progression. One exploration used equipment and movement on the court; another centered the rally on shot attributes and cards that modify the reply.

Changing how a return worked changed the value of modifiers and signature cards, which in turn affected deck composition and what an unlock could add.

The released browser game retained turn-based tennis, shot selection, power-ups, tennis-style scoring and signature shots based on the legends’ playing strengths. The official launch describes matches against friends, other fans or a bot. Charles Elena also describes card leveling and artwork customization.

The public material confirms these features at a high level. It does not establish the draft’s exact thresholds, hand sizes, legend bonuses or 32-level XP curve. The official screenshots below show the final product for context; my contribution was game design, systems and mechanics.

• Official Hall of Fame release and how to play ↗
• Charles Elena case study and screenshots ↗
• Sports Business Journal coverage ↗

• Related ITHF work → Metaverse Museum