Hardcourt Balls is a fast-paced, turn-based adaptation of the real-world game of tennis. With just a few simple rules, the roll of dice, and tactical use of skill "cards", it attempts to capture some of the nuances and excitement that make tennis such a great sport, and professional tennis players such outstanding athletes.
Create your own avatar and play in Exhibition Matches, Tournaments, or even full Season and Career Modes. Gain experience, earn prize money, hire coaches and improve your skills and abilities.
Can you win the top tournaments against the best players in the world?!!
The Hard World of Tennis
50+ Player Avatars to choose from
130+ unique AI players with individual look and stats
30+ Global Tournaments to participate in
80+ Coaches with randomized skills
Turn-based Tennis?? Did Someone Smack You in the Head with a Racket?
Yes! But also, yes!
Hear me out. Most tennis games out there, while fun, often just boil down to gamepad acrobatics - who can press button combos faster and better wins. Playing them has always left me unsatisfied and longing for "more tennis". That's why I developed Hardcourt Balls with the goal to recreate, in a deceivingly straightforward way, the TACTICAL aspect of REAL tennis.
Basic Gameplay
The basic gameplay is fast and super simple:
target a tile on the court you want to hit the ball to
roll dice and compare what you rolled with the number you need to hit the target
if you rolled that number or higher, your aim is accurate: the ball lands on target! AND if you rolled higher than the required number, the excess value will be deducted from the opposing players return roll!
if you rolled under, your shot could go wild: for each number under the required target, you roll one dice to determine where the ball "scatters" to. If the ball lands out of bounds, it's a FAULT and you lose the point.
if the ball lands "in", the opposing player now has to return it. He determines his target and has to roll, but - depending on how far he had to move to reach the ball, and how high you rolled, may have to roll a higher number.
This repeats until the ball is out. Player skills and a number of other modifications can affect the dice rolls significantly. In addition, players can develop "critical skills" that can be used once per set, and, when used right, can give them the edge in a close match.
Highly Dynamic Tennis Experience
Simple right? Make no mistake though - behind the simplicity of the game system lies a highly dynamic tennis experience that mimics the "feel" of real tennis surprisingly well! Since the quality of your stroke (aka, your dice roll + skills) and the location of your shot (aka, how far the opposing player has to run to get to the ball) directly influence the opponent's chances of returning the ball successfully, the constant tug of war for the upper hand that is part of a real tennis match is simulated surprisingly well.
Exhibitions, Tournaments, Prize Money and Coaches
Harcourt Balls features a unique player progression system. Rather than simply gaining experience points, players have to find, hire and use the right coaches to improve their skills over time.
Play in Exhibition matches or entire tournaments and collect Prize Money.
Spend Prize money to find and hire a coach offering the skills you are looking to improve (Forehand, Backhand, Serve etc.)
After each completed match (win or loss), you earn a coach token allowing you to do a skill roll. If the roll passes (the more expensive the coach is, the higher the chance), your skill increases one level.
See you on the court!
========== Disclaimer ==========
Hardcourt Balls is not affiliated with nor endorsed by any tennis organization. Any trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. Hardcourt Balls is set in a fictional universe and uses made up player profiles and event names; any similarities with real persons, events or organizations are purely coincidental. Please contact us so we can remove or edit any content you believe may unintentionally infringe on your property.