Duds was developed through constant playtesting with friends, focusing on how people actually behave around a table and not just how a game works on paper. From the start, the core goal was interactivity: designing mechanics that keep everyone involved even when it isn’t their turn, through reactive cards, shared Events, and even fun little cards that you could sneak onto other players. While staying true to familiar turn-based TCG structures, the game pushes players to stay present rather than disengaging between turns.

Scalability was equally important. Although Duds was built with group play in mind, the mechanics were intentionally designed to scale cleanly from chaotic team-ups down to tight 1v1 matches, where strategy and pacing become even more pronounced. Flexibility in playstyles was achieved through distinct agents, item-driven decision-making, and multiple strategic paths, allowing players to lean into control, aggression, adaptability, or experimentation based on their personality. To support high replayability, Events, win conditions, and card interactions shift each game, ensuring that no two sessions feel the same and that players are encouraged to explore new strategies every time they sit down.

Check out the full how-to-play below.