War
Quick Guide
Proficiency Grade
Beginner
Young Children &
Elderly Adults
# of Players
Friendly
2-8
Ideal # of Players
2
Replay-ability
Low
Strategy Needed
Low
Amount of Luck
High
Ability to Learn
Easy
How to Play War
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The objective of the game is to win all the cards, effectively winning the War.
Setup
To play War, you need a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The cards are shuffled and then dealt evenly between the all players.
Playing
Each player takes the top card from their deck and places it face-up in the middle of the playing area. The player with the highest card wins that round and takes all the cards, placing them at the bottom of their deck.
Aces are the highest card, followed by King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2.
If both cards are the same, a "War" occurs. In a War, each player takes three cards from the top of their deck and places them face down on top of the card that caused the war. The popular saying goes with each card face down "we" "want" "war". The fourth card from the top of their deck is placed face-up on top of the three face-down cards. The player with the highest card wins all the cards in the War (including the face down cards) and adds them to the bottom of their deck.
If a player does not have enough cards left for the War, they will put as many face down as they can, with the outcome determined by their last card flipped up. Their opponent will match the same amount of cards.
If the fourth card is also a tie, another war occurs until one player wins the round.
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Game Ending
The game ends when one player has all of the cards, that player wins the War!
Variations / House Rules
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3-8 Players
War can be played with any number of players.
For 3 or 4 players, just deal out the cards evenly among all the players. Any extra cards can be put in the center. The winner of the first round will win them and put them on the bottom of their deck. When players flip up their card, the highest wins all of the cards. If two players match, but another one is higher, the highest card still wins. If players tie for the highest card, only the tied players place three cards down and flip one up to determine the winner of that round.
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For 5-8 Players, add a deck of cards. All other rules and play is the same.
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As players run out of cards, they are eliminated from the game. The rounds continue only with players that still have cards left.
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3 Card War (instead of 4 cards)
Instead of 3 cards down and the 4th is flipped up to decide the outcome of the war, only two cards are down and the third determines the war.
Thoughts
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War is the most simplistic game that is perfect for young children or older adults. It is a great way to kill time without too much thought or needing any strategy.
I remember playing very young, especially with my Dad. War does not take much table space, and is ideal for very young children. Perfect for plane rides and airports.
Where to Buy
Coming Soon