War
War is one of the most common and easy but varied card games around. It can be played with 2 to 200 people, with only 1 (or part of 1) deck of cards or more. It doesn’t involve a set of complex rules so it can be played anywhere or anytime, and one can quit at any time and easily decide a winner. A full game can last quite some time, especially with a number of players. It’s easy enough that any child who has a grasp of numbers can play and fun for children of all ages.
Loser
Winner
Decks: 1, no jokers
Players: 2+
Objective: To hold all the cards
Play: The deck(s) of cards will be dealt evenly between all players, face down. Players will keep their cards in a pile without looking at them. Simultaneously, all players will reveal the top card of their deck, placing it face up on the table. The player with the highest card showing wins all the cards on the table and places them at the bottom of his/her deck.
Value is determined by number or face and suit and colour do not alter the value of the cards. Aces are played high (the highest value possible) followed by kings, then queens, so on and so forth until twos which are the lowest cards in the deck.
War
War: War happens when 2 or more players have the same value card on the table. In this instance, each player with war will lay down one card, face down, on the face up card. Then, the player will lay an additional card, face up, over the previous two cards. The player with the highest uppermost card wins the war and all the cards on the table, including any non-warring cards.
If, during war, players play equal cards again, the war will be repeated until one player lays a higher card on the table and is the winner of all cards.
In a time of war, if the warring cards are lower than the highest card on the table (or any other card), war takes precedent over the higher value and the winner of the war will take these cards.
Variations: Jokers: some place with jokers; generally jokers are high, beating out all values, including Aces.
- Automatic Jokers War
- One variation includes jokers in the deck and whenever a joker is played, there is an automatic war.
- Aces low:
- Aces are the lowest value; kings become the highest value
- Wild Cards
- A card of a certain number is designated wild and becomes the highest card in the deck.
- Multiple Card War
- Instead of lying one card face down then one card face up upon the original warring card, 2 cards will be laid face down, then one face up or one card face down, one up, one down and finally one up with the uppermost card deciding the war.
- High Card Beats War
- When more than 2 players are in a game of war and 2 (or more) player lay down equal cards that are not the highest card on the table, the highest card takes precedence and the war is not played. The cards are won by the player holding the highest card.
