Card Values and Special Abilities

1) Numbered cards’ value is the number shown.

2) The Jack is equal to 11, the Queen 12, and the King 13.
3) The Ace is equal to 1. It can also be used as a Royal Assassin
when played against a group containing a face card (NOT
including the Joker); a player can choose to remove the face
card and the Ace from the game before the battle is fought.

Example: An Ace and Ten are played together against a King and
Seven. The King and Seven would win by total value but the player
who played the Ace decides to “assassinate” the King. The Ace and
King leave the game, the Ten and Seven that are left battle, with the
Ten winning and the Seven leaving the game.

4) The Joker is equal to 10. It can also be played as a suicide

bomber. Once the cards of the battle are revealed, a player can
choose to remove the Joker, cards being played with it, and all
cards played against it.

* Neither the Ace’s nor the Joker’s special ability can be used if being drawn In this loosely based variant of the classic card game WAR, the suits
as the reinforcement card in a war. have broken up, teamed up, and are at war with one another. The
Clubs and Spades have teamed up against the Diamonds and Hearts.
End of the game: Unlike traditional WAR, cards are not revealed at random. Instead,
The game ends when one player is out of cards or a player plays cards players are able to choose the card or cards they would like to play in a
that start a war but have no cards to continue. variety of groupings. As each battle is fought, the losing side loses
their cards and victory will come to the player with cards left standing.
Trying to keep your best cards together could be a great strategy but
Designed by Daniel Isom beware the Royal Assassins and the Suicide Bomber disguised as the
Aces and Joker respectively.

Number of players: 2
Deck: 54 cards – A 52 card deck plus jokers.
Goal: To be the last player with cards left.
© 2013
Deal 1) The tied cards stay on the table while both players draw 1 card
1) Separate cards into two piles: Diamonds with Hearts and as a reinforcement to swing the war in their favor.
Spades with Clubs each with one joker. 2) Players reveal the cards to determine whose card get to the
2) Each player takes a deck, shuffles it, and places it face down in battle first.
front of them. 3) Whoever plays the LOWER valued card wins the war due to its
3) Each player then draws 3 cards. reinforcement making it to the battle first by being a smaller
and quicker unit.
Course of play 4) The only card(s) that are removed from the game are the cards
1) Decide who goes first. that caused the war on the losing side.
2) On the first turn, player 1 chooses what groupings of the three 5) The losing side's reinforcement card goes into their battle wins
cards, if any, to play and places them face down. (See pile face down of the loser. The winning cards are placed in
Grouping Troops) Player 2 then matches the pile(s) on the front of the winning player face down. Both players draw back
board by placing their cards faced down in front of each one. up to 3 cards and play continues as normal.
3) The pile(s) are flipped over one at a time and whoever played
the highest value card(s) wins each battle. The losing cards are Example: A Seven and Nine and a King and Three are played against each
removed from the game and the winning cards are placed in other. Since the total values are equal, a War happens. Each player draws
front of the winning player face down. This is done until all one card from their draw pile and flip them over simultaneously; a Six and
battles are complete. Jack are revealed. The Six helps win the War so the Six along with the Seven
and Nine go into that player’s win pile. The Jack goes into the losing
4) Both players draw back up to 3 cards and player 2 now chooses
player’s win pile but the King and Three leave the game.
what groupings of cards to put down.
If the newly played cards are equal as well, the war continues
If a player does not have 3 cards to play when their turn begins,
following the same steps. The reinforcement card(s) played prior to the
they play the cards they do have and the other player can only play
one that loses also leave the game. The war goes on like this as long as
up to that amount of cards.
the played cards’ values continue to be equal.

Resupplying
Grouping Troops
When a player runs out of cards in their draw pile, they shuffle up their
A player has the option of playing all three cards together, two cards
winning battle pile and place it face down in front of them. This
with one on its own, or all three cards on their own.
becomes their new draw pile. Players will continue resupplying their
draw pile every time it runs out, with their winning battle pile.
Example of a two cards with one on its own: Player 1 had a King, a Seven,
and a Four in their hand. They decide to play the King by itself and the Seven
War and Four together. Player 1 then places the cards face down in two separate
If at any time the turned over cards’ values are equal, then there is a piles. Player two then matches the piles by placing 2 cards in front of the pile
War. of 2 and 1 card in front of the pile with 1.