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War (card game)
War (also known as Battle in the United Kingdom) is a simple card game, typically played by two players using a standard playing card deck[1] — and often played by children. There are many variations, as well as related games such as the German 32-card Tod und Leben ("Death and Life"). Rules.jpg) The objective of the game is to win all of the cards. The deck is divided evenly among the players, giving each a down stack. In unison, each player reveals the top card of their deck—this is a "battle"—and the player with the higher card takes both of the cards played and moves them to their stack. Aces are high, and suits are ignored.[1] If the two cards played are of equal value, then there is a "war". Both players place the next card from their pile face down and then another card face-up. The owner of the higher face-up card wins the war and adds all the cards on the table to the bottom of their deck. If the face-up cards are again equal then the battle repeats with another set of face-down/up cards. This repeats until one player's face-up card is higher than their opponent's.[1] Most descriptions of War are unclear about what happens if a player runs out of cards during a war. In some variants, that player immediately loses. In others, the player may play the last card in their deck as their face-up card for the remainder of the war or replay the game from the beginning.[1] There also exists a variant where the player that possesses a larger amount of cards must provide the cards to fight the war.[citation needed] War can also be played by multiple people. Each player in a three-player game receives 17 cards, while each person in a four-player game receives 13. Each player must simultaneously reveal their card, just like in the two-player version. If the highest cards played are tied, they will go to war. All players, including those who are not tied, will play one face-down card and the following face-up card. The person who has the highest card at the end of the war obtains all of the cards that have been played. When a player runs out of cards, they are eliminated and are no longer in the game. The game will continue until one player has collected all of the cards. [1] Game designer Greg Costikyan has observed that since there are no choices in the game, and all outcomes are random, it cannot be considered a game by some definitions.[2] However, the rules often do not specify in which order the cards should be returned to the deck. If they are returned in a non-random order, the decision of putting one card before another after a victory can change the overall outcome of the game.[3] The effects of such decisions are more visible with smaller size decks as it is easier for a player to card count; however, the decisions can still affect gameplay if taken in standard decks.[citation needed] VariationsBeing a widely known game, War has many variations. Recorded variants include:
See alsoReferences
Literature
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