How to Play the P'yanitsa War Game

The P’yanitsa War Game is a Russian variation of the traditional American card game War. The overall objective in the P’yanitsa War Game is the same as the American version, and that is to win all the cards in the deck from your opposing players. There are some differences, with the six being the most powerful card in the deck. The playing deck is also smaller as it is only made up of 36 cards.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Deck of playing cards
• Table
• Chairs

1. Find a friend to play the P’yanitsa War Game against. The minimum number of players in the P’yanitsa War Game is two players, and the maximum number is four. The ideal size for a game of P’yanitsa War Game is two or three players.

2. Remove all two’s, three’s, four’s, and fives from the deck. After removing those cards, shuffle the deck and deal an equal number of face down cards to each player at the table. Players may not look at his or her own cards, the cards must remain in a pile and remain face down.

3. Flip over the top card of each player’s deck. Each player flips over the top card of his or her pile of cards. The player with the highest card face up wins all the cards flipped over for that round or “trick”.

4. Break any ties that occur by conducting a round known as “P’yanitsa”. Unlike the American game War, the tie breaker involves just one face down card played by each player and one face up one. In the American version there are two or three cards played face down. The player with the higher face up card wins all the cards on the table. If there is another tie, another “P’yanitsa” is played.

5. Continue playing in this manner until one player has all the cards at the table. When a player no longer has any cards left, he or she is eliminated from the game. The player that wins all the cards, wins the game of the P’yantisa War Game.

Tips & Warnings

• There is no need for a “P’yanitsa” between two players in a game of three or four players if another player has a card higher than the two that tie, as they both lose to that player.
• Many players like P’yanitsa War Game more than the American version because with sixteen fewer cards the game does not last as long.
• There is no strategy at all involved in the P’yanitsa War Game. This can result in players that prefer strategy games becoming bored with P’yanitsa War Game very quickly.