How to Play the Addition War Card Game

Addition War is a variation on the children's card game War. The great thing about Addition War is that it can be both educational and entertaining. For young children, it teaches them how to add two numbers while playing a card game for fun. For adults, Addition War goes much faster than traditional war because twice as many cards are being flipped up in each round. The last player with cards remaining wins the game.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Deck of playing cards

1. Find an opponent to play the game of Addition War against. It is recommended that the game of Addition War is played with just two players. It can be played with three players, but this usually results in a player being eliminated from the game very early.

2. Deal an even number of cards to each player at the table. If there are three players playing the game, discard the last card from the deck.

3. Flip over two cards from each player's hand. The player that has the highest total of his or her two cards at the table wins all the cards that were played and adds them to the bottom of his or her deck. In Addition War, Aces count as one, Jacks count as 10, Queens as 11, and Kings as 12. The rest of the cards are equal to their face values.

4. Determine the winner of any ties. If there is a tie between the highest totals at the table in any round of flipping two cards, a war occurs. In Addition War, this requires each player to place three cards face down and flip over two additional cards face up. The player with the higher face-up total wins the war. If there is another tie, repeat this step until one player has a higher total than the other player.

5. Continue playing rounds of Addition War until one player has all the cards. That player is the winner.

Tips & Warnings

• Addition War is intended for only two or three players, but if you wish to increase the number of players, additional decks of cards can be used. Add one deck of cards for every three additional players.
• If a player does not have enough cards left in his or her pile to complete a round of war after there is a tie, that player automatically loses the war. He or she must give his or her opponent his or her remaining cards and sit out the rest of the game.