The War Card Game is a favourite with my kids. It is a great game for youngsters (4+) who are just starting to learn the relativity of numbers, eg that 3 is bigger than 2, 8 is bigger than 4 etc.
It is a two player game and although we have a specific War Card Game pack of cards, you can simply use a standard deck of playing cards. You need four of each number card from 1 (ace) – 9, so you can just remove the 10s, jack, queens and kings and you are ready to play!
Shuffle the cards and deal the entire pack out one at a time, face down.
At the same time, each player turns over their top card and places them side by side. The aim is to have the highest card. These are referred to as a “battle”.
The player who turns over the highest card, takes both cards and places them face down on the bottom of their pile.
When we first started playing this game, I would write the numbers down so the preschooler could refer to them to work out which number was the highest. It only took a couple of games with the numbers and he no longer needed the reference sheet.
If both players turn over the same number, it is then a “war”.
Each player places another card face down on top of their first card.
Then players place a card face up on top of their pile. The winner of the “war” is the player with the highest card. If players turn the same card again, this process is continued until there a player does have a higher card.
Play continues until one player has all the cards.
Word of warning though – this game can go on for a very long time. Often we will decide on a time limit at the start, for example 20 minutes, and the winner will then be the player with the most cards at the end of this time.
What card games do your kids like to play?