Playing Cards: War of Attack and Defence
War of Attack and Defence is a card game adapted from the classic card game, War. New rules have been introduced, significantly increasing the strategic depth of the game.
Although the game has very simple rules, it actually offers a great deal of strategic depth. As well as testing memory, it involves extremely long chains of consequences and logical reasoning.
Rules of the Game
- For two players.
- No jokers.
- Shuffle the cards and deal half to each player.
- Each turn, the two players:
- Pick up the top card from their hand and check its value.
- Decide the battle strategy: Attack or Defend.
- Once the decision has been made, players must simultaneously announce their strategy and play their cards; no going back.
- Determine the outcome based on both players' strategies and cards (see the Judgment section).
- The winner of the turn takes their played card back and takes the card played by the opponent; if they need to take a second card, they take the top card from the opponent's hand.
- The winner must reveal the second card to both players before taking it.
- Won cards (including those you have played) are placed at the bottom of your hand
- The order in which the cards are placed is as follows: your own cards are at the bottom, followed by the cards played by your opponent, and then the top card of your opponent's hand.
- The first player to run out of cards loses.
Judgment
- Both sides attack: the player with the higher card wins two cards; if it is a tie, neither player wins any cards, and the cards are returned to the bottom of their own deck.
- One side attacks, the other defends:
- If the attacker's card is higher, the attacker wins one card.
- If the defender's card is higher, the defender wins one card.
- In a draw, the defender wins one card.
- Both players defend: swap the cards they have played and return them to the bottom of their decks.
Card Rankings
The method for determining the rank of a card is exceptionally unique. A card is defeated by the 6 cards following it in the sequence, and defeats the 6 cards preceding it.
For example, a 7 can beat cards from A to 6, whilst cards from 8 to K can beat a 7.
The entire sequence forms a cycle. For example, A beats 8 to K, whilst 2 to 7 beats A. K beats 7 to Q, whilst A to 6 beats K.
- A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K
Strategy
In a single turn, if a player knows their card is stronger than their opponent's, they attack; if they know their card is weaker or equal to their opponent's, they defend.
However, when viewed from a broader perspective, players can actively control the order of cards by opting for either an attack or defence, thereby gaining an advantage, rather than simply focusing on the maximum number of cards drawn in a single turn.
Special Modes
Minimal Mode
Play with only two suits, reducing the deck from 52 cards to 26.
This can significantly reduce the cognitive load on players.
Fair Mode
Both players have the same cards and the same card order, while the cards are still shuffled randomly.
This ensures fairness in the game, making strategy and calculation the only factors determining victory or defeat.
Open-card Mode
Both players' cards are laid out face up, while the order of the cards still follows the rules.
This means the game no longer relies on memory, but focuses purely on strategy.