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WAR: Guerrilla Tactics

Objective

A competitive card game where players fight through repeated skirmishes, using support, information, and escalating waves of Guerrilla Warriors to survive attrition until only one player remains.

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Setup

• Use a standard 52-card deck (no jokers).
• Each player takes one suit (13 cards).
• Each player shuffles their cards to form a draw pile.
• Each player also maintains a discard pile.
• A shared removed pile holds cards that are permanently out of the game.

Special cards:

• 2s – Guerrilla cards
• 7s – Spy cards

At the start of the game, the Guerrilla rank is 2.

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Guerrilla Cards

• All cards from 2 up to the current Guerrilla rank are Guerrillas.
• All Guerrilla cards are considered the same rank when compared to each other.
• Guerrillas can form a pair with any other Guerrilla card, regardless of printed rank.
• Guerrilla rank may increase during the game, but never above 6.

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Objective

Be the last remaining player.

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Skirmish

Each skirmish proceeds as follows:

1. Draw

• Each player draws up to two cards.
• If you used support last skirmish, draw one card instead.
• If your draw pile is empty, shuffle your discard pile to form a new one.
• If you cannot draw, you are eliminated.

2. Play

• Each player selects one card.
• Normally, all players reveal simultaneously.
• If you captured a spy last skirmish, you must reveal first.

3. Evaluate

• Highest card wins.
• If multiple players share the highest rank, they are tied.

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Support

If you are tied or losing, you may add support:

• Reveal your second card and add it to the skirmish.
• You may only support if it improves your outcome.
• If multiple players support, they do so simultaneously.

Resolution with support:

• Highest card still determines the winner.
• A pair of equal ranks beats any single card.
• Guerrillas count as the same rank when forming pairs.

Penalty:

• If you use support, you will draw only one card next skirmish.

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Tie Resolution

If players are tied for best:

1. Each tied player draws two cards.
2. Each plays:
   • One card face down (support)
   • One card face up
3. Compare face-up cards.

• If still tied, repeat the process.
• Only tied players continue.

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Loss of Forces

If any Guerrilla card was involved in the skirmish:

• Remove half of all cards used in the skirmish (rounded down).
• Place them face down in the removed pile.

If no Guerrilla cards were involved, no cards are removed.

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Spoils

• Remaining cards are placed into the discard pile of the winning player(s).

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Spy Cards

• 7s are spies.
• If you win a skirmish where an opponent revealed a spy face up:
  • You must reveal your card first next skirmish.
• Winning a skirmish where the only spy is the one you played does not trigger this effect.

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Guerrilla Promotion

Before a skirmish, a player may propose increasing the Guerrilla rank if:

• All players have played at least one Guerrilla card, and
• The proposing player has no Guerrilla cards in hand

If accepted:

• The Guerrilla rank increases by one (maximum 6)

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Cancellation & Recruitment

• Any player may cancel a promotion by revealing a Guerrilla card from their hand.
• If cancelled:
  • The revealing player recruits a number of cards equal to the current Guerrilla rank
  • Cards are taken from the proposer’s draw pile and placed into the revealer’s discard pile

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Elimination

• If you must draw and cannot (no draw pile and no discard pile), you are eliminated.

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Winning the Game

The last remaining player wins.

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Variant (2 Players)

For a longer game:

• One player uses hearts + diamonds
• One player uses clubs + spades