War – Add , Subtract
Math Concepts
Add, sub- single-digit numbers
Materials
Deck of playing cards
Players
2
Set up
Remove the face cards from the deck of cards. Split the cards evenly in two piles face down, one for each player.
Play
You can use addition or subtraction. Suppose you use addition. Flip over the top two cards from each pile and add up each pair of cards. The player with the larger sum keeps all four cards. In the example below, the player on the right wins with 4+8=12 against the left person’s 1+6 =7. If the sums match, flip over the next two pairs of cards and the winner gets all eight cards.
Goal
The player with the most cards after one or more runs through all the cards is the winner
Discussion and Tips
Decide in advance how many times you will go through the deck or how long you are going to play.
Variations
Difference: Practice subtraction by using the difference of the two cards.
Smaller wins: To change things up, sometimes play that the smaller result of the two cards wins.