Peace

Peace is a card game of wit, strategy, and just plain luck, building on the basic principles of War.

Here I've copied and formatted the 12/10/2018 rules, written by an old friend from school.

Quick Rundown -

Players

4-8 is recommended, but the game can be played with 3. No upper limit on players.

Time

around 30 minutes to over a hour, depending on how many decks and players.

Age rating

recommended for 10+, but no age limit.

Materials needed

1-2 decks of cards, friends, and whoever you can get to play the game. (see player recommendations)

Premise

A game that takes War’s luck and transforms it into a mixture of luck and skill. Can be confusing at first, but easy to learn after a few games. Hard to master, however. Different strategies depending on those who want to pick short-term opportunities, or long-term plans. Incorporates a balance of luck and skill.

Rules - 

SETUP: Decide on how many decks. For 3-4, it’s recommended to use only one deck, but especially for larger groups, two or more may be needed. More decks will result in a longer playtime, but also more variety.

Then - 

1. Shuffle the cards.
2. Dealer (can be whoever) gives each player 3 cards. Players CANNOT look at these cards, they must be face down in front of them. The area where the cards are placed is referred to the “battle zone.”
3. Dealer sets remaining cards in a stacked pile in the center.
4. All players immediately flip over two cards. (and only two cards.)
5. Starting with the dealer, and going clockwise (or counterclockwise, does not matter.), each player takes a turn.
6. A player may choose 3 (2) options - attack, flip, or pass.
   1. Note that if a player already has 3 cards flipped over, they cannot flip over any more cards.
7. To attack another card, the player must select their card of choosing and attack a different, FLIPPED OVER, card of a different player.
   1. Higher cards (in the order A, K, Q, J, 10 through 2) beat lower cards. ACES ARE THE HIGHEST, BUT CAN BE DEFEATED BY 4 AND LOWER.
8. If the player wins the engagement, then they take that card and put it into another, personal pile. This will now be referred to the “reinforcement deck.”
9. If the player decides to tie, then the two players take one card from the main pile in the center, or if that has ran out, their replacement deck, and flip it over. Same rules apply as if attacking.
   1. Repeat until a player wins.
   2. Winner takes all cards.
10. After attacking, the winning player gets to keep their card (and it stays flipped over in the “battle zone”)
11. If the player attacks a LOWER value card, they automatically lose.
    1. The other player keeps the attacker’s card, and puts it into their reinforcement pile.
12. If the defender loses the engagement, they will take one card from main deck, or if that has ran out, their reinforcement deck, and flip it over to replace the lost card.
13. If a player flips, they flip over a card in their battle zone.
    1. Player cannot flip if they have all 3 cards already flipped over.
14. If a player passes, they give up their turn.
15. After the main pile in the center is depleted, players take from their reinforcement deck. Depending on the game, players may have multiple reinforcement deck. (example first main pile -> reinforcement deck -> reinforcement deck -> casualty deck) (note that you can only have one reinforcement deck at a time.)
16. After the main deck is depleted, any card a player wins or loses goes into the casualty pile. THIS PILE CANNOT BE DRAWN FROM. Players can still draw from their reinforcement deck.
17. The winner is the person who lasts the longest. The goal is to be the last one standing.

Tips / advice.

• Sometimes it is better to pass than take action, to get an idea of what other players are doing.
• It is strongly encouraged to make alliances (and break them.)
  • However, in lower player games (3-4), alliances are often especially unreliable, and may not happen at all.
  • In 4+ player games, expect many alliances. It is best to ally yourself with whoever you think has the best deck/best chance of winning.
  • Don’t be afraid to betray your alliance - be afraid of the consequences, however.
• Remember, cards you ‘kill’ at the start of the game will go into your reinforcement deck, where you will play them next. Don’t pick up cards you think you won’t need.
• In reality, while it may seem as if aces are the best card, it is really kings. They cannot be defeated by anything lower than an ace, and you can realistically only hope to tie them.
  • If you are in a 3-4 player game, you might consider making kings suspect to the ace rule, where cards that are 4 and lower can defeat them.
• Sometimes it is better to attack with a lower value card, to either give the enemy a bad card, or to replace it with a better one. Just be aware of your card count!
• Remember, this is a war of stamina - you want to watch your card count and make sure it doesn’t deplete. That being said, don’t be afraid to take risks - like causing a tie. The rewards can be many cards added to your pile.
• Add your own rules to the game! Especially if you think it would make the game more fun.
  • For example, an idea of using resources was originally thought of, but it was decided it would make the game too complex. Same for using both the card type and card value versus using the card value.