War: Math Card Game with Most Versatility?

Who knew one card game could be so versatile and useful in the math classroom?  LetsPlayMath shows us how one classic game, War, can be the template for a variety of math games.


Click the link to see how War can help students practice math skills ranging in vastly different levels of difficulty.  Younger students can play Addition War or Subtraction War, while more advanced students can use War to practice multiplication, fractions, and even logarithms.


I've seen Multiplication War played first-hand by a third grade class that had a lot of fun playing.  The teacher assigned a deck of cards to groups of 3-4 students, and the whole class played this way for 20-30 minutes.  You could also consider using just one deck of cards and allowing War as one of several math stations to which students rotate.


War is low-maintenance, easy to teach, and a good asset in building a quick recall of facts.  Go to the link to see descriptions of several versions of the game.