Duckie Deck Card Wars: A Two-Player Classic Remake for Toddlers

Card Wars is a game for two players which is based on comparing card ranks.

A deck of playing cards is arguably one of the oldest and most commonly found forms of gaming. It’s so versatile that many game rules and puzzles have been created for it throughout the centuries. Today, I want to highlight Duckie Deck’s latest app called Duckie Deck Card Wars.

Not to be confused with Adventure Time’s Card Wars, this new toddler-friendly app is a classic game for two players that compare the card ranks to determine the winner.

Winner Takes All

The game divides the screen into two sections: one for each player sitting to face one another. Each player has 12 cards, chosen randomly from a single playing card deck. I will share later in this post on how the 24 cards are seeded to keep the playtime reasonable.

The rules are quite simple. Each player put the top card of her deck face up on the table. Then, the player whose card has a higher rank takes both of the cards. If the cards have an equal rank, each player put up three more cards from the top of their decks face down, and follow it up with another face up card. The winner of the second clash will take all the cards.

If the second clash shows cards of an equal rank, repeat the process with three additional face-down cards and one face-up card. Repeat this until there’s a winner, or until one player doesn’t have enough cards to play. The player with no cards left in her deck loses the game.

The rules for determining who wins the clash follow the basic playing card ranks: 2, 3, .., 10, J, Q, K, and A. Once you understand these rules, you can play the games with real cards as well.

Watch trailer video for Duckie Deck Card Wars on YouTube

Parents Need to Know

Because each player only has 12 cards to begin with, the game doesn’t last very long even when the cards may be moving back and forth between the players. The rule for equal clash also helps speed up the game.

Although seemingly complex, Duckie Deck Card Wars is easy to learn. Kids ages 4+ should be able to understand the rules with a bit of parental guidance. The game can help them learn how to compare card ranks. Because the card faces are designed to be fun and kid-friendly, kids can also use them to practice their counting skills.

If the face-up cards have the same rank, put three face-down cards on each side before flipping another face-up card to compare.

Things I Like

Even though the gameplay is designed for two players, it’s perfectly fine if anyone wants to play alone, acting like two players. Again, it will help them learn how the rules work and how to compare the ranks.

As I mentioned earlier, the way the 24 cards are seeded helps keep the playtime short. Instead of using the entire set of 52 cards, the game uses only six sets of ranks, for example: 2, 3, 5, 8, Q, A. Then, it will include all suits of those ranks, making up for the 24 cards which will be dealt randomly to two players. This arrangement increases the odds for a clash due to the inclusion of all four cards of the same rank.

Winner of the clash takes all the cards in the current battle - which may comprise of 2, 10, or even 18 cards.

Conclusion

Duckie Deck Card Wars is a fun game for those who are eager to find out what kind of games they can play with the playing cards laying around the house. It’s designed to be kid-friendly and fun to play with two players. Because it’s all about comparing card ranks, kids ages four and up can use the game to practice their counting and number-comparing skills.

Get it on the App Store: iPhone | iPad

App was provided for our honest review.