How to Play the Paper Game War

The popular paper game known as War where all you need is paper, a pen, and a friend (or enemy)!

Steps

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    Take a piece of regular notebook paper and fold it in half hamburger style.
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    Unfold it and draw a line over the crease.
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    Each player draw a fort on their side of the paper (a half box on the edge of the paper with a flag).
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    Each player draw five soldiers on their side (stick figures are only allowed if both players use them).
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    The object of the game is to take out the opponent by "shooting" his players and fort.
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    During your turn, draw a straight line no longer then 3 inches (7.6 cm) on your side of the field that you think will touch your opponent's soldiers or fort when the paper is folded over.
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    Once you have your bullet drawn, fold the paper over.
    • If it touches an opponent's soldier (head or body; NOT legs or arms), that soldier is destroyed.
    • If it hits the opponent's fort draw an X or a dot to show that you hit it. After 5 hits the fort is destroyed.
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    The opponent then takes his turn.
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    A person wins when all of the other player's soldiers and fort is destroyed.
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    Learn the rules:
    • You must make your fort on the EDGE of your side of the paper.
    • You cannot fold the paper over before you shoot to check your shot.
    • Hits in the limbs don't count.
    • Hits on the flag or flagpole count.

Community Q&A

  • Question
    What are some ways I could make the game more interesting?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Here are a few ideas: Objectives, walls you have to destroy to get to the enemy, a prize to compete for, being able to move your "soldiers" on your turns before shooting (might want to draw things in pencil in this case), being able to re-draw one soldier after five turns, drawing each side in different colors and having a few of your soldiers on their side that you have to avoid hitting or you'll lose points, and a points system. Abilities (magical?), building structures like tents, troops needing supplies that you only get from destroying the enemy, and different kinds of soldiers with different abilities that you can attack with instead the base, like snipers and tanks.
  • Question
    Can I play with a group of friends?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    You could if you played in teams, and it might be possible for 4 people if you fold it in fourths, but I haven't tried this.
  • Question
    Would this work for any size paper?
    Pyti
    Pyti
    Community Answer
    Yes, but if the paper is too small you might not have enough space to draw the figures. A paper from a regular notebook is best for the instructions given.
  • Question
    What happens if I hit multiple soldiers?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    They all die. However, your opponent is not likely to place all his soldiers in a bunch.
  • Question
    How do I know when I have scored a hit?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    The end of your line will touch a soldier's head or a friend's fort when the paper is folded.
  • Question
    Can my soldiers shoot in a Paper Game War?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    By the traditional rules listed here, no. However, since this is a fairly simple game, you can add your own rules if you'd like.
  • Question
    Can there be more kinds of defenses?
    Tony
    Tony
    Community Answer
    Yes, for instance, some rules have walls or shields in them. To use a wall/shield, draw a straight or curved line. When the opponent goes for a shot, they will hit the shield. You can only have a maximum of 3 shields, and you can't put a shield right in front of a character. The opponent has to be able to hit them!
  • Question
    Do you have any tips on how I could add artillery to the game?
    Tony
    Tony
    Community Answer
    You can use the same method as the base: First, draw the artillery. Second, aim/draw a line. Third, fold the paper to hit the opponent's characters.

Things You'll Need

  • Notebook Paper
  • One pen per player (optional: different colors)
  • Someone to play with
  • ruler

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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 13 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 89,536 times.
171 votes - 77%
Co-authors: 13
Updated: January 21, 2021
Views: 89,536
Categories: Games