The Game of War and Diplomacy is a clever card game. Essentially, players win tricks by correctly spelling one of four words. But the words share certain letters so the play may favor another quickly. Both a strategy and a trick-taking game, it also is marked for certain war terms, such as "diplomacy" and "flag of truce." Each of these correspond to certain letter combinations in the game. Players accumulate points after each play and the most points win. The box cover graphic is meant to resemble a Union soldier.