ID#:__________________________
Date:_____________
War Card Game Worksheet:
Instructions: This game will require you to work in teams of five. You will read 8 cases
in which people come into contact with pathogens. You will play a combination of cards
in response. Your goal is to prevent the person from getting sick, but whether you are
successful will depend on the cards you play.
Players:
 Two people will play the pathogen side.
 Two people will play the body defense side.
 One person will be the judge, explaining which side wins in each situation.
Rules:
1. After reading each case, the disease team will select a disease card to play that
makes sense based in what happens in the case.
2. After the disease card has been played, the judge will award the disease team
points from the disease table. If a disease involves a coin toss, then the coin
toss will occur at this point.
3. Next, the immune response team has 1 minute to play a card that is the most
appropriate defense against the disease card.
4. The judge will award the disease team the appropriate points from the immune
table.
5. After the judge has tallied the points, the result will be a win, lose or draw.
6. Both teams have to answer questions about the case, and what the disease
outcome would look like in the scenario played. (e.g. symptoms, chronic
infection, cleared infection, etc.)
Scorings:
1. Disease players are on offense. They must play a disease that is appropriate for
the scenario. They are awarded points based on which disease they play. They
win if they are awarded more points than the immune system
2. Immune system players are on defense. They score by picking an appropriate
body defense against attack. They win if they are awarded more points than the
disease.
3. Judge will use the guide to determine the winner and award points. DON’T LET
PLAYERS SEE THE GUIDE!
4. There are three potential outcomes. The disease can win (uncontrolled
infection), the immune system can win, (infection cleared) or there can be a tie
(controlled infection).
5. In each case, describe the symptoms (or lack of symptoms) that the person
would experience.
Judges! Don’t let the players see the scoring table.
Case 1:
Jose is playing outside in the woods, when he falls and scrapes his knee, cutting his
skin.
Card played
Reason
Point awarded
Winner
Disease
Body Defense
Outcome
Symptoms:
Case 2:
Michelle eats at a new restaurant. Unfortunately, her food is contaminated.
Card played
Reason
Point awarded
Winner
Disease
Body Defense
Outcome
Symptoms:
Case 3:
Mark works at the hospital as a nurse. After injecting a patient with insulin, he
accidentally punctures his skin with a needle.
Card played
Disease
Body Defense
Outcome
Symptoms:
Reason
Point awarded
Winner
Case 4:
Pauline is visiting a country in South America. She is very thirsty, and takes a drink of
water from a well even though people have told her the water isn’t clean.
Card played
Reason
Point awarded
Winner
Disease
Body Defense
Outcome
Symptoms:
Case 5:
Warren plays outside in the tall grass, and is bitten by a mystery insect or animal.
Card played
Reason
Point awarded
Winner
Disease
Body Defense
Outcome
Symptoms:
Case 6:
Jemima is on an airplane for a very long flight. There are a number of people coughing
in the plane. Later, Jemima feels the beginning of a cough coming on.
Card played
Disease
Body Defense
Outcome
Symptoms:
Reason
Point awarded
Winner
Case 7:
David works on a farm. One day he is out on the pasture working with the cows and he
stops to eat a sandwich. Two days later he begins to feel very ill.
Card played
Reason
Point awarded
Winner
Disease
Body Defense
Outcome
Symptoms:
Case 8:
Tim and Mandy are dating. They decide to have sex, and since Mandy is on birth
control, they don’t use a condom.
Card played
Reason
Point awarded
Winner
Disease
Body Defense
Outcome
Symptoms:
Analysis Questions:
1. Which diseases played during this game seemed to be the most effective at
making people sick?
2. Which body defenses / immune responses seemed to be the most effective in
fighting against disease?
3. Describe three things you learned during this activity about infectious disease.
4. Describe three things you learned about immune responses.
5. Why do the immune defenses change in point value based on what disease they
are facing?
6. In scoring this game, there are three possible outcomes for each encounter: win,
lose or tie. What does each outcome mean for the person? The pathogen?
Does this have a different meaning for different pathogens?