War of the Buttons

About this board game

War of the Buttons is a 2018 board game for 2–4 players, with a playing time of about 70 minutes. Each player leads a gang of kids working to build their own hut.

To make progress, players use both their own dice and neutral dice. The game combines this shared dice element with the hope of receiving help from a big brother—and the worry that someone might tattle on them at school.

These story-driven details give War of the Buttons a distinctive setting inspired by La Guerre des Boutons, the 1912 novel by Louis Pergaud. The game brings the novel’s theme of children’s gangs and their hut-building efforts to the tabletop.

• For 2–4 players
• Approximately 70 minutes of play
• Use personal and neutral dice
• Lead a gang of kids building a hut
• Seek help from a big brother and avoid being tattled on at school

With its focus on dice, competing gangs, and a shared childhood setting, the game presents a compact tabletop interpretation of its literary inspiration. Players take on the role of young leaders trying to complete their own hut while navigating the possibilities represented by the dice and the threat of tattling.

Whether discovered through its connection to Louis Pergaud’s novel or its unusual schoolyard theme, War of the Buttons offers a 2–4-player experience built around dice use, hut construction, and the fortunes of each gang.