How is the war unlike the checker games?

Unlike a checker game, war was not organized, it wasn't laid out, the enemy was not visible, and sometimes there is no clear winner or loser.... and there weren't any rule.

There was something restful about it, something orderly and reassuring. There were red checkers and black checkers. The playing field was laid out in a strict grid, no tunnels or mountains or jungles. You knew where you stood. You knew the score. The pieces were out on the board, the enemy was visible, you could watch the tactics unfolding into larger strategies. There was a winner and a loser. There were rules.