Editing Car Wars (section)

===Main editions===
The first four editions use a ground scale of 1-inch = 15-feet. ''Aeroduel'' introduced an air-to-air scale of ¼-inch = 15-feet. The ''Fifth Edition'' uses a revised scale of 3-inches = 15-feet.

;First edition
* ''Car Wars'' 1981–1984 (4" × 7" ziplock-bag or [[Pocket Box]])
** Cars, pickups, vans, and motorcycles. Turns have ten phases.
* ''[[Sunday Drivers (Car Wars)|Sunday Drivers]]''/''Crash City'' 1982 (Pocket Box)
** Added pedestrians, a small bus, and rules for buildings
* ''[[Truck Stop (Car Wars)|Truck Stop]]'' 1983 (Pocket Box)
** Added full-size buses and [[semi-trailer truck]]s
* ''[[Autoduel Champions]]'' 1983 (8½" × 11" book)
** Added helicopters, grasshoppers (flying cars), and superheroes (the last not canon for Car Wars)
** Introduced an alternative hex-based movement system–using 3-inch cars and 1-inch hexes–intended for use with role-playing games. This system was not used again in Car Wars, although the scale is the same as ''Car Wars: Fifth Edition''.
* ''[[Car Wars Reference Screen]]'' 1983 (3-panel 8½" × 11")
** Added "Advanced Collision System"
* ''[[The AADA Vehicle Guide]]'' 1983 (5½" × 8½" book)
** Added trikes (three-wheeled motorcycles) and off-road rules

;Second edition
* ''Car Wars Deluxe Edition'' 1985 (9" × 12" box)
** Combined and refined the various first edition rules, adding 10-wheeler [[truck]]s
** Note: Starting in 1990 the ''Deluxe Edition'' boxes contained the ''Car Wars Compendium: Second Edition'' rulebook rather than the original ''Deluxe Edition'' rulebook.
* ''Dueltrack'' 1986 (9" × 12" box)
** Added gasoline engines, metal armor, race-cars, and ''Chassis & Crossbow'' (rules for the primitive early history of Car Wars)
* ''The AADA Vehicle Guide: Volume 2'' 1987 (5½" × 8½" book)
** Added sedans, and campers ([[sport utility vehicle|SUVs]])
* ''[[Boat Wars]]'' 1988 ([[Pocket Box]]), 1990 (9" × 12" box)
** Added boats, amphibious cars, and hovercraft

;Third Edition
* ''[[The Car Wars Compendium]]'' 1989 (8½" × 11" book)
** Turns reduced to five phases.  Control Table revised.
** Compiled all the second edition rules (except race-cars) in one place
** Refined car movement, based more on the ''Turning Key'' than on a map grid

;Fourth Edition
* ''Car Wars Compendium: Second Edition'' 1990, 1996 (8½" × 11" book)
** Control Table revised again.
** Revised rules — including race-cars — with many updates and refinements. 
* ''Car Wars Tanks'' 1990 (9" × 12" box)
** Added wheeled military vehicles, tanks, and really big guns
* ''Aeroduel'' 1990 (9" × 12" box)
** Added fixed-wing planes and [[airship]]s with both civilian and military grade weapons
* ''Uncle Albert's Catalog From Hell'' 1992 (8½" × 11" book)
** Includes all previously published construction rules, weapons, and equipment, but the only play rules are minor updates to the CWC2E rules.

;Fifth Edition
* ''Car Wars'' 5.0 2002 (9 comic book sized pamphlets, containing the same rules with different car designs, any one of which is all that is required to play). 
** Back to just cars (pre-designed), with simplified play rules. Turns reduced to three phases.
** Scale change, with 1-inch = 5-feet instead of 15-feet
** No official construction rules published {{as of|2011|lc=yes}}, although a reverse-engineered unofficial version exists

The fourth edition has been re-released, and includes the auto creation rules and simplified rules for Role Playing.

;Sixth Edition

On Nov 29, 2019, a [[Kickstarter]] was started to create a sixth edition, similar to the popular OGRE kickstarter. It was funded as of Jan 6, 2020, with 3,936 backers pledging $652,995.<ref>{{cite web |title=Car Wars Sixth Edition by Steve Jackson Games |url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sjgames/car-wars-sixth-edition-by-steve-jackson-games |website=Kickstarter |date=December 2024 |language=en}}</ref>