What you need
One standard 52-card deck and two players. Three or four can play with the same deck (see variants). No scoring, no table, no reading required: War is usually the first card game a child learns.
Cards rank from ace (high) down to 2 (low). Suits are ignored.
Setup
Shuffle and deal the whole deck face down, 26 cards each. Each player keeps their cards in a face-down stack in front of them without looking at them.
How to play
Both players turn over the top card of their stack at the same time. The higher card wins the “battle”: its owner takes both cards and puts them face down at the bottom of their stack. Then both players turn the next card, and so on.
War
If the two cards are the same rank, it is war. Leave the tied cards on the table. Each player then puts one card face down and one card face up. The higher face-up card wins everything on the table (six cards). If the face-up cards tie again, repeat: another card face down, another face up, until one player wins the lot.
Running out of cards during a war
The usual rule is that a player who cannot put out enough cards to finish a war loses the game. A gentler option, also listed on pagat.com: a player who runs out turns their last card face up and uses it for every remaining battle in that war.
Scoring and winning
There is no score. The game ends when one player holds all 52 cards. This can take a long time, so most people agree a time limit in advance: when it runs out, whoever has more cards wins.
Common variants
- Three face-down cards. Many players deal three cards face down and then one face up in a war, saying “I-de-clare-war” or “W-A-R” with one card per syllable. The winner takes all ten cards.
- Three or four players. Deal as evenly as possible (17 each for three, 13 each for four). Everyone turns a card; the highest takes them all. If two or more tie for highest, everyone joins the war. A player with no cards is out, and the last player with cards wins.
- Jokers. Add two jokers as the highest cards. To keep things fair, put one in each player’s half of the deck.
- War by rank. From Barry Rigal’s Card Games for Dummies: the rank of the tied cards sets the number of face-down cards (two for 2s, up to ten for face cards and eleven for aces).
- Casino War. A gambling version played against the house, not covered here.
Tips for first games
- Agree the war rule (one card or three face down) before you start; it is the main thing that differs between families.
- Keep the won cards in a separate face-up pile and only shuffle them into your stack when it runs out. It makes the game a little less predictable.
- For a shorter game, play with a 20-minute timer or deal only half the deck.
Frequently asked questions
Is an ace high or low in War? High. Ace beats king, king beats queen, and so on down to 2.
What happens if a war ends in another tie? Keep going: each player adds another face-down card and another face-up card until one face-up card is higher.
Does the player who wins a war get the face-down cards too? Yes. The winner takes every card on the table, including all face-down cards.
How long does War take? Anywhere from ten minutes to well over half an hour. The game cannot be influenced by the players, so set a time limit if you have somewhere to be.
