War

Overview

Flip a card each, higher card wins both. Continue until one player holds the entire deck. There are no decisions of any kind, which is precisely why it works for very young children.

No governing body publishes rules for this game. This page describes the most common form. House rules vary, so agree them before you start.

1. Setup

Two players. Deal the whole deck evenly — 26 cards each — face down. Players do not look at their cards.

2. Play

Both players simultaneously turn over their top card.

The higher card wins both cards, which go to the bottom of the winner's pile.

Aces are high. Suits are irrelevant.

3. War

When both cards are equal, a war begins:

1. Each player places three cards face down.
2. Each then turns up a fourth.
3. The higher fourth card takes all ten cards.
4. If those tie as well, the war repeats.

A player with fewer than four cards remaining puts down what they have and turns their last card up.

4. Winning

The game ends when one player holds all 52 cards.

In practice it can take a very long time, and nothing guarantees it ends: the cards can fall into a repeating cycle. Many families set a time limit, with whoever holds more cards at the end winning.

5. Variations

• Three-player War — highest of three takes all; ties between two trigger a war between those two only.
• Casino War — the same game as a house banked table game, with a tie offering a surrender option.

Commonly argued

• Aces are high, suits are irrelevant.
• A war costs three face-down cards each, then one up.
• There are no decisions in this game. None at all.
• Games can run for a very long time. Agree a time limit first.