War

How to play War

War is probably the simplest card game there is, and one of the first many children learn. There are no choices to make: the cards decide everything, and the fun is in the big moments when two equal cards meet and a war breaks out. Here you play against the computer.

Goal

Win all 52 cards. In the short game, have more cards than the computer after 100 battles.

The deal

A normal deck of 52 cards is shuffled and split in two. You and the computer each get a face-down pile of 26 cards. Cards rank from 2 (lowest) up to 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace (highest). Suits don't matter.

Turn by turn

1. Both players turn over the top card of their pile at the same time. This is a battle.
2. The higher card wins. The winner takes both cards and puts them at the bottom of their pile.
3. If the two cards are equal, it is war! Each player puts three cards face down (one in the quick option) and then one more face up.
4. The higher of the new face-up cards takes every card on the table. If they tie again, there is another war.
5. If a player doesn't have enough cards for a war, they play what they have, and their last card is turned face up. A player with no card to turn up loses.

End of the game

The player who collects all 52 cards wins. A full game can take a long time, so you can also choose a 100-battle game: when it ends, whoever holds more cards wins.

Playing on this site

Tap your pile or the Flip button (or press F) to play a battle. Auto (key A) plays battle after battle for you, and Finish plays the rest of the game at once. The bar under the table shows who is ahead. Won cards go to the bottom of the pile in a random order, so a game always comes to an end.

Good to know

• It really is luck. No decision changes the result, so War is a perfect game for small children, for learning card values and for relaxing.
• Aces are king. An Ace beats everything. The more Aces you hold, the better your chances, but a single war can swing many cards.
• Wars decide the game. A war can move 10 or more cards at once. One lucky war late in the game can turn things around.
• Pick the length. A full game often takes a few hundred battles. Choose the 100-battle game for a quick match, or let Auto play while you watch.
• Teach with it. Ask a child to say which card is higher before each flip. It is a fun way to practise numbers.