How to play War
War is a card game for two players using one standard 52-card deck, split evenly between them. Each battle, both players flip their top card and the higher card takes both. When the cards match, it becomes a war. You win by taking every card, so your opponent has nothing left to play.
- Players
- 2
- Deck
- One standard 52-card deck, 26 cards each
- Card order
- Aces high; suits don’t matter
- Goal
- Take every card in the deck
Setup
Shuffle the deck and deal all of it out, so each player has a face-down pile of 26 cards. Nobody looks at their cards.
How to play
- Both players flip the top card of their pile at the same time.
- The higher card wins the battle. Aces are high, and suits don’t matter.
- The winner puts both cards on the bottom of their pile.
- If the two cards match in rank, it’s war. Each player puts up to three cards face down, then flips one more. The higher flip wins every card on the table.
- If the war flips match too, the war goes on with another round of face-down cards and a flip.
- A player with a short pile keeps their last card for the flip, so they may put fewer than three cards face down.
Winning
You win when your opponent runs out of cards. If a war starts and one player has nothing left to play, the other player wins. If both players run out at once, it’s a draw.
Playing it in Deckhand
Each player taps their own phone to flip, and the app settles each battle and war and moves the cards. A game of War can run a long time, so Deckhand calls it after 1,000 battles. Whoever has more cards at that point wins, and an even split is a draw.
Deckhand is free on the App Store and Google Play. One phone starts a table and everyone else joins with the code, so nobody needs a physical deck.
FAQ
How many players can play War?
War is a two-player game. The deck is split evenly, 26 cards each.
What happens when both cards are the same in War?
It becomes a war. Each player puts up to three cards face down and flips one more. The higher flip wins every card on the table. If those flips match as well, the war continues.
Do suits matter in War?
No. Only rank counts, and aces are high.
What if a player runs out of cards during a war?
A player with a short pile keeps their last card for the flip, so they put fewer cards face down. If a war starts and a player has nothing left to play, the other player wins.
Does War ever end?
It ends when one player holds every card. Games can drag on, so Deckhand stops after 1,000 battles and gives the win to whoever has more cards.