How to Play War
Turn a card, the higher card wins, and a tie means war: the full rules of the classic card game for two.
War is one of the simplest card games there is, and a favourite with young children. Two players split a deck, turn over one card each at the same time, and the higher card takes both. When the cards match, it is war: each player puts down an extra card face down and another face up, and the winner takes the whole pile. The player who ends up with all 52 cards wins. There are no decisions to make, so anyone who can tell which card is higher can play, and it is called Battle in the UK.
War Card Game Rules at a Glance
| War | |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 (3 or 4 also work). |
| Cards | A standard 52-card deck. |
| Card order | A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Suits don’t matter. |
| Deal | The whole deck, one at a time, face down: 26 cards each. |
| A battle | Both players turn up their top card. The higher card wins both. |
| A war | On a tie, each player plays one card face down and one face up. The higher face-up card wins everything on the table. |
| Goal | Win all the cards. |
How to Play War
- Deal. Shuffle and deal the whole deck one card at a time, face down, so each player has 26. Keep your cards in a face-down pile without looking at them.
- Battle. Both players turn over their top card at the same time. The higher card wins: take both cards and put them face down on the bottom of your pile.
- War. If the two cards are the same rank, leave them on the table. Each player puts their next card face down, then turns another card face up. The higher face-up card wins all six cards.
- War again. If the new face-up cards also match, each player adds another card face down and another face up, until one face-up card is higher. That player takes all ten (or more) cards.
- Win. Keep playing until one player has all 52 cards.
What If You Run Out of Cards in a War?
Most rule sheets don’t say, so agree before you start. The two common answers are:
- You lose. If you don’t have enough cards to finish the war, the game is over and your opponent wins.
- Your last card fights. Turn your last card face up and use it for the rest of the war. If you lose that, you are out.
War Rules Questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How many cards do you start with in War? | 26 each with two players, 17 with three (one card left over) and 13 with four. |
| Are aces high or low? | High. The ace beats every other card. |
| Do suits matter? | No. A 7 of hearts and a 7 of spades are equal, which starts a war. |
| How many cards go face down in a war? | One in the standard rules. Many players put three down, sometimes saying “I de-clare war” as they lay them. |
| Can you look at your cards? | No. You play them from the top of your pile without looking. |
| Do you shuffle the cards you win? | The rules don’t say. Any order works, as long as both players agree. |
| How do you win War? | By collecting all 52 cards. For a shorter game, you can agree a time limit and count cards when it runs out. |
War with Three or Four Players
Deal the cards out evenly: 17 each for three players or 13 each for four. Everyone turns up a card at once, and the highest card takes them all. If two or more players tie for highest, there is a war, and everyone plays a card face down and a card face up, not just the players who tied. A player with no cards left drops out, and the last player with cards wins.
War Card Game Variations
- Three cards down: in a war, each player puts three cards face down before the face-up card, which makes each war worth ten cards. Many players play this way.
- Peace: the opposite of War: the lowest card wins each battle.
- Jokers: add both jokers as the highest cards, above the aces. Some players bury one in each player’s pile so nobody starts with both.
- Prisoners of War: after winning a battle you can keep one of your opponent’s cards face up as a prisoner and play it later instead of your top card.
- Underdog: the loser of a war takes the pile anyway if one of their face-down cards is a jack.
- Rank wars: the number of face-down cards matches the tied rank: two for a pair of 2s, up to ten for court cards and eleven for aces.
- Tod und Leben (“Death and Life”): a German version with a 32-card pack, mentioned as early as 1833, where one player has the red cards and the other the black.
- Casino War: a betting game in casinos where one card against the dealer decides the hand. See the Casino War guide.
Is There Any Strategy in War?
In the standard game, no: every card is played from the top of the pile, so the deal decides the winner. That is part of its appeal for young children, who can play on equal terms with adults and practise recognising which card is higher. The one place a player can have an effect is the order in which won cards go on the bottom of the pile, since the rules don’t fix it. If you want a version with choices, try Prisoners of War, or switch to Slapjack or Egyptian Rat Screw, where speed matters.
How Long Does a Game of War Take?
Often a long time. These numbers come from 100,000 simulated two-player games under the standard rules (won cards returned in random order, and a player who can’t finish a war loses), plus 100,000 with three cards face down:
| One card face down | Three cards face down | |
|---|---|---|
| Median game | 334 battles | 180 battles |
| Average game | 442 battles | 236 battles |
| Short game (1 in 10 are shorter) | 114 battles | 63 battles |
| Long game (1 in 10 are longer) | 910 battles | 486 battles |
| Games over 1,000 battles | 8% | 1% |
| Wars per game, on average | 26 | 14 |
| Longest game in the simulation | 4,240 battles | 2,566 battles |
Playing with three cards face down roughly halves the length of the game, because each war moves ten cards instead of six.
War Card Game Odds
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Chance the first battle is a war | 3 in 51, or 6% |
| Share of all battles that turn into a war | About 6%, or 1 in 17 |
| Chance a game includes at least one double war | 69% |
| Chance you are dealt 2 of the 4 aces | 39% |
| Chance you are dealt all 4 aces, or none | 6% each |
| Chance of winning with no aces | 12% |
| Chance of winning with 2 aces | 50% |
| Chance of winning with all 4 aces | 88% |
An ace never loses a battle, but it can be lost when it lands face down in a war, which is why four aces don’t guarantee a win. The figures for winning by aces come from the same 100,000 simulated games.
Where War Comes From
Nobody knows exactly when War started, and it has been played under different names around the world. Its close German relatives Bettelmann (“Beggar Man”) and Tod und Leben were described as early as 1833. In Britain the same game is called Battle, and in Russia children play a 36-card version called P’yanitsa (“Drunkard”).
More Games to Try
For more quick games for children, try Snap, Slapjack, Go Fish and Old Maid. Egyptian Rat Screw is the fast, slapping version for older players, and Casino War is the betting game built on the same idea.
War card game: frequently asked questions
How do you play the card game War?
How many cards do you start with in War?
Are aces high or low in War?
What happens when there is a tie in War?
What happens if you run out of cards during a war?
How long does a game of War last?
Can you play War with 3 or 4 players?
Is there any strategy in War?
Fadi Hayek
Author & Casino Expert
After going through several successful experiences with several industry pioneers, Fadi Hayek has managed to excel in the world of content for online gaming by providing unique content for several projects that allowed him to obtain the necessary experience to launch his career. Last but not least, Fadi also holds several certificates, including but not limited to content marketing and iGaming.
