How to play War
War is pure luck and pure fun: no decisions, just flip and see who wins. It’s perfect for teaching a grandchild their numbers, or for a relaxing few minutes on your own.
The rules
- The deck is split in half: 26 cards for you, 26 for the computer.
- Each of you flips the top card. The higher card wins both. Aces are high, then King, Queen, Jack, 10 down to 2.
- If the cards match, it’s war! Each puts three cards face down and one face up. The higher face-up card takes the whole pile. Another tie means another war.
- Cards you win go to your winnings, which are shuffled into your deck when it runs out.
Two ways to play
- Quick (the default): once someone has flipped through their whole deck, whoever holds more cards wins. About five minutes.
- Classic: play until one player has all 52 cards. This can take a long time, which is why there’s Auto-play.
Questions
Is there any skill in War?
No, it’s all in the shuffle, which is exactly why children love it. The computer can’t cheat: both halves come from one fair shuffle.
What happens if I run out of cards during a war?
If you can’t put down the face-up card for a war, you lose the game. If you have a few cards but not four, you put down what you can and your last card is the face-up one.
Is it free? Will my game be saved?
Yes and yes: it’s free with no sign-up, and your game is saved in this browser after every flip.