Rules for War

War is a classic and simple card game perfect for 2 players, but can also be played with more. The game requires no prior knowledge and suits all ages - even the youngest can join in! All you need is a standard deck of cards and a bit of time.

The goal of the game is to win all the cards. The player who ends up with the entire deck has won the war!

Take out a standard 52-card deck (remove jokers, unless you want to include them as the highest cards).

Shuffle the cards thoroughly and deal them as evenly as possible among players:

• 2 players: 26 cards each
• 3 players: 17 cards each (1 card set aside)
• 4 players: 13 cards each

Each player places their cards in a pile face down in front of them. No one looks at their cards!

In War, the card ranking is simple:

• Highest: Ace (A)
• Then: King (K), Queen (Q), Jack (J), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3
• Lowest: 2

All suits (♠️ ♦️ ♣️ ♥️) are equal in value. Only the rank matters, not the suit!

If you play with jokers, these are the highest cards of all.

War is very easy to play:

1. All players simultaneously flip the top card from their pile
2. The player with the highest card wins all the flipped cards
3. The winner places the won cards at the bottom of their pile (face down)
4. Then everyone flips the next card, and so it continues

The game continues this way until one player has collected all the cards and won!

The excitement happens when two (or more) players flip cards of the same value - then it's WAR!

How a war works:

1. The players with matching cards shout "WAR!"
2. Each of them places 3 cards face down (this is the "stake")
3. Then they flip a fourth card
4. Whoever has the highest fourth card wins ALL the cards involved

If the fourth card is also a tie, the war continues! Place 3 new cards down and flip another deciding card.

There are several fun variations of War:

• Three-card war: During war, only 1 card is placed down before the decision (faster game)
• Five-card war: During war, 5 cards are placed down before the decision (more dramatic)
• Team war: 4 players divided into 2 teams that cooperate
• War with points: Play in rounds where each won war gives extra points
• Speed war: First to 10 won tricks wins
• Double deck: Use two decks for longer games

Sometimes special situations arise:

• Too few cards for war: If a player doesn't have enough cards to complete a war (4 cards), that player loses
• War between multiple players: If 3+ players have equal cards, everyone fights in the same war
• Last card: If your last card results in war and you lose, you're out
• Empty pile: When the pile is empty, the player flips their won pile and continues

Although War is mainly a game of chance, here are some tips:

• Keep track of which high cards have been played
• Shuffle your won pile well before flipping it
• Be quick to shout "WAR!" to increase excitement
• With younger children, let them see the cards first to practice numbers
• Create your own sound effects and stories during the game
• Play best of 3 or 5 rounds for quicker decisions

The game ends when:

• One player has collected all 52 cards (or all cards in play)
• A player has no more cards left
• You agree to count cards after a certain time

War is perfect as:

• A boredom buster on long trips
• First card game for children
• Quick duel when time is short
• Warm-up before more advanced card games

Remember: In War, luck rules, so everyone has an equal chance to win!