⚔️ War: card game rules

How to play War

Goal: Win every card in the deck.

Setting up

1. Shuffle and deal out the whole deck between the two players.
2. Each player keeps their pile face down without looking at the cards.

How to play

1. Both players flip the top card of their pile at the same time.
2. The higher card wins, and its owner puts both cards at the bottom of their pile.
3. Cards rank from low to high: 2 through 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace (Ace is highest).
4. If the two cards match, it's War! Each player lays three cards face down and one more face up.
5. The higher face-up card wins every card on the table. If it ties again, go to War again.
6. A player who runs out of cards in the middle of a War loses that War.

Who wins

Whoever collects all the cards wins. Games can run long, so you can also set a timer and see who holds the most cards when it rings.

Tips

• Great for young kids learning to compare numbers. You can take out the Jacks, Queens and Kings at first.
• Agree on a time limit before you start, because a full game can go on for a long time.

Variations

• Three-player War: deal to three players, and the highest of the three cards takes them all.
• Addition War: each player flips two cards and adds them up. The bigger total wins.