How to Play War (Card Game)

Has Lady Luck always shined on you? Rather than taking a chance in the gambling rooms of Las Vegas, why don't you try playing War instead? War is a game of chance that is played around the world. Save yourself some money and settle down with a friend or two and wage War.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Setting up War

1
Know the object of the game. The goal of the game is to eventually win all of the cards. War is generally played between two people, but up to four people can play. The ranking for cards in War from highest to lowest is A K Q J T (10) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. Nothing beats an Ace and a 2 beats nothing.^{[1]
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2
Shuffle the cards. This should be a standard deck of 52 cards. Try to mix them up as much as possible, especially if it's a brand new deck.

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3
Deal the cards. Deal back and forth between you and your opponent until the two of you have the same number of cards. You should have 26 cards each. Neither player should look at his or her cards.^{[2]
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- If you are playing with three or four players, follow the same protocol. Deal each player an equal amount of cards. If you are playing with three, each player should have 17 cards. For four players, each player should have 13 cards.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Playing War

1
Place the cards face-down on the table. Players are not allowed to look at their cards. Your opponent should not be able to see your cards either. You can also hold them fanned out away from you.
2
Count to three and then flip a card. Each player must count down and flip a card at the same time. You should only flip the top card of your stack of cards.^{[3]
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3
Compare your cards to see which is higher. The player with the higher card wins the round and collects both cards to add to their hand.
4
Go to 'War' when the cards you flip are the same card. However, it doesn't matter the suit of the card; its value of the card does matter. Two jacks can set up a War, or two or more tens can setup a war or even two aces can setup a war. For example, you both flip your cards and each of you flips over a '6'. Now is the time to go to war. To go to war, each player must place three more cards face-down on the table. Flip over a fourth card as you would flip a card when not at 'War'. Whoever has the higher fourth card is the person who takes all 10 cards from the round. If a player doesn't have enough cards to play the war, the player must turn his/her last card face-up. This will be the card used to play the war.^{[4]
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- If you're playing with three or four players: If two or more players are tie for the highest card, then each player to place by one card as face-down. Then everybody plays the next card face-up as they would during a non-War round. The player with the highest card will win. If there is another tie between these two or more players, the War needs to continue.
5
Play until one person wins all the cards in the deck. This might take awhile, since War is a game of chance, but on lazy day, it's a great way to occupy your time.^{[5]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Variations on War

1
Add the two Joker cards. Use these as the two highest cards in the deck. They can beat anything and will give the player(s) who get dealt them a good hand.
2
Play the Romanian way. Război is the Romanian version of War. In Război, the number of cards put face-down in a 'war' is determined by the number on the cards that started the 'war'.
- Example: If both players flip a 6, each player must put five cards face-down during the war and flip a sixth one. All face cards have a value of ten, thus each player must put down nine cards during a war and flip the tenth.
3
Play with half a deck for a shorter variation of War. Take two of each card (so two Aces, two Kings, two 3's etc.) and place them apart from the other half of the deck. Shuffle and use only these 26 cards to play. The game will go much more quickly.
4
Designate special rules for cards. For instance, at the beginning of the game, pick a wild card.
- Example: Designate the 2 of hearts and the 3 of diamonds to be unbeatable cards. Even an Ace cannot stand up to a wild card.
5
Play 52-card war. Line up each of your 26 cards face-down directly across from your opponent's 26 cards. Go down the line and flip each card, as your opponent flips each card. Collect the pairs of cards that you win and repeat. Play until one player wins all of the cards.

Community Q&A

Question

If there are three players and two declare war, does the third player also have to declare war?

Community Answer

No, it only applies to the people who declare "war". The third player is unaffected and will have to wait until the war ends.
Question

Can I shuffle my pile of cards after each war?

Community Answer

You're technically not supposed to, but you're welcome to come up with your own rules for your own game, as long as all players can agree on them.
Question

Can an ace beat a joker?

Community Answer

Not in the traditional game, unless you want to change the rules. If you meant the jack card, then yes, an ace could beat a jack.