How to play the War card game

Set up the deck and card ranks

For classic two-player War, remove the jokers from a standard 52-card deck. Shuffle and deal all the cards evenly: each player gets 26. Keep each stack face down and do not look through it.

Ranks run from highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Suits do not matter. A 9 of clubs beats a 7 of hearts, while two queens tie regardless of suit.

The rules below describe a tabletop version, not unverified details of Simply War. Agree on your tie and low-card rules before you start; families play several variations.

Play an ordinary round

You do not choose a card from a hand. Both players reveal the top card of their face-down stack, so the order of the deck determines the result.

1. 1Each player turns over their top card at the same time.
2. 2Compare ranks. The higher card wins both revealed cards.
3. 3Place the captured cards face down at the bottom of the winner’s stack. Use a consistent collection order agreed before the game.
4. 4Reveal the next pair and repeat. If the ranks match, start a war instead.

• Example

  Player A reveals a King; Player B reveals a 10.

  Answer: Player A takes both cards.

  A King ranks above a 10. Player A puts both at the bottom of their stack. Card counts move from 26–26 to 27–25 after this first round: the winner recovers their own card and gains one from the opponent.

What happens when the cards tie?

A tie starts a “war.” Leave the tied cards on the table. In the one-face-down version used here, each player adds one card face down and then one face up. Compare only the new face-up cards; the higher one wins the entire pile.

If the new face-up cards tie too, repeat the same procedure with the whole pile still on the table. Do not award the pile until a face-up comparison breaks the tie.

A common alternative uses three face-down cards followed by one face-up card. That produces a ten-card pile after a single war instead of six. Neither version is universal; pick one before playing.

• Example

  Both players reveal an 8, then place one card face down each. A reveals a Queen; B reveals a 5.

  Answer: Player A wins all six cards.

  The pile contains two original 8s, two face-down cards and the Queen and 5. The Queen beats the 5, so Player A collects 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 cards. The hidden cards’ ranks do not affect who wins.

Finish the game and agree on edge cases

The usual goal is to collect all 52 cards. A player with no cards left loses. War can take a long time, and depending on card collection order it can cycle through repeating positions.

Running short during a war needs a house rule. One straightforward option is that a player who cannot supply the agreed face-down cards plus a face-up card loses. Under that rule, if both players run out at the same point, call it a draw. Another version uses a player’s last card face up even when they cannot supply the full stake.

For a shorter tabletop session, agree on a round limit or timer and compare card counts at the end; equal counts can be a draw. This is a house-rule shortcut, not the classic “win all the cards” ending or a claimed app setting.

Helpful habits, not a winning strategy

Classic War is a game of chance. You cannot improve the next card by tapping faster, choosing a suit or saving an Ace for later. A computer opponent does not change that basic tabletop rule.

Keep face-down cards hidden, reveal together, count the entire pile after a war and use your agreed collection order consistently. These habits prevent disputes rather than increase your odds.

Teach new players with a sample ordinary round and a sample tie before a full game. Ranking face cards and remembering to collect the hidden stake are the two details most likely to cause confusion.

Sources

• Simply War official App Store listing
• Pagat: War rules and variations