War

Shuffle a standard 52-card deck and deal all cards face-down, 26 to each player. Players stack their cards without looking at them.

Win by capturing all 52 cards. There is no strategy - the game is determined entirely by the shuffle.

Both players simultaneously flip their top card face-up. The player with the higher card wins both cards and places them at the bottom of their stack. Card ranks (high to low): A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

War is a game of pure chance - there are no decisions to make. Enjoy the excitement of wars and the drama of flipping cards. The game can take a very long time (or be very short) depending on the shuffle.

Speed War: Play at maximum speed for excitement. War with fewer 'down' cards: 1 or 2 instead of 3 for faster games. Multiple wars: Some play that matching war cards start a new war with more cards at stake.