Learn War: Tutorial

Both players simultaneously flip the top card of their deck face-up into the center.

Here Player 1 has flipped the King of Hearts and Player 2 has flipped the 9 of Spades. The cards are compared by rank.

Card ranking from lowest to highest: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A. Suit does not matter -- only rank counts!

The player with the higher-ranked card wins both cards and adds them to the bottom of their deck.

The King (rank 13) beats the 9 (rank 9), so Player 1 wins this round and collects both cards. Player 1 now has 27 cards while Player 2 has 25.

Play continues with both players flipping their next top card. The game goes on until one player has captured all 52 cards!

When both players flip cards of the same rank, it is WAR!

During war, each player places 3 cards face-down and then flips 1 card face-up. The higher face-up card wins all the cards at stake (the original tied cards + the war cards).

If the face-up war cards also tie, another war begins! Wars can chain until someone wins.

Here both players flipped a 10, triggering war. Each has laid 3 face-down cards and flipped a new card. Player 1's Ace beats Player 2's Jack, winning all 10 cards!

The game ends when one player captures all 52 cards, or when a player runs out of cards during a war.

Here Player 1 has won every card. Player 2's deck is empty, ending the game.

War is a game of pure luck -- there are no decisions to make! But the excitement comes from watching big swings during wars. A single war can turn the tide of the entire game.

Good luck and enjoy the battle!