The goal
Win all 52 cards.
Setup
Two players, one 52-card deck without jokers. Aces are high, 2s are low, suits don’t matter.
The deal
Deal the whole deck face down: 26 each. Keep your cards in a face-down stack without looking.
A turn
- Both players turn over their top card at the same time.
- The higher card takes both. They go face down on the bottom of the winner’s stack.
Special cards
- Same rank? War: each player adds one card face down and one face up. The higher new card takes all six. If they tie again, repeat.
Scoring
- No points: the number of cards in your stack shows who is ahead.
Winning
The player who collects all 52 cards wins.
House rules
- Three or four players. Deal 17 cards each for three players (one card left over) or 13 for four. The highest card takes all. If two or more tie for highest, everyone plays the war, not just them. Anyone who runs out drops out.
- Out of cards in a war. Tables differ: either the player who can’t finish a war loses, or their last card is turned face up and used for the whole war.
- Steal War. Won cards go on a face-up pile. If your card matches the top of an opponent’s pile, you steal that pile.
