- What happens when both cards are the same in War?
- It is war. Each player puts three cards face down and turns a fourth face up, and the higher fourth card takes everything on the table — ten cards. Suits never matter, so two sevens are a tie whatever their colour.
- What if the war cards tie as well?
- Then there is another war on top of the first: three more cards face down each and another one face up. The winner of a double war takes eighteen cards, which is how a game of War can turn in a single battle.
- What happens if you run out of cards during a war?
- You put down as many cards as you have and turn your last one face up. If that card loses, you have lost the game. A player whose face-down pile runs out in the middle of a war is not out, though: the cards they have won are turned over and play goes on.
- Are aces high in War?
- Yes. The ace beats everything, then king, queen, jack and ten down to the two, which beats nothing.
- Can a game of War go on forever?
- It can. The game only ends when one player has all 52 cards, and some deals keep coming round in the same order without ever getting there. That is why players agree a number of battles in advance and count the cards at the end; the table here lets you choose 25, 50 or 100.
- Is there any skill in War?
- None. Neither player chooses anything at any point, so the winner is decided by the shuffle before the first card is turned. It is a game of patience and suspense, and a good way for young children to learn which card is higher.
- Can War be played with three players?
- Yes, with seventeen cards each and the last card of the pack put aside. The highest of the three cards takes the trick, and when two players tie, only those two go to war. The table on this site is for two.