War (card game) facts for kids

War (also known as Battle in the United Kingdom) is a super simple card game, usually played by two people using a regular deck of 52 playing cards. It's a favorite game for kids because it's easy to learn and play! The main goal is to win all the cards from your opponent.

How to Play War

The game of War is all about luck and quick thinking! Here's how you play:

Getting Started

• First, you need a standard deck of 52 playing cards.
• The deck is divided equally between the two players. Each player gets 26 cards, placed face down in a stack in front of them. You can't look at your cards!

The Battle

• Both players flip over the top card from their stack at the same time. This is called a "battle."
• The player with the higher card wins the battle.
• Aces are the highest cards, then Kings, Queens, Jacks, and so on, down to 2, which is the lowest.
• The suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades) don't matter in War. Only the number or rank of the card counts.
• The winner takes both cards and puts them face down at the bottom of their own stack.

When Cards Are Equal: A War!

• If both players flip over cards of the same value (like two 7s or two Queens), then it's a "war!"
• To start the war, both players place three more cards face down from their stack.
• Then, each player flips over one more card face up. This is the "battle card" for the war.
• The player with the higher face-up card wins all the cards on the table (the two original cards, plus the six face-down cards, plus the two new face-up cards). They add all these cards to the bottom of their stack.
• If the new face-up cards are also equal, another war happens! You repeat the process: three cards face down, then one face up. This continues until one player's face-up card is higher.

Running Out of Cards

• Sometimes, a player might run out of cards during a war. What happens then can depend on how you and your opponent decide to play.
• Some people say that player loses right away.
• Others say the player can use their very last card as their face-up card for the war.
• It's a good idea to agree on this rule before you start playing!

Winning the Game

• The game continues until one player has won all 52 cards. That player is the winner of War!

Different Ways to Play

Since War is such a popular game, people have come up with many different versions! Here are a few:

Casino War

• This is a simpler version of War that grown-ups can play for money in places called casinos. The rules are a bit different to make it fair for betting.

Prisoners of War

• This version is usually played with more than two players, which makes it even more exciting!
• When a player wins a battle, they can choose to take one of the cards they won as a "prisoner." This card is placed face up in front of them, separate from their main stack.
• Later, in another battle, a player can choose to play one of their "prisoner" cards instead of drawing a new card from their stack.
• If they win with the prisoner card, it works like a regular win. But if they lose, they give the winner both the prisoner card and the card they would have drawn from their stack!

German Variants: Bettelmann and Tod und Leben

• These are older German versions of War.
• They use a smaller deck of 32 cards, often called a Skat pack.
• Like regular War, the higher card wins, and suits usually don't matter.
• In "Tod und Leben" (which means "Life and Death"), one player might play only with red cards and the other with black cards.
• The goal is still to get the most cards by the end of the game.