Play War

The war card game online, you against the computer. Flip, the higher card wins, ties go to war. Real games of War can run for hundreds of flips, so there is auto-play, a round limit and a button to finish the game now.

Computer

You

Game log

Settings: cards face down, round limit, speed

Cards face down in a war

Round limit

At the limit, whoever holds more cards wins. Equal piles are a draw.

Auto-play speed

Face-down cards and the round limit take effect when you start a new game. Speed changes right away.

How to play War

Deal. Shuffle and deal the whole deck face down, so each player has 26 cards in a pile. Nobody looks at their cards.
Flip. Both players turn up their top card at the same time. The higher card takes both, and they go under the winner's pile. Aces are high, 2s are low, and suits do not count.
War. If the two cards tie, it is war. Each player puts three cards face down, then turns one more face up. The higher of those takes every card on the table. If they tie again, do it again.
Win. The player who ends up with all 52 cards wins.

9999QQQTwo nines tie. Three cards go down, the next one up decides it: this Queen would take all ten cards.

Rules this game uses

Face-down cards. Three in a war by default; pick one in the settings if that is how your family plays.
Running out in a war. Short of cards, you put down as many as you can and keep your last card to turn face up. If the tie used your last card, you lose. If both players run out in the same war, the game is a draw.
Picking up. Cards you win go under your pile in a random order, the way people scoop them up at a table. With a fixed order, a game of War can repeat forever.
Round limit (optional). Stop after 100, 300 or 1,000 flips and give the win to whoever holds more cards.

Why a game of War takes so long

We ran 10,000 games with these rules to find out. With three cards face down, the middle game lasted 203 flips, one game in ten went past 560, and the longest took 2,263. With one card face down the middle game was 344 flips and one in ten went past 942. Fewer face-down cards means each war moves fewer cards, so games swing back and forth longer. At a flip every few seconds, a few hundred flips is the better part of an hour at a kitchen table.

There are no decisions in War, so nothing you do changes who wins. That is also why it makes a good first card game for young children: they learn that a King beats a 9 without having to think about strategy.

Nothing leaves your browser. Your settings and how many games you have won are saved only on this device.

War card game questions

How long does a game of War take?

Longer than most people expect. In 10,000 games we simulated with this page's rules and three cards face down, half were over within 203 flips, but one in ten went past 560. With one card face down, games run longer. That is why this page has a round limit, auto-play and a finish-now button.

What happens if you run out of cards during a war?

If you do not have enough cards for the whole war, put down as many as you can face down and keep your last card to turn face up. If the tie used your very last card, you have nothing left to fight with and you lose the game.

How many cards go face down in a war?

Three face down and one face up is the most common rule, and it is the default here. Many families play with one face down instead. Choose either in the settings.

Is there any skill in War?

No. Every flip is decided by the shuffle, so the game cannot be played well or badly. It is good for teaching young children which cards beat which, and for passing time.