WAR
War: Quick Guide and Game Info
War is a card game where you and your opponent reveal one card at a time. The higher card wins the battle and when the cards match, it’s time for War. Play against General Marty in traditional Classic mode or choose our 50-point version for a shorter battle. Normal wins earn 1 point in Points mode, while winning a War earns 3. There are no strategic decisions to make once the cards are dealt. Pick your mode, draw your cards and see whether the deck is on your side.
About Our War
Our version of War lets you take on General Marty in two different game modes. Choose Classic for traditional War, where the objective is to capture the entire 52-card deck, or choose Points (50) for a faster alternative where the first player to reach 50 points wins. In Points mode, a normal battle is worth 1 point, while winning a War is worth 3 points, giving tied cards a little more importance than an ordinary round. Whichever mode you choose, there’s no strategy to worry about. The cards decide your fate and General Marty will simply take the credit when things go his way.
Classic or Points?
Both modes use the same basic card-battling rules, but they have different victory conditions.
Classic follows the traditional objective: capture all 52 cards. The deck is divided evenly between you and General Marty. Cards won during battles are added to the winner’s cards, and the game continues until one player controls the entire deck. There’s one other way a Classic game can end. If a War begins and one player doesn’t have enough cards to complete it, that player must forfeit the game.
Points (50) mode keeps the same card-battling mechanic but changes the victory condition. A normal battle is worth 1 point, while winning a War is worth 3 points. The first player to reach 50 points wins the game.
Points mode is useful when you want a more predictable game length, while Classic lets the battle continue until one player has conquered the deck or is forced to surrender during a War.
Game Layout and Setup
War uses a standard 52-card deck.
At the beginning of the game, the deck is shuffled and divided evenly between you and General Marty, giving each player 26 cards. The cards remain face down in separate piles. Each battle begins by revealing the top card from both piles.
Card ranks follow their normal order, with Ace high. The higher card wins the battle.
In Classic mode, the winning cards are added to the winner’s cards. In Points mode, the winner receives the appropriate number of points.
If both players reveal cards of the same rank, the ordinary battle is over. It’s time for War.
How to Play War
Each round follows the same simple process:
- You and General Marty reveal the top card from your respective piles.
- Compare the two cards.
- The higher-ranked card wins the battle.
- If the cards have the same rank, War begins.
There are no suits to compare and no cards to choose between.
A King beats a Queen, a 10 beats a 7 and an Ace beats a King.
Once the cards are shuffled, neither you nor General Marty has any control over which card appears next.
When War Breaks Out
If you and General Marty reveal cards of the same rank, War begins. Each player places three cards face down, followed by one card face up. The two new face-up cards are compared. The higher ranked card wins the entire battle, including the cards that triggered the War and the additional cards placed during it. But a War doesn’t necessarily end there.
Consecutive Wars
If the new face-up cards also have the same rank, another War begins immediately. Both players once again place three cards face down and another card face up. This can continue for as long as the face-up cards keep matching — assuming both players have enough cards to continue the battle.
Running Out of Cards During War
Starting a War requires enough cards to place three face down and one face up. If either player doesn’t have enough cards to complete the War, that player must forfeit the game. So if General Marty enters a War with only two cards remaining, he can’t complete the battle and you win. Of course, the same rule applies to you.
Is There Any Strategy in War?
Not really and that’s part of the point.
Once the deck has been shuffled and divided, neither player chooses which card comes next. You can’t save an Ace for later, change the order of your cards or make a clever defensive move against General Marty.
The shuffled deck determines the battles.
In Classic mode, fortunes can swing dramatically as cards move between the two players. A player who appears to be losing badly can still recover if the cards begin falling their way.
In Points mode, luck still determines every individual battle, but Wars have a bigger effect on the score because they’re worth three points instead of one.
So if General Marty wins, feel free to blame the shuffle.
He certainly won’t.
Meet General Marty
Marty has apparently abandoned professorships and strategic board games for a military career.
General Marty is your opponent in War, although calling him a brilliant strategist may be giving him too much credit.
Neither of you actually gets to make strategic decisions. General Marty draws from his shuffled pile just like you do, and the cards determine who wins each battle.
This will not stop him from taking full responsibility for his victories.
Judging by his attitude before the first card has even been drawn, humility is not one of his stronger qualities.
A Little Bit of War History
The exact origins of War are difficult to pin down.
Simple card comparison games have existed in various forms for a long time, and War belongs to a wider family of games where cards are won by comparing their ranks.
Unlike many card games, War removes almost all decision making from the player. Once the deck is shuffled, the order of the cards determines what happens next.
That simplicity is a big part of the game’s appeal. You can explain the basic rule, higher card wins, in seconds, while tied cards create the game’s signature moment: War.
Different versions have appeared over time, including variations in how many cards are placed during a War and alternative ways of deciding the overall winner.
Our version gives you both the traditional collect the deck objective and a 50-point alternative when you’d rather settle the battle a little sooner.
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