War

Simplest card game there is — split the deck, flip cards, higher card wins. Ties go to 'war'.

🌤indoor

What is War?

War is a pure-luck two-player card game usually the first anyone learns. The deck is dealt evenly, each player keeps their pile face-down, and both players flip their top card simultaneously. Higher card wins both; ties trigger a 'war' where each player deals three face-down then one face-up, higher wins the pile. Continue until one player has all 52 cards.

Quick facts

Category

Card Games

Type

Individual

Players

2–2

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇫🇷 France

Estimated origin

Traditional European children's game (~1800s)

Olympic

No

Popularity

global

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified