How To: Play war

Watch this video tutorial to learn how to play war. Not only is War a great way to pass the time with a friend, but it's so easy to learn that both children and adults can play.

You Will Need

* A deck of cards
* Two players

Step 1. Deal the cards

Shuffle the deck and deal 26 cards to each player. Keep your cards face down and do not look at them.

Step 2. Flip the top card

Flip your top cards over at the same time. The card with the higher value wins, and the winner takes both cards, placing them face up at the bottom of their pile. Cards are ranked with the ace as the highest and two as the lowest.

Step 3. Continue playing

Continue flipping. When you reach the cards that are face up, shuffle your cards and start at the top.

Step 4. Declare war

If you flip two cards of equal value, war begins. Both players take a card from the top of their pile and set it face down on top of the first card, then take a third card and flip it face up. The player whose up card has the higher value wins all six cards.

There is no winning strategy for War; the game is based on chance.

Step 5. Continue the war

If the two new cards are also a tie, war is declared again and the process repeats until one of the players has a card of higher value. The first player to capture all 52 of the cards wins.

FACT: European playing cards date back to 1377 and may have originated in China.