The History of War
German variants of the card game War are mentioned as early as 1833.
An Old Children's Game
War is one of the simplest card games and is often the first one children learn. In Britain it is also called Battle. German variants of the game are mentioned as early as 1833, in C. F. Schenkel's encyclopaedia. A related game is Beggar-my-neighbour.
Does It Always End?
A game of War can take very long, and in theory it might never end. Most descriptions are also unclear about what happens when a player runs out of cards during a war. Mathematicians have studied whether the game must end; the order in which won cards go back under the pile can change the outcome.
War at PaperGames
Because War can last a long time, PaperGames offers a short game of 30 rounds as the default. Won cards go under the pile in random order, and a player with only one card left in a war turns it up - one of the common ways of settling that question.