Crazy Eights

Crazy Eights is a shedding-type card game for two to seven players. The object of the game is to be the first to get rid of all the player’s cards to a discard pile. The game is considered a pre-extension of Switch and Mau Mau. A standard 52-card deck is used when there are five or fewer players. When there are more than five players, two decks are shuffled together and all 104 cards are used.

Eight cards are dealt to each player (or seven in a two-player game). The remaining cards of the deck are placed face down at the center of the table. The top card is then turned face up to start the game. Players discard by matching rank or suit with the top card of the discard pile, starting with the player left of the dealer. If a player is unable to match the rank or suit of the top card of the discard pile and does not have an eight, they draw cards from the stockpile until getting a playable card. When a player plays an eight, they must declare the suit that the next player is to play; that player must then follow the named suit or play another eight. As an example: Once the six of clubs is played the next player: can play any of the other sixes can play any of the clubs can play any eight (then must declare a different suit) can draw from the stockpile until willing and able to play one of the above The game ends as soon as one player has emptied their hand. That player collects a payment from each opponent equal to the point score of the cards remaining in that opponent’s hand. Eights score 50, court cards 10 and all other cards face value. If the players run out of cards in the deck, the player with the lowest point score in their hand scores the difference between that hand and each opponent’s hand. The winner of the game is the first player to reach a specific number of points. For two players it is 100pts, three players 150pts, four 200pts, five 250pts, six 300pts and for seven players 350pts.