Crazy Eights is a shedding-typecard game for two to seven players. The object of the game is to be the first player to discard all of their cards. The game is similar to Switch and Mau Mau.^[1]

• Crazy Eights is a fun card game that can be played with a standard 52 card deck. You need at least 2 people to play. If more than five players play, you might need two decks to have enough.
• Crazy eights, popular children’s card game. The basic idea is to be the first to play all one’s cards to a communal discard pile. This game has a huge number of variations and many alternative names.

Originally this was played primarily by children with the left over cards not used in Euchre. Now 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.

Origins[edit]

Crazy Eights Rules. These are the rules I use for Crazy Eights. They're slightly different from the basic rules shown in the Wikipedia article, but this is how I originally learned it when I was a child (under the name Olsen Olsen). The purpose of the game.

The game first appeared as Eights in the 1930s,^[1] and the name Crazy Eights dates to the 1940s, derived from the United States military designation for discharge of mentally unstable soldiers, Section 8.^[2][3]

There are many variations of the basic game, under names including Craits, Last Card, Mau-Mau, Switch, and Black Jack. Bartok, Mao, Taki, and Uno add further elements to the game.

David Parlett describes Crazy Eights as 'not so much a game as a basic pattern of play on which a wide variety of changes can be rung,' noting that players can easily invent and explore new rules.^[1]

Basic play[edit]

Five cards are dealt to each player (or seven in a two-player game).^[4] The remaining cards of the deck are placed face down at the center of the table as the stock pile. The top card is then turned face up to start the game as the first card in the discard pile.

Players discard by matching rank or suit with the top card of the discard pile, starting with the player left of the dealer. They can also play any 8 at any time, which allows them to declare the suit that the next player is to play; that player must then follow the named suit or play another 8. If a player is unable to play, that player draws cards from the stock pile until a play can be made, or until the stock pile is exhausted. If the player cannot play when the stock pile is exhausted, that player must pass the turn to the player on the left. A player may draw from the stock pile at any time, even when holding one or more playable cards.^[5]

As an example: Once 6♣ is played the next player:

1. can play 6♦, 6♥ or 6♠
2. can play any club
3. can play any 8 (then must declare a suit)
4. can draw from the stockpile and continue their turn

If the stock pile runs out, all played cards except for the top one are reshuffled to form a new stock.^[4]

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. 8s 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.^[1]

The game can end with a special card, this includes two, queen or eight(wild) card.

The winner of the game is the first player to reach a specific number of points. For two players it is 100 points, three players 150, four 200, five 250, six 300 and for seven players 350.

Variations[edit]

Card game historian John McLeod describes Crazy Eights as 'one of the easiest games to modify by adding variations',^[4] and many variant rules exist. Common rules applied to cards include:

Queens skip

Playing a Queen causes the next player to miss their turn.^[4]

Aces reverse direction

Playing an Ace reverses the direction of play.^[4]

Draw 2

Playing a two forces the next player to draw two cards, unless they can play another two. Multiple twos 'stack'; if a two is played in response to a two, the next player must draw four.^[4]

A popular variant of the game in the United States is Crazy Eights Countdown, where players start with a score of 8. A player's score determines how many cards they are dealt at the start of each round, and which rank of card is wild for them. (So initially, all players are dealt eight cards and 8s are wild for everyone; after one round, one player will be dealt seven cards and 7s will be wild for them, but 8s will be wild for everyone else.) The first player to reduce their score to zero wins the game.^[4]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdParlett, David (1996). Oxford Dictionary of Card Games. Oxford University Press. p. 291. ISBN0-19-869173-4.
2. ^Rauf, Don (2013). Simple rules for card games : instructions and strategy for twenty card games (1st ed.). New York: Potter Style. p. 25. ISBN978-0-7704-3385-7.
3. ^Rome, Ben H.; Hussey, Chris (2013). Games' most wanted : the top 10 book of players, pawns, and power-ups (1st ed.). University of Nebraska Press. ISBN978-1-59797-723-4.
4. ^ ^abcdefg'Crazy Eights - Card Game Rules'. www.pagat.com.
5. ^'How to Play Crazy Eights,' Bicycle, 2020, https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/crazy-eights/#:~:text=If%20unable%20to%20play%2C%20cards,exhausted%2C%20the%20player%20must%20pass.&text=That%20is%2C%20an%20eight%20may,(but%20never%20a%20number).

Eights are wild, and so is the action in this fast-paced game. An easy-to-learn game that calls for a lot of luck, Crazy Eights is excellent to play with kids. Here's how to play:

Crazy 8 Game Online

Number of players: Best for two to six. Seven or more makes for a slower paced game.

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Object: Be first to use all your cards and go out. Name a time, hand, or point limit to establish game before play begins.

The cards: A standard 52-card deck. For four or more players, two decks can be used.

Crazy 8 Game Cards

Dealing: Seven cards are dealt to each player. Of the remainder, one card is turned faceup to begin the discard pile. The rest of the cards are placed facedown to serve as the stock.

Playing: Play begins from the dealer's left. All play moves left. The first player will cover the upcard with one that matches either by suit or rank. For example, if the upcard is an 5 you may play any heart or any 5. Or you can play an 8 to match suit only. If you can't match from your hand, you will have to draw from stock until you are able to. If an 8 is played, the next player must match to the suit the 8 was named to cover -- meaning if the 8 is played to cover the 5, you will need to play a heart or a 5. Play continues until one player has no cards left. If the stock runs out before the game is over, just pick up the discard pile, shuffle it well, and turn it over to reestablish the stock.

Scoring: The winner scores the point count of the total of all the cards left in the opponents' hands. Each 8 counts 50, face cards count 10, and all others count their face value (ace counts 1 point).

Tips: When you have many cards of one suit, others may find that suit hard to match. Remember, in a game with several players, your play affects the next player most. Don't get caught holding wild cards (8s) at the end of play, since they count a whopping 50 points each.

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