The goal
In each round, the goal is to be the first player with no cards left. That player scores the points for the cards left in everyone else's hands. The first player to reach the agreed target score wins the game.
Players and deck
Two to five people play with a standard 52-card deck, jokers removed. With more players, two decks are shuffled together. Every player plays for themselves.
The deal
- Each player gets 5 cards. With only two players, each gets 7.
- The rest of the deck goes face down in the middle of the table as the draw pile.
- The dealer turns over the top card of the draw pile to start the discard pile. If it's an 8, it goes back into the middle of the draw pile and the next card is turned over.
- The player next to the dealer goes first, and play continues in that direction. In the standard rules, that's the player on the dealer's left, and play moves clockwise. Some groups play to the right (counterclockwise) instead.
How to play
On your turn, play a card that matches the top card of the discard pile by suit or by rank. On the 7 of hearts, for example, you can play any heart or any 7.
Eights are wild: you can play one at any time, on any card. When you play an 8, you name the suit, and the next player has to play that suit or another 8.
Drawing and passing
- If you can't play, draw from the draw pile one card at a time until you can.
- You can also draw even when you have a card you could play, to hold on to your good cards.
- When the draw pile runs out, it isn't reshuffled: a player who can't play passes.
Many tables reshuffle the discard pile, except for the top card, into a new draw pile and keep playing. Both versions appear in rule books.
A blocked game
Once the draw pile is gone, it's possible that nobody can play. The game is then blocked, and the round ends. The player with the fewest points in hand wins the round and scores the difference between each other player's hand and their own.
Scoring
The player who goes out scores the total value of the cards left in each other player's hand.
- Each 8
- 50 points
- King, queen, jack and 10
- 10 points each
- Ace
- 1 point
- 2 through 7 and 9
- Face value
That's why an 8 is so useful during a round and so costly for anyone still holding one when someone else goes out.
Winning the game
The game ends when someone reaches the target, usually 50 points per player: 100 with two players, 150 with three, 200 with four. The first player to get there wins.
Action cards
Many tables add other special cards besides the 8. The most common are:
- 2
- The next player draws 2 cards and loses their turn, unless they play another 2. That stacks the penalty and passes it to the following player: 4 cards, then 6, then 8.
- Queen
- The next player loses their turn.
- Ace
- Reverses the direction of play. With only two players, it has no effect.
At most tables, if a player goes out on an action card, its effect doesn't apply; at some, a 2 played to go out still makes the next player draw, and those cards count in the score.
Variations
- An 8 turned up to start: at some tables, it doesn't go back into the draw pile. It counts as if the dealer had played it, and the dealer names the suit.
- Drawing: at some tables, you may only draw when you can't play; at others, you draw just one card and pass if it doesn't fit.
- Countdown: in a popular American variation, everyone starts at 8. Each time you go out, your count drops by one, and so do the size of your next hand and your wild rank (8, then 7 and so on). The first player to reach zero wins.
- Relatives: Crazy Eights belongs to the same family as Germany's Mau-Mau, Britain's Switch and several commercial card games played with special decks.
Tips for beginners
- Save your 8s for when you really need them, but not for too long: an 8 saves your turn, and if someone else goes out first, it costs you 50 points.
- Get rid of high-value cards first, like face cards and 10s, so you lose less if someone else goes out.
- When you play an 8, name the suit you hold the most cards in.
- Keep an eye on players with only a few cards left: that's the time to change the suit or, with action cards, to play a queen or a 2.
On Selminha.com
The rules in Crazy Eights on Selminha.com
Crazy Eights on the site is played by invitation: the host sends the link, and the first three people to open it can take a seat. Anyone who arrives once the seats are taken or the game has started can watch.
- Rules
- The host chooses: Classic, where only the 8 is special, or Action cards, with the 2, queen and ace described above.
- Players and cards
- Two to four at the table, every player for themselves. A 52-card deck with no jokers: 5 cards each, or 7 with two players. If the card that starts the discard pile is an 8, it goes back into the middle of the draw pile. The starting card never has an effect.
- Direction and deal
- The host deals the first round, and the next player goes first. Play goes to the right, and the deal passes to the next player each round.
- Your turn
- Play a card that matches the top card by suit or rank, or an 8. When you play an 8, the NAME A SUIT box asks for the suit, and that suit stands until the next card is played.
- Drawing and passing
- The DRAW button (or tapping the draw pile) draws one card, and your turn continues. You can draw even when you have a card you could play. If nothing matches, keep drawing until you can play. When the draw pile is empty, it isn't reshuffled: if nothing matches, tap PASS.
- Blocked game
- If everyone passes in a row, THE GAME IS BLOCKED: the player with the fewest points in hand wins the round and scores the difference between each other player's hand and their own. If there's a tie, the player with fewer cards wins; if it's still tied, the player who would play first wins.
- Scoring and target
- The player who goes out scores the cards left in the other hands, at the values described above. The target is 50 points per player: 100 with two players, 150 with three, 200 with four. The game ends when someone reaches it at the end of a round.
- Action cards
- Only with Action cards. When a 2 has been played on you, only another 2 can be played; the DRAW button shows how many cards you owe, draws them (or whatever is left in the draw pile) and ends your turn. If the draw pile is empty, the button becomes PASS. The queen skips the next player, and the ace reverses direction unless there are only two players.
- End of the round
- A box shows who went out or whether the game was blocked, the cards left in each hand with their points, and the score. The next round starts when any player taps NEXT ROUND.
- Bots and rematch
- Before the game starts, the host can fill empty seats with bots: Carmen, Tito and Luna. They only see their own hand and what's on the table. At the end, if everyone agrees, the rematch is played at the same table (not after a game that ended because a player left or was away, or because the table expired).
- Time, absence and resigning
- The table is saved on the site, and nobody has to be online at the same time. If the player whose turn it is goes more than 48 hours without playing, any other player in the game can tap END GAME: PLAYER AWAY, and the other player with the most points wins. If a player taps RESIGN or leaves through the pause menu (EXIT GAME) mid-game, they lose, and the other player with the most points wins. A table with no moves for 7 days expires with no winner.
- Chat
- Seated players can chat in writing. Spectators can read the chat but can't post.
There's no leaderboard and no site points: the result only counts at that table. Each player picks the deck design they see, and that never changes the rules.