How To Play Eights


Eights, also commonly called Crazy Eights, is an entertaining and exciting game for two to eight players. This game is great fun for all ages, being a game that is easy to learn but which can provide great fun to it's participants. Although not actually a member of the Rummy family of games, this game is also sometimes called Swedish Rummy.

Crazy Eights initial layout A standard deck of 52 cards should be used when anywhere from two to five people are playing. For six or more players, two standard decks should be used instead, shuffled together. The dealer can be determined in various ways. One common method in this game is for any player to start dealing the cards out one by one to each player. The first player to receive any spade becomes the first dealer. Once the dealer is determined, he shuffles and deals one card at a time, clockwise around the table, starting with the player at his immediate left. If two are playing each individual should receive seven cards, but if more are playing, each player should receive five. These cards should be dealt face down in front of each player. The remainder of the deck is placed face down in a squared pile in the center of all the players (called the stock pile). The dealer then flips over the top card, called the starter card. If this starter card is any eight, the dealer must bury it back into the middle of the deck and draw another to replace it.

Play begins with the player to the dealers immediate left and follows in a clockwise direction around the table. This player, after examining his hand can then play one card from his hand on top of the starter card if able. In order to play a card, the card played must match the starter card in suit or rank. Thus a club could be played on any club or a five could be played on another five regardless of suit. Court cards and aces are also considered separate ranks, thus a King could be played on another King or another card of its same suit, but could not be played on a Jack of another suit. If a player cannot (or chooses not to) play a card, they must draw cards, one at a time, from the stock pile until they receive a card they can or want to play. Once the player plays a legal card to the starter pile, their turn ends and the next player continues in the same manner.

Eights can represent any other card in this gameEights: All eights are considered wild cards, and thus an eight can be played on top of any other card, not needing to match that cards suit or rank. When a player on their proper turn plays an eight, they must then declare the suit to which the next player will play (it does not need to be the same suit as that of the actual eight played). The next player must then play a card of the named suit or another eight. If unable to, he needs to draw until able to play such a card (unless of course, the player who played the eight wins the hand, in which case that player is the winner and the hand is immediately scored).

When a player is able to play the last in his hand to the starter pile, the hand immediately ends with that player winning this hand. The player winning the hand then collects points from all the other players based on the cards remaining in their hands:

Scoring for cards remaining in the hand:
CardScore
Ace1
Royalty Card (King, Queen, Jack)10
Eight (8)50
All other numbered cards (3,4,9,etc)Face Value of Card
       

If the stock pile runs out and a player cannot play on his turn, he instead must pass. If all players pass and no player can play a legal card, the hand also ends. All the hands are scored, as above, and the player with the lowest point total is declared the winner of the hand. They receive a point value from each other player consisting of the difference between the counts of their hand and that player.

A game of Crazy Eights is usually played until one player, at the end of a hand reaches or exceeds 100 points. At this time, that player is declared the winner of the game and is also awarded an additional 100 points for this accomplishment.


Variations and Optional Rules

Most variations of Crazy Eights revolve around designating special cards in the deck such that they may alter the game play in some manner. Some of the most popular of these follow. Although these variations are described using one of the more common cards to represent its special significance, other denominations of cards are sometimes used for the same purpose. For instance, sometimes a Jack is used to change the direction of play instead of a Queen. The specific card used is not too vital to the game as long as all players are clear on what cards represent what. A number of proprietarily sold games are very similar in concept and gameplay to Crazy Eights and some of its variations.

TwosTwos: In this rule variation, when any Deuce (two) is played, the next player must draw two cards from the top of the stock and also miss their next turn. When missing their turn, the turn thus passes to the player whose turn would normally follow the player who was forced to draw the cards. However, if the player who was originally intended to be required to draw has a two of their own in hand, they can play the two, thus avoiding the penalty. In this case, the next player in turn would then be required to either play their own two from the hand or must draw four cards and miss their turn. If this player also plays a two, the following player then must draw 6 cards and miss a turn. This will continue, as additional twos are played by consecutive players, with the first player unable to play a two being forced to draw two cards for each two that was played in this series, and also missing their turn.


Fours

Fours: This variant rule is very similar to the optional rule previously described as for twos. However, instead of 2 cards needing to be drawn for each two played, four cards would be drawn when a four is played or, in the case of multiple fours being played by additional players in turn, four additional cards must be drawn for each consecutive four that is played after it.



Kings
Kings: When a player on his turn plays any King, the next player in turn must miss his turn (skipped). The following player after the individual who was forced to skip their turn may play as normal, even playing their own King to force the next player in sequence to miss their turn as well. Often when playing this variation, a rule is set that a player may avoid missing his turn if he can play his own King on the King just played. In this case the player following the player in turn who played the last such King will miss their turn unless they too can play a King from their own hand.


QueensQueens: In this variation, when a player on his turn plays any Queen from this, this has the effect of reversing the current direction of play. Thus, when the first Queen is played in a game, the direction will switch from the starting direction (clockwise) to counterclockwise. Each succeeding Queen played during the course of the game will cause this direction of play to reverse yet again. Therefore, the player who played the card immediately preceding the play of the Queen will then have another turn as the rotation of play has changed direction. As with any other special card, a player on his turn can play a Queen on another Queen, thus immediately reversing the direction again.


There are also other variations of Crazy Eights that are often played:

Limited Draw: In this variation, a player need only draw one card if he cannot play to the current up-card. If he still cannot play after drawing the additional card, he must then skip his turn, with the turn advancing to the next player.

Forced Play: Here, if a player has a card in their hand that they can play, they cannot draw and instead must play a legal card on their turn, if able. Most play this variation with the following exception to this rule: A player is NOT required to play an eight. Even if this eight is the only card a player would be able to play, he need not play it and may draw from the stock instead if he does not choose to play this card.

Crazy Cat Eights Signaling: In this variation, when a player plays his second to last card, he must signal in some, predetermined way that he has only one card remaining. If a player forgets to announce this, the player cannot play his last card on this turn and, depending on the variation, is usually penalized in some manner. Usually this penalty consists of the player being required to immediately draw one or more additional card from the stock to add to their hand.

Reshuffle: Using this rule, when the stock is exhausted the discard pile is immediately turned face down, shuffled and used to start a new stock pile which players will continue to draw from when unable to play on their turn.

Hollywood Scoring: This is a variation of Crazy Eights for two players which uses a similar scoring system to Hollywood Gin. The game itself is played identically to the standard game, however where this version differs is in the way the score sheet and scoring is accomplished. At the end of a hand, the total scores for the players will be entered in up to three columns (representing three individual "games") on the score sheet. When a player wins his first hand, his total scored points are entered into the first game column. When he wins his second game, the total score for the hand is entered into the first and second game columns. On the third and subsequent hands he wins, the total score is entered into each column. When one player first scores 100 or more points in any column at the end of a hand, he is considered the winner of that "game". No more scoring from any player is entered into that game column. The game session is complete, when all three "games" have been won. In some versions, when one game is won, another game column can be added to the score sheet, up to any number of maximum game columns so being added. The scoring values for the individual cards is also different from the standard game: Each eight is 20, each Ace is 15, Picture cards (King, Queen and Jack) are 10 each and the point value for the remainder of the cards is the rank value listed on the card. When played this way, this game if sometimes called Hollywood Eights.

Crazy Aces: This game is a Cats Exclusive and has been enjoyed by the Cats for quite some time.
The rules of Crazy Aces are identical to Crazy Eights with a few important differences. Crazy Aces uses the standard 52 card deck with the addition of two Jokers to the deck when played by up to 6 participants. If 7 to 10 are playing, two standard 52 card decks are used with 4 jokers. The standard Crazy Eights rules are used, however, a few of the cards have differing effects for the player of the card.

Eights: In this game, the eights are not considered wild, and are treated as any other numeric card in the deck. Each eight is worth 8 points when calculating points at the end of the hand.

An Ace can be played on any other, also setting the required suit Aces: On his turn a player may always play an ace to the center pile. It does not matter what the current suit or rank of card is currently at the top of the pile, as an Ace is always a legal play. After playing an ace the next player in turn must play a card of the same suit as the suit marked on the ace played or a wild card of their own. If the player is unable to play such a card (or chooses not to), they must draw from the deck similar to any other play where they did not have a card of the correct suit or rank. An Ace or Joker may also be played to the center pile by this next player. Each Ace is worth 25 points when adding cards for scoring purposes at the completion of the hand.

Jokers: In Crazy Aces, Jokers serve the same purpose as do the eights in the standard game. A player, at his turn may always play a Joker, and when doing so must state what suit the next card must be that is played to the center pile. Of course the next player may also play an Ace or another Joker if they have such a card and choose to play it. At the end of the hand, the Jokers are worth 50 points each when discovered, unplayed in a player's hand.

All other rules for Crazy Aces are the same as in the parent game.

Crazy Jacks: A common change often made to the standard game is the designation of the wild card used during play. Any denomination card could be so designated without effecting the game play too much. One of the most common card denominations that is set as this wild card (other than eight) is the Jack. When Jacks are thus set as the Wild Cards instead of the eights, the game is often called Crazy Jacks. Thus, the only differences between Crazy Jacks and Crazy Eights is the designation of the Wild Card to be eights and the scoring values of some of the cards used in play. When this change is adopted, the Eight being now a normal card, is worth 8 points and the card value of the Jack is increased to 50.

Mao, Mau Mau and Bartok: Mao, Bartok and Mau Mau are hilarious variants of Crazy Eights in which most of the game rules are unknown to many of the players or in which the winner of a hand can create a new rule to be used for the remainder of the game. See the Bartok rules page on this site for the complete rules for these crazy and fun games.

Creights: Creights is an exciting, newer addition to the Eights family of games. The name of the game itself is a sort of acronym for it's parent game, Crazy eights. Creights is designed for three or more players using the standard 52 card deck. This game is also sometimes spelled Craits, Creigts, or Crates.

The selection of dealer and seating positions is the same as in standard Eights. As in that game, the object is to be the first player to empty your hand of cards during the hand. All other player with cards remaining in their hands must add to their score values based on their unplayed cards. At the end of a series of 15 hands, the player with the lowest score is identified as the winner of the game.

For the first hand, the designated dealer deals out 8 face-down cards to each player in a clockwise rotation. He then places the remainder of the deck face down in the center of the table and flips up the top card from the stock face-up next to the stock pile to start the play pile. This card is treated as if it was played by the dealer, so any effects of the card must be followed as if so played. Barring any special effects or change of direction by this first card, the player to the dealers immediate left would then play their own card to the play pile as able. As in Crazy Eights, a player may play a card to the play pile if they have a card matching either the suit or rank of the piles top card. If a player on his turn, does have at least one valid play, he must make a play. If a player cannot play a card on his turn, he must draw one card and the turn passes to the next player.

In this game there are a large number of special cards in the deck which may have special effects when played. The following chart lists the cards used in this game, their scoring value and any special effects the card may have on gameplay:

CardSpecial EffectScore When
Left in Hand
AceNothing during normal play, however during a "Two Series" an Ace adds one to the required draw total (see Two Series below).1
2Starts a Two Series (see Two Series below) or adds Two to the required draw total of the current two series.20
3No special effect in play but can be used as a nullifier at the end of the hand.3 - See Below
4Skips the turn of the next player.15
5Every other player must draw one card from the stock. This draw occurs in current play order starting with the next player in turn.30
6Same player plays again. If this player still retains cards but does not have a valid play, he must draw a card and pass the turn as normal.30
7All other players except the player of the 7 and the next player after must draw one card from stock. This draw should occur in rotation in the current play direction.20
8Played on any card, the player then calls the suit to be played by the next player.50
9May play on any card, suit changes to the opposite suit of same color as the last suit.30
10Reverses current direction of play.25
Jack, Queen, KingNo special effect.10

When any player legally plays a 2 to the play pile, this begins what is known as a Two Series. When a Two Series is enacted in this way, the standard rules of the game are temporarily put on hold, with special rules being followed during the duration of the "Two Series". After the first player starts the Two Series, each player in normal turn must either play an Ace or Two of any suit to the play pile. The first player in turn who cannot do so must draw cards from the stock pile. The number of cards to be drawn is calculated based on the cards played during the Two Series. For each card of denomination two played during the two series, the player would draw two cards, and for each Ace, they would draw one. Once a player draws the requisite number of cards, the next player in turn would take their turn as normal. If a player runs out of cards during the Two Series, but ends up drawing cards later in the same Two Series, they must continue play with the cards drawn.

Threes nullify other penalty scoring cards Another unique feature of this game is the Shuffle Pressure feature. A Shuffle Pressure occurs when a player is required, through game play, to draw one or more cards from the stock, but the stock pile contains no more cards. This player is then said to be under Shuffle Pressure. He must then immediately take all but the top card of the play pile and shuffle it together to make a new stock pile. In addition, this player must add five points to their current score. If the player has already been subject to a shuffle pressure during the current game, each additional shuffle pressure doubles the penalty for that player. Thus, a player must add 10 points on the second shuffle pressure and 20 on the third. If for any reason, when a player receives a shuffle pressure, the play pile is also empty, the player still must take the shuffle pressure penalty, but that round ends immediately with all players scoring their hand.

When a player plays a card, leaving himself with only one card remaining in his hand, he must clearly state "One Card". Failure to do this requires that player to draw two cards at the start of his next turn. When a player legally plays his last card the hand concludes with all other players with cards remaining in their hand summing up their totals based on the scoring value of each card (as given in the chart above). However, any threes retained by a player in their hand at this point, have special rules governing their scoring values. If a player has one or more threes in their hand and no cards of any other denomination, that player is entitled to subtract 50 points for each such three in their hand. If the player has other cards of other denominations as well, each three adds three points to his score. However, a player may use a three to nullify any other point scoring cards except an eight. Thus, the player would score three points for the 3, but would score zero for the nullified card. Each three can therefore be used to nullify one other point scoring card (except an eight).

The game consists of exactly 15 rounds, with a different number of cards dealt to each player on each round. The following table summarizes the number of cards dealt to each player per round:
RoundCards per Player  RoundCards per Player
18 92
27 103
36 114
45 125
54 136
63 147
72 158
81  
After the completion of the 15th hand, the player with the lowest total score is considered the winner of the game.

In order to allow for additional players (five or more) Creights is sometimes played with multiple decks. When this is done, there are a few extra rules which should be followed in order to retain the game's flavor:
Crazy Spoons: This is another fun variant of Crazy Eights. Although this game is often called just Spoons, we refer to it here as Crazy Spoons so as not to have this game confused with a completely different game also called Spoons, a fast moving game in which the object is to quickly collect four cards of the same denomination, described here.

Crazy Spoons is designed to be played by three to eight players, using two standard 52 card decks shuffled together. In addition, a number of spoons or similar objects is needed for play. One less such object than the number of current participants should be placed in the center of the table in easy reach of all players.

Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be done in a number of ways, with drawing for a high card a common method. Once the first dealer is determined and the cards are shuffled and cut, the dealer then deals out a specific number of cards to each player which is directly dependent on the number of participants in the game. The following chart shows the number of cards dealt per player:
Number of PlayersCards Dealt per Player
3, 47
5, 66
7, 85

Crazy Spoons initial setup The cards should be dealt one at a time in a clockwise direction around the table. Once each player has the indicated number of cards, the dealer then places the remainder of the deck face down in the center of the table as the stock. He then turns over the top card from the stock and places it beside the stock to begin the play pile. When turning up the card, the dealer must state the special name of the card (as detailed below). If the turned up card has any special effects (see also below), these effects are attributed to the dealer.

The player to the dealer's immediate left has the first play. Each player has two options on his turn, he may either draw the top card of the discard pile or play a card to the top of the play pile. A card may be played to the play pile if the card played is of the same suit as the current top card of the pile or if the card is of the exact same denomination. When playing a card, the player of the card must also state it's special name. Some of the cards with special effects (as described below) also have a special name which must be stated. For the cards not detailed, the player would simply state the rank of that card (such as "Five" or "Nine".) If, when drawing a card, the card drawn can be immediately played, the player may play the card to the play pile, but must still state the cards name. After these actions, that player's turn ends and the next player in proper rotation has their own turn. The normal rotation of play is in a clockwise direction, but certain cards may alter this as shown below.

In addition, a number of the cards in the deck have special effects on the game when played. The following shows the various special cards in the deck: Razzing and Special Phrases: One of the features which makes this game unique is the use of special phrases and the concept of Razzing during play. Before the game a special phrase should be decided by the players. This is a special phrase which must be said whenever a player is caught making any game error. This phrase can be anything, such as "Drat, foiled again" or "Total Bummer".

Razzing is literally what it sounds like. A player makes a loud razzing or buzzing sound. This indicates they have detected a player making a mistake or error in the game. When Razzing another player, the player should also point to the offending player. The offending player must then immediately draw one card and state the special phrase decided upon for the game or hand. A player only has to draw one card for any specific violation, regardless of the number of players who might Razz him, although all players spotting the fault should ensure to Razz. If two other players have had their turn after the error and no player has Razzed the player, he can no longer be Razzed for that particular penalty. Any game offense can thus be Razzed, which would include (but is certainly not limited to) some of the following:
Immediately upon reducing his hand to just one card, a player must clearly state "One Card". Failure to do so may result in any other player Razzing this player (as indicated above).

The first player to run out of cards during normal play is the winner of the hand, and the scores are then totaled. However, if a plays his last card during a Count phase, the game continues until the Count phase completes, as that player may end up drawing cards at the completion of the Count. After one player runs out of cards, each other player must add points to his hand based on the cards remaining in his hand. The following chart shows the values for the various cards found in a player's hand at the completion of play. The chart also shows the name of the card which must be stated when it is played.
CardScoring ValueCard Name
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 95Cards Numerical Value
Ace10"Ace", or current total Sum Count, Including the Ace
210"Two", or current Count Sum including the two
King20"Draw Two"
Queen20"Switchback"
Jack20"Spoons"
1030"Repeat"
830Name of Suit to Change for Plays Required
The game is usually continued until one or more players, at the end of a hand, have reached or exceeded 500 points. At that point, the player with the lowest score is declared the winner.

Let's play Jack Change It Jack Change It: Another popular game which is directly derived from Eights and similar games is Jack change It. As in most of the other variants, the players vie to be the first to play his last card to the center pile, winning the hand.

Jack Change It is designed to be played by two to six players using one standard 52 card deck. Additional players can be accommodated in this game using additional decks of cards. Determination of the first dealer and seating positions can be performed using any method agreed upon by all players, and one of the most common methods is drawing for low card.

After this is determined and the players are seated, the dealer begins dealing the shuffled deck, one card at a time in a clockwise direction starting with the player to his immediate left. He continues dealing around the table until all players, including himself, have 7 total cards (all dealt face-down). After completing the deal, the dealer places the remainder of the deck in a face-down stack in the center of the table to form the stock pile. He then flips over the top card of the stock pile and lays it face up next to the stock to begin the discard or play pile. The player to the immediate left of the dealer begins the game by taking the first turn.

As in most other games of this type, a player, on his turn, may play a card from his hand onto the discard pile if the card played is of the exact same rank as the top card on the discard pile or is of the same suit. If unable (or unwilling) to play such a card, he must draw one card from the top of the stock, adding the card to his current hand. This ends his turn.

Also similar to many other games of this ilk, there are a number of special cards that a player can play on his turn (called trick cards). The following is the list of the usual trick cards used in this game as well as the effect that card has on gameplay: The game continues until one player manages to play his last card to the center pile, after which time he is declared the winner.

How to play King's Reverse Kings Reverse: Kings Reverse is another game that shares the Crazy Eights concept, in which the players attempt to be the first to play the last of his cards fro his hand. This game was first reported to be played in the state of Iowa in the United States in the 1970's, but has thenceforth spread rapidly and is played in many other locations as well. Over time, several additions have been made to the game, such as the use of Jokers and the special use of the Ace of Spades.

Kings Reverse uses two standard 52 card decks along with four Jokers and is designed to be played by 2 to 5 players. It can also be played by up to 10 players but one additional deck should be added. There is no relative ranking of the cards in this game.

The deal and setup are the same as in Crazy Eights, with each player receiving 10 cards and the remainder of the deck placed face down in the center of the table (as the draw pile), and the top card of the discard pile placed face-up beside the draw pile to start the discard pile. If the card turned over is any of the special cards described below, the effect of the card is applied to the first player before that player takes his first turn.

Play begins with the player to the immediate left of the dealer, and as in most games of this type, a player attempts to play one card from his hand to the discard pile. If he has a card of the exact same rank as the current top card of the discard pile, he may play that card. Or, if he has a card of the same suit as the top card of the discard pile he may also play that. If a player is unable to play a legal card on his turn, he must draw one card from the top of the draw pile. If the card drawn is a playable card, the player drawing that card must play that card. After playing a card or drawing a card from the draw pile, the turn ends and the next player in rotation has a turn. Certain cards in the deck also have special abilities or effects when played. The following table describes the effects of these special cards:

CardResult of playing this card
7A seven may be played on top of another seven or on another card of the same rank. When played, the next player in turn must draw two cards from the stock and also misses this turn.
8An eight may be played on top of another eight or a card of another card of the same suit as the eight. When played, the next player misses his turn and the turn moves to the next player in turn beyond that player.
KingA King may be played on another King or another card of the same suit as the King. Playing a King causes the order of turns around the table to be reversed. Thus, if the turns are currently proceeding in a clockwise direction, after the play of a King the turns rotate in a counter-clockwise direction.
JackA Jack can be played on any other card. Playing a Jack then sets the suit that currently must be played to the center pile to the same suit as is the Jack.
JokerA Joker may be played on top of any other card on a player's turn. However, a Joker may only be played if the player holding the Joker has no other legal play they could make. Any player can challenge a player who played the Joker, and that player's hand must be exposed to verify he has no other playable cards. If the player of the Joker did have a playable card, he must take four cards from the draw pile and the Joker back into his hand and the turn moves to the next player. If the player legitimately had no other legal plays, the challenging player must take four cards from the draw pile, take the Joker and the card immediately below that card in the draw pile and misses his turn. Playing a Joker allows the player who plays the card to state the suit which must be played to the center pile. In addition, the next player in turn must draw four cards from the draw pile and misses his turn. If a Joker is the original card exposed to started the discard pile, the card should be added back to the middle of the deck, and the next card from the draw pile turned over as the start of the discard pile instead.
King/QueenA player may play both a King and Queen at the same time (called a Marriage) on his turn, if both cards are of the same suit and are played on top of another King, Queen or card of the same suit. The normal rule for playing a King also applies in that the order of play is reversed.
Ace of SpadesAn Ace of Spades may be played on another Ace or another card in the suit of Spades. If an Ace is played, the player of the Ace is entitled to give one card from his hand, face-down to each other player. These cards are passed out to the players in the current direction of play, starting with the player to that player's left. If the player has fewer cards than there are players, any players who did not receive a card must draw one card from the draw pile and the hand then ends. If the player who plays the Ace has exactly as many cards as other players, after passing out the cards the hand ends immediately. If he has more cards than players, after passing out the cards, play resumes from the next player in turn after the player who played the Ace of Spades.

The game continues until one player has played the last card from his hand. If the last card played requires the next player to draw, that player must draw and then the hand immediately ends. At any time a player's hand is reduced to one card he must clearly state "One Card" to the other players. If another player notices this and calls attention to it, the player who did not make the declaration must draw two cards from the draw pile.

If the draw pile runs out of cards before any player has played his last card, play continues but if a player is unable to make a legal play, he must pass with the turn advancing to the next player. In the event all participants must pass, the hand ends and the players then calculate the score for the hand based on the cards remaining in the hand. The following chart shows the point value for every card in the deck:
CardScoring Value
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, Queen5
Ace of Clubs, Diamonds, or Hearts5
Jack15
Joker25
Ace of Spades20
7, 8, King20
After each hand, the players calculate the total sum of the points for the cards left in hand and add it to their total accumulated from each hand. Once any player reaches 500 or more points in a hand, the game ends and the player who has the lowest point total is declared the winner of the game.

Vändåtta: Vändåtta is a Swedish variant of the game Crazy Eights. The name of the game Vändåtta, translates to turn eight. Vändåtta is a variant of Eights and is played by 2 to 8 players using one standard 52 card deck.

The goal of Vändåtta is the same as in standard Eights, to be the first player to rid his hand of all cards, and thus be declared the winner of the game.

Determination of the first dealer and seating positions can be performed using any of the standard methods, such as drawing for high cards. Once this first dealer has been determined, the dealer begins dealing, ensuring each player receives a total of seven cards. He then places the remainder of the stock pile face-up in the center of the pile. Lastly, the dealer turns over the top card of the stock and places it next to the draw pile to begin the play or discard pile. If the revealed card is an Eight, the dealer should randomly place this card back into the deck. If the revealed card is an Ace, each player must draw one card before play of the hand begins but the Ace remains as the current top card of the discard pile.

The player to the immediate left of the dealer, and play of the hand continues in a clockwise direction. On his turn, a player may make one of the following actions: In addition to the standard plays, a player, on his turn, may also play one of the two special cards (eights and Aces). These cards, and the legal play of that card is as follows: Playing an Ace If a player is unable to make a play on his turn (or elects not to make a play) he must draw one card from the top of the stock pile. If the card drawn is a playable card he may opt to play the card but is not required to. If unable (or unwilling) to make a valid play after this draw, that player must then draw another card. If able to play this second card he again has the option to play or draw a third card. If, after drawing the third card, if the player still has no valid legal plays (or opts not to make a play) he simply passes, ending his turn.

The game continues turn by turn around the table until one player manages to play his last card to the discard pile. However, if the last card in a player's hand is an eight or Ace, he may not play this as his last card, and must instead draw a card on his turn. The first player to legally play his last card to the discard pile is declared the winner of the hand.

When a player at any time has just one card remaining in his hand (or multiple cards, but all of the same rank), excluding Aces or eights, he must alert the other players to this fact by stating "lapen". Failure to do this forces that player to immediately draw three cards from the draw pile.

After one player manages to play his last card the hand ends and scores are calculated for the remaining players in the game. Each player must add a cumulative number of points to his own score based on the total value of all cards remaining in his hand when another player has managed to play his last card. The following chart shows the point values for all cards in the deck:
CardPoint Value
Ace10
Eight5
All other Cards1
After a certain number of deals has been completed, the player with the lowest cumulative score is declared the game winner.

Crazy Eights Countdown: Crazy Eights Countdown is a variation of Eights (or Crazy Eights) which has recently become quite popular in parts of the United States and Canada. It is a fast moving and action-packed variant of Crazy Eights which is best for two to five players.

The game is played very similarly to standard Crazy Eights, with several key exceptions which can drastically modify the character of the game. The game uses one standard 52 card deck as in standard Eights, and determination of seating positions and first dealer are all done in the same manner as standard Eights.

Once the dealer has been determined, each player starts the game with a set score of exactly 8 points and through the course of the game, will reduce his score. The first player to bring his score to 0 is declared the winner. At the beginning of the hand, the dealer deals every player eight face-down cards one card at a time in clockwise rotation starting with the player at his immediate left. After each player has the requisite number of cards, the dealer places the remainder of the stock in the center of the table as a stock pile and turns over the top card of the stock laying it beside the stock to start the play or discard pile. The player to the immediate left of the dealer has the first turn.

The game is played similarly to the standard game with a player attempting to play a card to the pile that is of the same rank or suit. If unable to play such a card, the player must draw a card from the stock. Either of these actions immediately ends that player's turn. Although the basic mechanics of this game are very similar to Crazy Eights, there are several key differences which make this game play quite differently: As the draw deck becomes exhausted through play of the game, all but the current top card of the discard pile is shuffled and turned-over to start a new draw pile.

The game continues until one player manages to reduce his current point count to 0.

Ochos Locos: Ochos Locos is a version of Crazy Eights as played in Puerto Rico. The game is designed for two to four players using one standard 52 card deck. Ochos Locos is played similar to standard Crazy Eights with a number of changes.

The first major difference is that Ochos Locos is played over the course of eight rounds. In the first round, each player receives 8 cards, in the second 7 cards, all the way down to the eighth round in which each player receives exactly one card.

Game player is in a counter-clockwise direction, such that the player to the dealer's immediate right has the first turn.

If the first card the dealer places to start the play pile is an eight, the dealer declares the suit for which the first card must be played to the pile.

As in most other games of this genre, there are a number of special cards which will cause special actions that must be taken by the same or other players in the game. The following are a list of these special cards as usually used in this game: On any hand in which the players were dealt more than one card, if a player manages to deplete his hand to one card he must loudly state "Última". Failure to do this forces the offending player to immediately draw one card as a penalty into his hand.

The first player to completely deplete his hand of cards on each hand is declared the winner, earning the player one point. As indicated, the next hand is then dealt with one fewer card distributed to each player during this deal. After eight hands are dealt the player with the most points (who has won the most hands during the game) is declared the winner. If there is a tie for most points, another hand must be played (which consists of one card per player). If, after that hand, there are still two or more players tied for high score, another hand must be played, continuing in this manner until there is one player with the highest score.

Macau: It seems almost every country has a version of Crazy Eights which is slightly different than that played in other parts of the World. Macau is such a game, which originated in and is regularly played in Hungary. Macau is sometimes written as Macao or Makaó.

The game is designed to be played by 2 to 10 players, using one standard 52 card deck with the inclusion of two Jokers (for a total of 54 cards). Determination of first dealer and seating positions can be done using the same methods as in Eights, as described above.

Once the players are seated and the first dealer chosen, the dealer should begin dealing the cards in a counter-clockwise rotation starting with the player to his immediate right. He deals the cards one-by-one and face down, continuing until each player has a total of five cards. After this, the dealer then cuts the deck, and the cut card is set face-up as the play pile and the remainder of the deck is neatly squared up and set beside the play pile to start the draw pile. Play starts with the player to the dealer's immediate right and the turns rotate in a counterclockwise direction.

Playing a sequence of cards in Macau On each turn a player attempts to play a card from his hand. A legal play is any card from the hand which matches the top card of the play pile in either suit or rank. If he has such a card he may play that card to the play pile. If the card played could be part of a run of two or more cards (all in that same suit) in either ascending or descending sequence, the player may then play all the other cards which form part of that sequence, on his turn. His turn ends after playing either one card or such a sequence to the play pile. If a player is unable to play he must draw cards from the deck until he draws a card which is able and willing to play.

As in most of the games of this type, there are a number of cards with special effects when played (called action cards). The following are the effects of these cards:
If a player has more than one of the action card of the same rank, he may play all of these cards at the same time, which then accumulates the effects of these cards. For example, if he plays four twos, the next player must draw eight cards before starting his turn.

If a player manages to get down to having one card, he must loudly state "Macau" to announce this fact. If another player makes note of that fact this player did not state "Macau" (by stating "Macau" and pointing out the offending player, the player with the one card must immediately draw five cards from the stock. If the stock pile runs out during play before any player has won, the play pile is shuffled and turned over to start a new stock pile.

The first player to completely deplete his hand of cards is considered the winner of the game.

In some games, of Macau, cheating is allowed and even encouraged during play. If this variant is to be used, this should be agreed on by all players before the start of the game.

Pesten: Pesten is a Dutch game played very similarly to Crazy Eights. The game is sometimes referred to by the longer name "Pesten With Cards" which means, literally translated from Dutch to Bullying with cards. In fact the game is played identically to Eights save the following differences: In all other aspects, this game is played identically to Crazy Eights.

Quango: Quango is another game played similarly to Eights, with a few major exceptions. The following are the differences amongst Eights and Quango:
Kapaga: Kapaga is another wild Crazy Eights style game which originated in, and is primarily played in, Greenland. Although usually played under this name, Kapaga, there has been some debate as to whether this is actually this game's original name.

Kapaga is designed for play by two to ten players. The game uses one standard 52 card deck with the addition of one Joker. During the game, the player with the highest current score is the designated dealer for the next hand. At the beginning of the game, however, as all players will have an initial score of 0, draw for high card can be performed to determine this first dealer.

The five of clubs is a special card in Kapaga Once the first dealer has been determined, this player should thoroughly shuffle the deck and offer it to the player at his right to cut. After the cut, the dealer begins dealing the cards, face-down and one at a time starting with the player at his left. He continues dealing in a clockwise direction until each player has 5 cards. For the two player version of the game, however, each player should receive 7 total cards in the deal. After each player has the requisite number of cards, the dealer places the remainder of the cards in the center of the table as the stock. He then takes the top card from the stock and places it face-up next to the stock pile to start the play pile. This card should be considered to have been played by the dealer, so any special power or effect of this card will still occur, as if the card had been in the dealer's hand and played on his normal turn.

It should also be noted that if any player looks at his hand before the dealer has placed this first card, the player so viewing his hand immediately receives a penalty of 100 points added to that player's current score. In addition, if there is a misdeal (say too few or too many cards dealt to any specific player), the dealer is incurred a 100 point penalty which is immediately applied to his current ongoing score.

After this first card has been discarded to start the play pile (and any effects of this card are appropriately applied), the player to the immediate left of the dealer has the first turn. The rules are similar to other games of this type. Each player will attempt to deplete the cards from his hand by playing cards to the top of the play pile. A player may (but is not required to) play a card from his hand to the top of the pile, if that card is of the same rank or suit as the top card of the play pile. A player's turn ends after playing a legal card to the pile. If the player cannot (or chooses not to) play a card from his hand, he must draw a card from the stock. If that is a playable card he may (but is not required to) immediately play that card to the pile. A player's turn ends after playing a card or drawing and the next player in the current rotation has the next play. Play proceeds in a clockwise direction around the table. As in many other games of this type, there are a variety of special cards in the deck that can change gameplay when played. The following lists all the cards as used in play and what special effect (if any) that card has:

CardSpecial EffectScoring Value if Left in Hand
Any AcePlaying an Ace entitles the player to play another card, of that same suit directly on top of the Ace. If the player does not have another card of that same suit, he must draw one card from the deck adding the card to his hand. An Ace may never be played directly on another Ace.300 Points Each
Any TwoIf a two is legally played, the next player must draw two cards into his hand before starting his turn. However, if that player also has a two in hand, he may play that card to the play pile and the obligation to draw is passed to the next player, but the requirement becomes four cards. This can continue with further twos played by subsequent players until a player is unable (or elects not) to play a two. That player must draw two cards for each two played during that series before starting his turn.200 Points Each
Any Three, Any Four, or Any SixNo special effect.5 Points Each
Five of Clubs (♣)Upon play of this card, each player must pass his entire hand (face-down) to the player at his immediate right.5 Points
Five of Spades (♠)Forces next player to draw five cards into his hand before starting his turn. Note that if the five of Spades can be played as part of a draw series if played directly on a two of Spades during that series, it adds five to the total number of cards that the next player would need to draw.500 Points
Five of Diamonds () or Five of Hearts ()No special effect.5 Points Each
Any SevenCauses the next player to be forced to skip this turn, with the turn thus advancing to the player immediately after that player.150 Points Each
Any EightAfter a player legally plays an eight, he may then declare the suit for which the next player must play. Alternatively, the player can retain the same suit as previous (before the eight was played), but declare a different number that the eight would represent for the next player to attempt to match (by either a card of that suit or of the called number, or one of the allowable special cards). An eight can never be played to cancel the draw requirements of the five of Spades or a two. Other than this stipulation, an eight can be played on any other card of any suit.300 Points Each
Any NineOnce a Nine is played, every player must immediately pass his entire hand of cards, face-down to the player to his immediate left.5 Points Each
Any Jack, Any Queen, or Any KingNo special effect.100 Points Each
JokerEvery other player (except the one playing the Joker) must draw one card from the stock pile, in turn. The Joker can be played on top of any other card, but does not cancel the effect of the five of Spades or any two. After the Joker is played, the player of the card must then play any other card from his hand. If the player has no other cards, he must draw one from the stock, playing that card as appropriate.600 Points

If a player finds that he can deplete his hand on his next turn he must loudly declare "Kapaga". If he fails to do this and any other player calls attention to this before that player's next turn, the player failing to do this is immediately required to draw one card into his hand. Additionally, if a player is required to draw a card (for any reason during his turn), and there are no cards left in the stock pile, that player is immediately assessed a penalty. This penalty is 100 points for the first time the stock runs out on the hand, and increases by 100 points each time this occurs during the hand. After adding the penalty points to his hand, the player takes all but the top card of the discard pile, shuffles it, and sets it as a new draw pile, after which the player can then draw a card or cards as needed. Players are also allowed, in this game to attempt to get a glimpse the cards in other player's hands, however they may not touch those cards in attempting to view them.

Play continues until one player, on his turn manages to play the last of his card to the play pile. That player has then won that hand. If that last card played had any special effect, this effect is first carried out before scoring occurs. After any special effects are applied to that last card (if any), each player must then add a number of points to his current, ongoing score based on the cards remaining in his hand. See the chart above which shows the penalty point value for each card a player may still retain in hand after another player has depleted his hand.

If a player exactly reaches a total of exactly 2000 points, he resets his score to 0. However, if a player finds that his score exceeds 2000 points at the end of any hand, that player is then eliminated from the game. The game continues until there is only one player remaining in the game with a score under 2000, with that player declared the game winner.

Dirty Seven: Dirty Seven is a Turkish game which has many similarities to Eights and other related games. Dirty Seven (called Pis Yedili in Turkish) is specifically designed for play by four players, each playing independently. It is played using one standard 52 card deck. The game gets it's name from the special role of the sevens in the game, requiring another player to draw cards from the deck.

Determination of the first dealer and seating positions can be performed using a variety of methods, with draw for high cards a common method. Using that method, each player draws a card from a shuffled deck and the players would take their preferred seats at the table in the order of cards drawn, from high to low. The player drawing the highest card of all is set as the first dealer, and after each hand the role of dealer rotates in a clockwise direction around the table.

After the players are seated, the dealer thoroughly shuffles the deck and the player at his right cuts. After the cut, the dealer begins distributing the cards around the table in a clockwise direction starting with the player at his immediate right. He deals the cards one-at-a-time and face-down, until each player has a total of seven cards. He then places the remainder of the deck in a face-down stack near the center of the table.

The player to the immediate left of the dealer has the first turn, and the turns then, at least until a ten is played, continue in a clockwise direction around the table. The first player must play any card in the suit of clubs as the first play. If he has no such card, he must draw cards, one-at-a-time from the stock pile until he draws a card in the suit of clubs. Once he has a card in the suit of clubs, he plays that card face-up on the table to start the waste pile, next to the stock pile. After the first player plays his card, the game continues with players having their turns in a clockwise direction around the table. Similar to the initial player, each other player on his first turn must play a card in the suit of clubs. If unable to play such a card, they must draw cards from the stock until drawing a card in the suit of clubs which they can then play to the table.

After each player has had one turn (and appropriately played a card in the suit of clubs), the game proper begins. On these turns, each player on their designated turn, can play a card to the top of the waste pile providing that the card played from the hand is either of the same suit or is of the same rank as the current top card on the waste pile. If unable to play such a card (or unwilling to play that card), he must draw cards from the stock until drawing a playable card which he then plays to the top of the waste pile. The game continues around the table from player to player until one player manages to play his last card which ends the hand, after which the hand is then scored. There are also several special ranks of cards in the deck, which can be played in special circumstances and which may have an affect on play. These special cards are as follows: Play of a three allows the player to play any other card along with it Once a player has legally played his last card, the cards remaining in the other player's hands are totaled together to determine the score for those players. Each card found remaining in the player's hand has a corresponding scoring value added to that player's ongoing, cumulative score, as per the following table:

CardPoint Value
Ace1 Each
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10Value as Marked on the Card
Queen, King10 Each
Jack25 Each

If the player who first depletes his hand manages to play, as his last card, a Jack, each other player must double the point value for all scores on this hand. Any player who has a seven in the hand must draw three cards from the top of the stock, adding those cards to his hand, before adding up his score for that hand.

The scores of all players can then be compared to determine who has the highest score (the loser) and the lowest score (the winner) for the hand, or the total can be accumulated over the course of a number of hands to determine the overall game winner of a full game session.

Tschau Sepp: Tschau-Sepp is a Swiss shedding type card game. Although not required, it is most commonly played in Switzerland using the special Swiss deck. This deck is similar to the traditional German deck, and consists of one card in each rank in the four suits of Acorns, Roses, Bells, and Shields. In addition, the normal Jack is replaced with the "Unter" and the Queen with the "Ober". If such a deck is not available, it can also be played using the standard 52 card French deck.

The game is designed for 2 to 5 players, each playing independently. Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed in a number of ways, with draw for high cards one such method that is commonly used. Once the players are seated and the dealer designated. After each game the role of dealer should rotate around the table in a clockwise rotation. After thoroughly shuffling the deck and offering it to the player at his right to cut, the dealer then begins dealing out the cards, one-by-one and face-down, starting with the player at his immediate left. He continues dealing around the table in a clockwise direction until each player has a total of six cards. He then places the remainder of the deck face-down in the center of the table as the stock, and then places the top card of the stock face-up next to the stock to start the play pile (called the "open card").

The player to the immediate left of the dealer then has the first turn, with the turns, at least at the start of the game, rotating in a clockwise direction around the table from player to player. On a turn, a player must play a card to the center of the table, on the top of the play pile, providing the card played is either of the same rank or same suit as the current top card of the pile. If unable to play such a card, the player must draw one card from the top of the stock and then pass his turn, with the turn then advancing to the next player. This continues until a player manages to legally play his last card, that player then declared the game winner.

Playing an eight skips the next player's turn As with many of the other similar games of this type, there are also a number of special cards which will alter the effects of play. The following is the full list of such cards used in Tschau Sepp: If a player plays his second to last card (leaving one card in his hand) he must loudly announce "Tschau". Failure to so announce this, and if mentioned by another player, forces that player to immediately draw an additional card from the stock into his hand.

As mentioned, the player to play his last card legally to the stock pile, on his turn is declared the winner. As that player plays that last card to the top of the stock pile, he should also loudly call "Sepp".

El Pumba: El Pumba is another fun game similar to Eights, which is often played in Spain and neighboring countries. Being of apparently Spanish origin, this game is traditionally played using the 40 card Spanish deck. This deck consists of ten cards in each of the four suits of coins, glasses, clubs, and swords. The normal denominations found in these four suits are as follows: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Knight, Jack, King. If such a deck is not at hand, however, it can be created from a standard 52 card French deck by removing all cards in the ranks of 8, 9, and 10.

El Pumba is designed for play by two to six players, with the same goal as most other games of this type, which is to be the first player to shed all cards from his hand.

Determination of the first dealer is usually done by the draw of cards from the deck, with the player drawing the highest ranked card set as the first dealer. After each hand, the role of dealer rotates in a counter-clockwise direction around the table. The dealer then begins distributing the cards around the table in a counter-clockwise direction starting with the player at his right. He deals each player four cards, except the player to his immediate right (called the "hand"), who receives five. He then places the remainder of the deck face-down near the middle of the table as the stock.

To begin play, the player at the immediate left of the dealer plays any of his choice of his five cards face-up to the table to start the play pile. The players take turns in a counter-clockwise direction around the table. The next player must then, if able, play a card of the same rank or same suit as the current top card of the play pile. If unable (or unwilling) to play such a card, the player must pass his turn. As in most other games of the Stops family, several rankings of cards have special significance if played during a player's normal turn: As a player plays his second to last card, he must loudly announce "Pumba". If he forgets or chooses not to make this announcement, and this is noticed and declared by another player, this player must immediately draw two cards from the deck, adding these cards to his hand.

Once a player manages, on his turn, to play his last card, the hand immediately ends. That player is entitled to subtract five points from his current accumulated score. The other players, however, must then expose the remaining cards left in their hands, and a cumulative, ongoing score is added for those players. The following is the point value for each card in the deck used for this game:
CardPoint Value
Ace1 Each
3, 4, 5, 6, 7Value as Marked on the Card
Knight (Queen)9 Each
King, Jack, 219 Each
If, after adding the cumulative score from the hand to the ongoing score for a player, he finds himself having reached or exceeded 100 points, he must drop from the game. The last player remaining with a score under 100 is declared the game winner.

Switch: This variation, also commonly called Two-Four-Jack is one in which several of the above described variations are combined with the general rules. The variations usually added are those for the Twos (drawing of two extra cards), Fours (drawing of four extra cards), Queens (direction switch) and Reshuffle (reuse the expended stock pile) as detailed above. Visit the How to Play Switch page for the complete rules for playing Switch and it's variations.
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