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.

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: 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: Card Score Ace 1 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.

Twos: 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: 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: 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.


Queens: 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.

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.

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:

Card	Special Effect	Score When Left in Hand
Ace	Nothing during normal play, however during a "Two Series" an Ace adds one to the required draw total (see Two Series below).	1
2	Starts a Two Series (see Two Series below) or adds Two to the required draw total of the current two series.	20
3	No special effect in play but can be used as a nullifier at the end of the hand.	3 - See Below
4	Skips the turn of the next player.	15
5	Every other player must draw one card from the stock. This draw occurs in current play order starting with the next player in turn.	30
6	Same 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
7	All 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
8	Played on any card, the player then calls the suit to be played by the next player.	50
9	May play on any card, suit changes to the opposite suit of same color as the last suit.	30
10	Reverses current direction of play.	25
Jack, Queen, King	No 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.

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:

Round	Cards per Player		Round	Cards per Player
1	8		9	2
2	7		10	3
3	6		11	4
4	5		12	5
5	4		13	6
6	3		14	7
7	2		15	8
8	1

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:

• One five of each suit should be removed from the final deck to be used for playing the game.
• On his normal turn, as long as the first card is a legal play, a player may play multiple copies of the same identical card (same denomination and suit). The first copy behaves as it normally would. The second copy of the same card, however, is treated as if the next normal player in turn had played the card (with all the expected effects of that card). This also causes the next player in normal turn to be skipped. If the second card played is also a card that would allow the player to take an additional turn, they would then get a third turn, after which, the next player's turn would still be skipped.
• If a player on his turn, plays a card of the same rank and suit as that of the card currently on the top of the pile, they are then entitled to take another turn. This second turn is in place of the normal next person in turn whose turn is skipped this round. If the card played is one which would allow the player of the card to take an extra turn, the player would get a third turn, but the next player who would normally get their turn is skipped.

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 Players	Cards Dealt per Player
3, 4	7
5, 6	6
7, 8	5

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:

• Kings:
When legally played, a player who plays a King can then specify any other player at the table and demand that they draw two cards. They would thus play the card and state "Bob, Draw Two". The player to whom this demand is made must then draw two cards and say the required phrase when doing so. However, if this player also has a King and elects to play it, he may play the King instead of drawing. This then returns the requirement to draw back to the original player, however the requirement is now three, and the player of the second King would say something like "Lucy, Draw three". This can continue back and forth until one of the players is unable to (or elects not to) play a further King. The player with the final draw requirement would then need to draw a number of cards equal to the number of cards played during this series, plus one. Once one of the player draw, play continues with the next person in turn to the player who played the last King.


• Queens:
When a Queen is legally played, the current direction of play is reversed. Thus, if the current direction of play is clockwise, the direction of play reverses to counter-clockwise and if the current direction is counter-clockwise the rotation of play changes to clockwise.


• Twos:
When any player legally plays a two on his turn, this begins what is called a "Count". During a Count, the rules of play change somewhat. While in a "Count", each subsequent player in turn must play either a Two or an Ace. When playing such a card, they must announce the total count of Twos and Aces played so far during this Count phase. Twos add two the total count and Aces add 1. Once a player is unable to (or chooses not to) play such a card, he must draw a number of cards equal to the total stated by the last player to play a card during the Count phase. After a player so draws, play continues with the next player in rotation after the drawing player.


• Aces:
By themselves, an Ace has no special effects on the play, and can be played similarly to most other cards. The name of this card when used in this way is just "Ace". However, when used during a Count phase, an Ace adds one to the total of the current ongoing Count.


• Jacks:
When a Jack is legally played on a player's turn, all players must yell "Spoons" and then attempt to grab one spoon from the pile of spoons in the center of the table. Players may only grab one spoon, and, since there are fewer spoons then players, one player will not be able to grab a spoon. That player must state the special phrase and is required to draw two cards. If two players grab the same spoon, the player whose hand is closer to the handle end is said to have possession of it. Once the player unable to obtain a spoon draws the required cards, the spoons are then scattered back on the center of the table, made ready for the next Jack to be played.


• Tens:
When a Ten is legally played, the player playing the ten must then play another legal card. Any ten MUST be followed by another play by the same player, however. Thus, if a player plays a 10 as his last card, he must still take a turn by drawing a card from the stock.


• Eights:
All eights are considered wild cards. Thus, when played, the player of the card states any of the four suits which becomes the suit that should be played to the play pile. The "name" to be stated when playing this card is the name of the suit to which the next player must play to.

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:

• A player failing to state "One Card" when having just one card remaining in his hand.
• A player playing out of turn.
• A player playing an invalid card on his turn (i.e. a card that normally could not legally be played on the current top card of the play pile.)
• A player hiding his cards so other players are unable to count the number of cards he has remaining.
• Failing to state the name of a card when playing it or saying an incorrect name for the card.
• Failing to say the special phrase when required to draw a card due to a penalty.
• Razzing another player incorrectly.

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.

Card	Scoring Value	Card Name
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9	5	Cards Numerical Value
Ace	10	"Ace", or current total Sum Count, Including the Ace
2	10	"Two", or current Count Sum including the two
King	20	"Draw Two"
Queen	20	"Switchback"
Jack	20	"Spoons"
10	30	"Repeat"
8	30	Name 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.

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:

• Jack: A Jack can be played on top of a card of any suit or rank on a player's turn. As the name of the game implies, this card allows the player to select the new suit that players must play to the discard pile. He indicates this by saying "Jack change it to" and then naming one of the four suits. The next player would then need to play any card of that suit or another appropriate trick card (including another Jack).
• Queen: Playing a Queen during his turn causes the direction of play to be reversed. Thus, if the play was previously moving in a clockwise direction around the table, this rotation switches to a counter-clockwise direction, with the player who played immediately played before the player of the Queen having the next turn. In a two player game, this has no real effect, since the play simply alternates between the two players.
• King: Playing a King on a player's turn entitles the player of the King to specify the rank of card the next player must play. He signifies this by stating "King calling on" and names any normal card rank. If unable (or unwilling) to play such a card, he must draw one card from the stock and end his turn. The next player in turn must then play such a card or he too must draw a card ending his turn. This continues until a player, on his turn, can play a card of the specified rank. If no player has such a card and the turn rotates to the player who played the King, he is not obligated to play the called card, but still must make a legal play (a card of the same Suit, or a legal trick card).
• Ace of Hearts: When the Ace of Hearts is legally played on a player's turn, the player to the immediate left of the player who played the card must immediately draw five cards from the stock.
• Five of Hearts: This card, by itself has no special features. However, if a player who might normally be required to draw five cards (due to the player to his right playing the Ace of Hearts) may play this card to nullify the play of that Ace. He then has no obligation to draw any cards.
• Two: When a Two of any suit is played, the next player in turn must draw two cards from the stock before beginning his turn. However, if the player who normally would have been required to draw a two also has a two and plays the card, the obligation to draw passes on to the next player in turn. However, this player must draw four cards instead, unless he also has a two, which then advances the obligation to the next player. The required number of cards to be drawn also increases by two cards for each two played in the chain.
• Eight: If an Eight is legally played during a player's turn, the player who would normally have the next turn must pass his turn, with the turn moving to the next player after that player in proper rotation. However, if the player who was to be skipped has an eight of his own and elects to play it, the eight is said to be parried, and the game continues as normal.

The game continues until one player manages to play his last card to the center pile, after which time he is declared the winner.

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:

Card	Result of playing this card
7	A 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.
8	An 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.
King	A 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.
Jack	A 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.
Joker	A 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/Queen	A 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 Spades	An 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:

Card	Scoring Value
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, Queen	5
Ace of Clubs, Diamonds, or Hearts	5
Jack	15
Joker	25
Ace of Spades	20
7, 8, King	20

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:

• Play a single card to the table to the top of the pile. The card played must be of the same rank or suit as the current top card of the pile.
• Play multiple cards, all of the same rank to the top of the pile. The first card played must be of the same suit or rank as the current top card of the pile. He may then play any additional cards he has of that same denomination to the pile, in any order.

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:

• Ace: An Ace may be played by a player to the top of the pile, if the rank of the Ace played is of the same suit as the current top card of the discard pile or if the current top card of the draw pile is an Ace of another suit.. When doing this, all other player's must draw one card from the draw pile. The player of the Ace then is entitled to take another turn. An Ace may never be played directly on an eight.
• Eight: An eight may be played on top of any card on the discard pile, on a player's turn. After playing an eight, the individual who played the eight must state the name of the suit in which the next player in turn must play to. There is one restriction on playing an eight however, in that an eight may never be played on top of an Ace or another eight.

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:

Card	Point Value
Ace	10
Eight	5
All other Cards	1

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:

• Each time a player manages to play his last card, he reduces his score by 1 point. However, the game does not end at that point. Instead, the turn moves to the next player after he plays his last card, and the player who did manage to play his last card then draws a number of cards from the stock as his current score, thus remaining in the game. He continues in this manner until able to reduce his hand to just one card (corresponding to a score of 1 point), and when playing his last card on that hand is declared the winner of the game.
• The wild card a player may play to the center pile on any other suit, and with which he may declare a new suit as the current suit which must be played, is directly dependent on that player's score. For example, on the first hand, since everyone has a score of 8, the wild card for all players is 8. However as the game progress, a player has the opportunity to reduce his current score. Thus, the wild card that player may play to change the suit would be a card of the same rank as his current score (i.e. for a player with a current score of five, any five would allow him to change the current suit, but no other numerical ranking would. If a player has a score of 1, Aces are considered the wild card for that player.
• If a player on his turn, after making a valid play, has additional cards of that same rank as he played to the play pile, may play all cards of this same rank to the pile if he prefers. He may play these cards in any order.
• As in many of variants of Eights described above, certain cards played can cause certain actions for the next player in turn. The following is a list of the card and the action that card will cause when played:
  
  • Two - Playing a two causes the next player in turn to immediately draw two cards and pass his turn. However, if that player has a two of his own, he may instead, play that two. This causes the obligation to draw to move to the next player in turn. However, this player would need to draw four cards instead of 2. If he also has a two, however, he may play it instead of drawing four cards, and the next player would need to draw six. This can continue until a player, on his turn is unable to play a two, who must then draw a number of cards equal to 2 times the number of two's played sequentially by preceding players with no other player having drawn any cards. Note that a wild card can never be played on top of a two, unless, for that player, the two is his wild card for that round. In that case, when playing the two, the player must also announce (also said to nominate) the suit that should be played. The only legal play for the next player, thus, would be to play a two of the exact suit declared as the suit to be played by the player who played the wild card two.
  • Queen of Spades - If a player, on his turn, legally plays the Queen of Spades, the next player must draw five cards into his hand and skips his turn.
  • Other Queens - Playing the Queen of Clubs, Diamonds or Hearts causes the next player to miss his turn, with the turn advancing to the player who would normally follow that player in turn.
  • Ace - Legally playing an Ace on a player's turn immediately reverses the order of play. Thus, if the hand was moving in a clockwise direction immediately before an Ace was played, immediately after the Ace is played, play changes to a counter-clockwise direction for the game until another Ace might be played, reversing the direction of play again. Thus, after the Ace is played, the player who played immediately prior to the player who played the Ace, would have the next turn.

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:

• Playing a two causes the next player in turn to immediately draw two cards from the stock and miss his turn. However, if that payer has a two of his own (and wants to play it) he may play the card instead of drawing any cards. This causes the sequence to move to the next player who must also play a two or draw four cards. This continues until either a player draws the appropriate number of cards on his turn. An eight may not be played by a player on a two in order to avoid drawing cards.
• Eights - An eight may be played by a player on a card of any other suit on a player's turn. The player who plays the eight must declare what suit is then to be played to the middle pile by subsequent players on their turn. If the original card turned over is an eight, the dealer declares the suit which must be played on top of this card. An eight can also be played on top of another eight, which also allows the player playing the eight to again change the suit.
• Ace, Four - If a player, on his turn plays any card of denomination Ace or four, the next player normally in turn rotation would miss his turn and the turn passes to the player who would normally play after that next player.
• Jack - Playing a Jack allows the player who played the Jack to take another turn. If the Jack was his last card, he must draw a card, ending his turn.

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.

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:

• Ace: Aces are considered a wild card and may be played on any other card of any suit. He then names a suit for which the next player would be required to play. The suit named cannot be the same suit as was the last card on the play pile before the Ace was played. The player of the Ace must have at least one card in the suit declared. If they have no cards of a different suit than the Ace (or Jokers), they must announce "free-suit" and the next player may play a card of any suit except the suit found on the play pile previous to the Ace.
• Joker: A joker may be played at any time on the pile (on a card of any suit or rank). The direction of play is immediately reversed. Thus, if previously the direction of play was counterclockwise, the direction of play changes to clockwise. The suit for the next player to play to would be considered the same as that prior the Joker having been played.
• Two: If a two is legally played to the play pile, the next player must draw two cards from the stock before taking his turn. However, if that player also has a two in his hand, he may elect to play the card, which then requires the next player in turn to draw four cards or play a two of his own. Each two added to the pile consecutively by additional players adds two to the number of cards which will eventually need to be drawn by a player not playing a two. Thus, once a player cannot or elects not to play a two during the series must pick up the appropriate number of cards before starting his turn.
• Three: The effect of playing a three is very similar to that of a two. If a three is played, the next player in turn must draw three cards from the stock before taking his turn. However, if the player plays a three of his own this instead requires the next player in turn to six total cards, unless he also has a three and opts to play the card. Each three added to the pile consecutively by players in turn, adds three to the total number of cards which will eventually need to be drawn by the first player to not play a three. Thus, once a player cannot or elects not to play a three during this series must pick up the appropriate number of cards before beginning his turn.
• Four: If a player legally plays a four on his turn, the next player in turn must miss his turn. However, if he also has a four and opts to play it, the player after that player instead misses two turns. This continues until a player in turn has no fours (or chooses not to play it) in which case he must miss the appropriate number of turns. Each four added consecutively to the pile before a player does not play such a card, causes the player to miss one additional turn.
• Jack: If a player legally plays a Jack on his turn, he may then call for the next player to play any other rank of card, excepting those cards with special effects. If this next player has the card he must play it if he has the card, or may play another Jack. However, if he does not have a Jack, he must draw from the stock until able to make a legal play (either another Jack or the rank of card called). The player playing the original Jack must have at least one card of the denomination called. If not, when playing the Jack, he can instead just announce "any non-action card" which then allows the next player to play any non-action card to the pile (regardless of suit).
• King of Spades: If a player legally plays the King of Spades on his turn, the next player must draw five cards before beginning his next turn. However, if this player has the King of Hearts or the Queen of hearts, he may instead play that card which forwards the requirement to the next player who must draw 10 cards. If the next player plays the King of Hearts or Queen of Hearts and plays it, the next player must then draw 15 cards.
• King of Hearts: If a player legally plays the King of Hearts on his turn, the next player must draw five cards before starting his next turn. However, if this player has the King of Spades or the Queen of hearts, he may instead play that card which forwards the requirement to the next player who must draw 10 cards. If that next player plays the King of Spades or the Queen of Hearts, the next player instead must then draw 15 total 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:

• The game uses a standard 52 card deck with the inclusion of two Jokers.
• If a player is unable (or chooses not to) make a legal play, he draws one card from the stock, immediately ending his turn.
• Each player is dealt seven cards to the start each game.
• There are several special cards as used in the game Pesten which may vary based on local house rules. The following are the most common of these special cards:
  • Ace: If an Ace is played the current direction of play is reversed. In a two player game, the player of the Ace simply takes another turn.
  • Two: If a player legally plays a two on his turn, the next player in rotation must draw two cards from the stock before beginning his turn. However, if he also has a two, he may immediately play that two which then forwards the drawing requirement to the next player and increases the number of cards to be drawn by two more cards. Once a player fails to play a two, that player must draw two cards for each two played before starting his turn.
  • Jack: If a Jack is played, the player of the Jack may then name any suit for which the next player must play (or play a Jack of his own). A Jack can be played at any time by a player on his turn, including over a two or Joker which negates the need for this player to draw any cards.
  • Eight: Playing an eight causes the next player to miss that turn and thus advancing to the next player. In a two player game, the player of the eight simply takes another turn.
  • Seven: Playing a seven entitles the player of the Seven to another turn.
  • A Joker can be played at any time, and playing this card allows the player of the Joker to select a new suit to be played. In addition, the next player in turn after a Joker is played must draw five cards before beginning his turn. If, however, that player also has a Joker and plays it, he can again change the suit and the next player must draw 10 cards. A Joker played by a player on a two also cancels the requirements of that player to draw two more cards.
• If a player plays, as his last card of the hand, a Jack, Eight, Two or Joker, he is not allowed to go out, but must immediately draw five cards from the stock.
• If a player has only one card remaining in his hand, he must shout "Last Card" loud enough for all players to hear. If he fails to do this and another player mentions this (before that player plays that last card), the player who did not make the call must draw five cards from the stock. Additionally, if the player calls "Last Card" when he actually has more than one card in hand, he must also drive five cards as a penalty.

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:

• The game is designed for 2 to 6 players using one standard 52 card deck. Each player is dealt a total of seven cards to start the game. After the deal the remainder of the deck is set in the middle of the table as the stock pile.
• In Quango, no starter card is used to start the play pile from the stock pile. Instead, the first player of each hand must play any card in the suit of clubs to begin the play pile. If he has no cards in the suit of clubs, he must draw cards from the draw pile until drawing a card he can and wants to play.
• If a player has multiple cards of the same denomination, he may play all such cards to the play pile. He must first place the card he can legally play to the current top card of the pile, and may then play additional cads of that same rank as able and willing (in any order) on top of the first card he placed of that denomination
• If a player is unable (or unwilling) to make a legal play, he must draw from the stock pile. He continues drawing until he draws a card he can (and wants to) play or he draws a total of three cards. If after drawing three cards from the draw pile on that turn, the player is still unable to play, he simply skips his turn.
• When a player is down to three or less cards at the end of a turn, he must loudly state "Quango". Failure to do this, and if noticed by an opponent, forces the player to draw three cards from the deck.
• There a number of special cards in Quango which can be played on a player's turn:
  • Jack: A Jack can be played any time by a player on his turn (except if a two was played by the previous player). Playing a Jack allows the player to change the current suit for which the next players must play.
  • Queen: Playing a Queen changes the current direction of play. The game starts with play in a clockwise direction, and each Queen will reverse this current direction of play. In a two player game, the Queen simply allows the player of the Queen to take another turn.
  • Ace: An Ace causes the next player in turn to miss that turn. In a two-player game, this same player simply takes another turn.
  • Two: Playing a two forces the next player in turn to draw two cards before starting his turn. However, if that player also has a two, the requirement passes to the next player in turn who must then draw four. This continues to the first player who is unable to so play a Two, which then causes that player to draw two cards for each two played during the series. Once he draws the requisite cards he can then take his turn as normal.
• Once a player legally plays his last card, the cards remaining in the other player's hands are then added to that player's cumulative total. The following chart shows the value of each card which might be found in a player's hand:

  Card	Card Point Value
  Ace	1 each
  2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10	Value marked on card
  King	10 each
  Queen of Spades (♠)	40
  Queen of Clubs (♣), Queen of Diamonds (♦), Queen of Hearts (♥)	10
  Jack	20 each

  If the last card played by the player is any Jack, all the points accumulated for that hand by the other players is doubled.
• Once a player reaches or exceeds 200 total accumulated card points, he must drop from the game. The game continues until all but one player have dropped from the game, with that last, remaining player declared the winner.

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.

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:

Card	Special Effect	Scoring Value if Left in Hand
Any Ace	Playing 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 Two	If 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 Six	No 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 Seven	Causes 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 Eight	After 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 Nine	Once 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 King	No special effect.	100 Points Each
Joker	Every 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:

• Seven:
If a player plays a seven of the appropriate suit, the next player must either play a seven or draw three cards from the stock. If he does play a seven, the next player must also play a seven or be forced to draw 6 cards from the deck. Each succeeding seven played to the deck forces the next player to draw an additional three cards per seven played consecutively. Once a player is forced to so draw, that player then takes their normal turn after drawing the appropriate number of cards.


• Ace:
If a player plays an Ace of the appropriate suit, every other player must draw one card from the stock. The order of draw is clockwise from the player playing the Ace. After play of the Ace, that same player makes another play.


• Ten:
If any player, on his turn, plays a card in the rank of ten, this immediately reverses the current direction of play. Thus, the first ten played during a round will cause the normal direction of play rotation to switch from clockwise to counter-clockwise.


• Three:
If a player plays a three of the appropriate suit on his turn, he may play any other card from his hand directly on top of the three. The turn continues with the next player in turn normally, who, as normal, must attempt to play a card of the same rank or suit as the card played after the three.


• Jack:
A Jack may be played by a player on his turn on any other card (except a previously played seven). After the play of the Jack, the player of that card must announce the suit for which the next player must play to.

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:

Card	Point Value
Ace	1 Each
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10	Value as Marked on the Card
Queen, King	10 Each
Jack	25 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.

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:

• Seven:
If a player plays a seven of the appropriate suit to the table, the next player is forced to draw two cards from the stock. However, if that player also has any seven, he can play that seven instead of drawing two cards, which forces the next player to draw four cards. This can continue until a player is unable to play a seven on his proper turn, forcing that player to draw two cards for each consecutive that was thus played.
• Eight:
If a player, on his turn plays an eight of the appropriate suit, the next player's turn is skipped, with the turn thus advancing to the subsequent player.
• Ten:
If a ten is legally played to the table on a player's turn, the direction of play will immediately reverse. Thus, while the game begins play in a clockwise direction, after the first ten is played, the direction reverses to counter-clockwise, and each ten played during the course of the game will reverse that direction of play again.
• Ace:
If an Ace is legally played on a players turn, that same player is entitled to make another play, of course following the same restrictions on play, in which he must play a card of the same suit or rank as the previous card (the Ace just played).
• Jack:
A Jack is always considered a legal play by a player (except on any seven) on his turn, regardless of the current top card on the stock. Once such a Jack is played, the player of the Jack then must announce the suit of card that the next player must play, if able.

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:

• Ace:
If an Ace is played, every player must be completely silent. Any player who speaks during this time must immediately draw two cards from the deck and add those cards to their hand.  After the next Ace is played, players may again speak freely, however once yet another Ace is played, players must again keep silent.
• Two:
If a two is legally played on a players turn, the next player must play any other two or must instead draw two cards. If that player does have and play a two from his hand, the next player would then be required to draw four cards, unless he too has a two in hand (and opts to play it). This continues until the required player is unable or unwilling to play a two, which then forces him to draw two cards for each consecutive two that had been played in that series. After his draw, he then takes is turn as normal.
• Seven:
Legal play of a seven on a player's turn immediately changes the current direction of play.
• Jack:
A player can always play a Jack legally on his turn (except in response to a two). Playing a Jack allows that player to announce the new suit that the next player in turn must attempt to play.
• Knight (Queen):
A legal play of the Knight (or Queen) on a player's turn, causes the immediate next player to miss their next turn.
• King:
Play of a King allows the player to play any other card (of the same suit as the King) on top of the King after play of the King.

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:

Card	Point Value
Ace	1 Each
3, 4, 5, 6, 7	Value as Marked on the Card
Knight (Queen)	9 Each
King, Jack, 2	19 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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