Crazy Eights
This is a complex and confusing, but quite fun game. And a great way of passing time, as it can go on for an hour or more. It’s kind of like Uno, or Whot, and a bit like Mao.
Objective: To get rid of your cards
Players and Cards: 3 or more players. If more than 3 are playing, you’ll need another pack of cards (doesn’t matter if backs are different). Can play with or without jokers.
Deal: In front of each player, deal 4 cards face down, 4 cards face up on top of them, and give each 4 cards to hold in hand. Put the remainder of cards in the middle as a draw pile, and turn the top over to form the start of the discard pile. Dealer’s left starts.
Play:
- Each player has to play a card which matches either the colour or suite of the previous one (except 8s/Jokers, which can be played at any time except after a 2 or 4 - see below).
- If you can’t play from the cards in your hand, you must pick up a card from the draw pile.
- Once you’ve played all cards in your hand, you can play the face-up cards in front of you; if you cannot play them, then you must draw a card and re-start your “hand”.
- Once all face-up cards are played, you play the face-down ones blind - you may look at one per turn, but if you can’t play it, you need to draw a card, and can’t go back to the face-down cards until you’ve used all of your hand.
Cards’ Meanings:
- 2 - the next player either has to play another 2, or pick up 2 cards. If 2 ‘2’s are played in a row, the next player must pick up 4 (2x2) cards; if 3 are played in a row, the next must pick up 6 (3x2), and so on. Once the multiple cards have been picked up, the next player is free to play anything of that suite, and if they can’t only need to pick up the usual 1 card.
- 3 - play skips a person
- 4 - as with 2s, but next player must pick up 4, 8, or 12 cards
- 5 - ‘burns’ the pack - the discard pile is turned over and moved underneath the draw pile. A new card is then drawn from the top of the pile.
- 6,7 - nothing
- 8 (and Jokers, if using) - can be played any time except on an unspent 2 or 4. Can become any card (e.g. you can play an 8 of hearts on top of a 6 of clubs and say “this is a 3 of diamonds”), but don’t mimic the behaviour of the card (e.g. in the above example, play wouldn’t skip the next person)
- 9, 10 - nothing
- Jack - reverses the direction of play
- Queen, King, Ace - nothing
