# Crazy Eights

Crazy Eights is a card game for two to seven players. The object of the game is to get rid of all your cards to a discard pile.
There are a number of variations of the basic game, and a number of different names including Crates, Finlander's Uno, Last One, Mau-Mau, Pesten, Rockaway, Spoons, Swedish Rummy, Switch, Last Card, and Tschausepp. In Britain, it is often referred to as Black Jack (not to be confused with the casino card game Blackjack). Bartok, Mao, Quango, Zar, and UNO are more extreme variations, containing elements not covered in this entry.
A standard 52-card pack is used when there is less than six players. When there is more than five players two packs are shuffled together and used.

## How To Play

When there are two players seven cards are dealt to each player. When there are more than two players, each player gets five cards. The remaining cards of the deck are placed face down at the center of the table. The top card is then turned face up to start the discard pile.
Players discard by matching rank or suit with the top card of the discard pile, starting with the player left of the dealer. If a player is unable to match the rank or suit of the top card of the discard pile and they don't have an 8, they draw cards from the stock pile until they get a card that they are able to play. If the stock pile runs out of cards and the player still cannot play, then the player must pass. If a player chooses to draw from the stock pile he may do so. If player plays an 8, he must declare the suit that the next player is to play and that player must follow the named suit or play another eight. The first player to get rid of all their cards is the winner of the round.

## Scoring

Scoring varies depending on the weighting of special cards. Points are incurred for any cards left in hand at the end of a round. Traditionally, pure Crazy Eights is scored 50pts for an 8, 10pts for a face card, and face value for a spot card. These points are then awarded to the winner of the round. The winner of the game is the first player to reach a specific amount of points. For two players it is 100pts, three players 150pts, 4 200pts, 5 250pts, 6 300pts, 7 350pts.

## Variations

In other versions of the game, the suit-changing card may be a different card (often Jacks or Aces), and rules vary as to whether the card has to be played on a matching suit (that is. 8♥ has to be played on a heart) or whether it can be played irrespective of the top card.
Some variations the players may agree to the "Dealer's Goodies" rule, in which the dealer is permitted to take the first discarded card if it is a "special" card, (i.e. an Ace, 2, 4, 8, or Q♠) and continue taking cards until an "ordinary" card surfaces.
In some variations, any number of cards of the same rank may be played consecutively (see below for "Skips on Skips" and "Draws on Draws" rules) when discarding.
In some versions runs are occasionally permitted when discarding.
Other variations allow a player to pass after drawing one card when they cannot play.
Another version allows for the top card of the discard pile to be removed and the remaining cards in the discard pile are reshuffled and serve as the new stock pile when the stock pile has ran out.
Some players require that in order to win you must run out of cards and finish on an "8".
Another variation the winner is the player with the fewest points.
If a player throws a 2 at the end of the game then the player must pick two cards up from the deck before adding up their cards to get their final score.
If you play a Queen of spades with other queens at the end of the game, the queen of spades will have a value of 5.

### Other special actions applied to cards

- Skip - The next player in the rotation is skipped. If more than one card is played, the appropriate number of players are skipped. Skip cards are usually both Aces and 4's. Players may agree that Aces and 4's may be played on each other regardless of suit ("Skips on Skips"). A similar option exists with draw cards, where 2's and the queen of spades may be played on each other interchangeably if players agree on "Draws on Draws".
- Reverse - Players may agree that play reverses direction when a King is played.
- Cancel Draw & Choose Suit (Crazy 8) - The player who plays an 8 can force the next player to play a card of a certain suit. In addition, playing an 8 cancels out any draw cards that would ordinarily be required.
- Some variations allow or require the player to play an extra card on top of the 8, thus setting the next suit. This changes strategy slightly, as the 8 becomes a more valuable card when a player cannot otherwise play, but less valuable as a tool to "block" the next player by trying to call a suit the other player does not have.
- Draw Cards - When a draw card is played, the next player must take a number of cards from the pack. There are two basic draw cards: the 2 (draw 2) and the Q♠ (draw 5). If the next player can play another draw card, they add up and the third player must draw the total, unless he or she also has a draw card or an 8. Playing more than one draw card simultaneously will usually require a draw equal to the sum of the cards (i.e. three 2's = six cards). Some players use black jacks as draw 5's, and allow red jacks to cancel the draw.

When a person has their last card, they must announce "Last Card" to all of the other players. Failure to announce "Last Card" incurs a draw penalty of 2 cards. If the player does not announce "Last Card" then one of the other players can say "Last Card", which makes the person with the last card to draw 2 more cards. However this only applies to the person's last card. Not if the have 2 or more cards. A player may use the 8 to change suits, as well as also block draw cards. Therefore a player who uses the 8 as their last card is almost guaranteed victory. If a player's last card is an 8 (or multiple 8's) then the player must not only announce "Last Card" but also show the 8 to his/her opponents. Failure to show the 8 results in a penalty (drawing two or more cards.)
Another version of the game is "Crazy Eights Countdown", usually played to extend the length of the game. Once a player is able to discard his or her first hand, s/he draws another hand with one less card. For example, if a person was dealt eight cards in his/her first hand and discards them all, s/he draws a second hand - this time with seven cards (thus 7 becomes his/her particular wild card). This goes on until a player goes down all the way to drawing one card and is able to discard that hand. Whoever does so wins.

## Strategy

The two best strategies in Crazy Eights is to play from the suit that has the most cards, and to not just use your eights only to prevent yourself from drawing.

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