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how to play crazy eights

Crazy Eights is a fast, easy card game where players race to be the first to get rid of all their cards by matching the top card on a discard pile by number or suit, with eights acting as powerful wild cards. It’s great for families or casual play and can be learned in just a few minutes.

What you need

  • A standard 52‑card deck with jokers removed.
  • 2–5 players is typical; more players can use two decks shuffled together.
  • A flat surface for a draw pile and a discard pile.

Setup

  • Shuffle the deck and deal:
    • 7 cards each if 2 players.
* 5 cards each if 3 or more players.
  • Place the remaining cards face down in the center as the draw pile.
  • Flip the top card face up to start the discard pile; if it’s an 8, bury it in the deck and flip a new starter card.

How a turn works

  • On your turn, you must play one card that matches the top discard by suit or rank (number).
  • Example: if the top card is 7 of hearts, you may play any 7 or any heart.
  • If you cannot play:
    • Draw from the draw pile until you draw a playable card, or until you’ve drawn a set limit (often 3–5 cards, agreed before play).
* If you still can’t play after hitting the draw limit, your turn ends.
  • Play proceeds clockwise around the table.

Special role of eights

  • All 8s are wild and can be played on any card, regardless of suit or rank.
  • When you play an 8, you must call a suit (hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades) that the next player must follow.
  • The next player must either:
    • Play a card of the chosen suit, or
    • Play another 8 and choose a new suit.

Ending a round and scoring (optional)

Many casual groups just play “first out wins,” but there is a classic scoring style for multiple rounds.

  • A round ends as soon as one player has no cards left.
  • Other players total the cards left in their hands; common point values:
    • Each 8 = 50 points.
* Face cards (J, Q, K) = 10 points each.

* Number cards = their face value; aces = 1 point.
  • The player who went out scores the sum of everyone else’s remaining points.
  • Play new rounds until someone reaches an agreed target (for example, 100 or 300 points); the overall winner is the one with the fewest total points against them in some variants, or the most collected points in others, so agree on that before starting.

Popular house rule twists

Different households and forums use fun extra powers on certain cards.

  • Reverse: Some groups make Jacks reverse the direction of play.
  • Skip: A 2 (or sometimes another rank) skips the next player’s turn.
  • Draw cards:
    • Some play that certain ranks (like 2s or Queens of a suit) force the next player to draw extra cards unless they can “stack” another of the same type.
  • Table‑thumping variation: One shared variation has players thump the table in rhythm while a player draws, and forcing them to say “Thank you!” cheerfully or draw extra cards, adding a playful social challenge.

Before starting, agree clearly on:

  • How many cards are dealt.
  • How many cards must be drawn if you can’t play.
  • What, if any, extra powers special cards (2, J, Queen, etc.) have.

Simple step‑by‑step example

  1. Deal cards and flip a non‑8 starter card.
  2. Player A plays a card that matches suit or rank.
  3. Player B plays an 8, calls “clubs.”
  4. Player C must now play a club or another 8; if not, they draw until they can or hit the draw limit.
  5. Play keeps going until someone plays their last card and wins the round.

If you’d like, a compact HTML rules table or a themed “house rules” set can be laid out next for easy sharing with friends.