Rules for Crazy Eights

Rules for the card game Crazy Eights: Match suit or value, use eights to twist the suit! Get rid of your cards first and collect the least points. Crazy Eights is also known as Eights, Switch or Mau Mau.

Icon visualizing number of players 2-6 players
Icon visualizing how long the game takes 10-20 minutes
Icon visualizing minimum age of players 6+ years

Setup

Crazy Eights is played with a standard 52-card deck and supports two to six players. Each player starts with five cards, and the remaining cards are placed in a draw pile in the center of the table. The top card of the pile is flipped over and placed next to it to start the discard pile.

Gameplay

Starting with the player to the left of the dealer, players take turns placing one card at a time on the discard pile. The card must match either the suit or the rank of the top card on the discard pile.

The Eights

Eights are wild cards and can be played on top of any card, regardless of suit or rank. When an eight is played, the player must declare a new suit. The next player must then play a card of that suit or another eight.

The Eights

Passing

If a player cannot or does not want to play a card, they must draw one card from the draw pile. If the drawn card is playable, the player may choose to play it immediately or keep it and pass.

Winning the Game

The goal of the game is to be the first player to get rid of all their cards. When a player runs out of cards, they score points based on the cards remaining in the other players’ hands. The game continues until a player reaches a predetermined score, usually 200. The player with the lowest total score at that point wins the game.


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