Crazy Eights

Crazy Eights is a card game for two or more 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, Last One, Mau-Mau, Pesten, Rockaway, Spoons, Swedish Rummy, Switch and Tchausepp. In Britain it is often referred to as Black Jack (not to be confused with Blackjack). Bartok, Mao and UNO are more extreme variations, containing elements not covered in this entry.

Generally, a standard 52-card pack is used, although some variations may use jokers as wild, and others may use more than one pack. Each player is (usually) dealt seven or eight cards, with the rest of the deck being placed face down at the centre of the table. The top card is then turned face up to start the discard pile.

Players discard their cards by matching rank or suit with the top card of the discard pile. Generally, any number of cards of the same rank may be played simultaneously. Runs are occasionally permitted. 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 draw a card that they are able to play. If the stock pile runs out of cards, the top card of the discard pile is removed and the remaining cards in the discard pile are reshuffled and serves as the new stock pile. The first player to get rid of all their cards is the winner.

The main variations in play concern the characteristics of cards with special actions. In the basic form of Crazy Eights, the only card with such attributes is the 8 (hence the name). The 8 can be played irrespective of the top card on the pile, and the player may then call a change of suit.

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 (ie. 8♥ has to be played on a heart) or whether it can be played irrespective of the top card.

Other special actions applied to cards include:

• Miss A Turn - The next player in the rotation is skipped. If more than one card is played, the appropriate number of players are skipped.
• Reverse - The play changes direction.
• Choose Suit - The player that plays this card can force the next player to play a card of a certain suit.
• Draw Cards - When a draw card is played, the next player must take a number of cards from the pack. 2s are a popular choice and carry a penalty of two cards. If the next player can play another 2, the third player must take four, unless s/he also has a 2. Playing more than one 2 simultaneously will usually require a draw equal to the sum of the cards (ie. three 2s = six cards). Some cards may be used to counter draws, for example: in Black Jack, a black Jack produces a draw penalty of seven cards for the next player, but if the penalised player can produce a red Jack, the penalty is wiped out, and the third player continues play in the usual manner. In Ontario, the queen of spades is used in place of the black jack and is worth only a five card draw.

Many versions of the game require "Last Cards" to be said by any player who can make a final play on their next turn. Failure to announce "Last Cards" incurs a draw penalty (usually two 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.

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 picture card, and face value for a spot card. The winner is the player with the least points.