Crazy Eights rules

What it is

Crazy Eights is a two-player shedding game: you are trying to get rid of your cards before your opponent does. Each turn you play a card matching the top of the discard pile by suit or rank, and if you cannot, you draw. The eights are wild — play one at any time and name whatever suit you like. It is the ancestor of Uno and the game most people learn first. This page describes the game as it is played at jpgames.app.

The deck

A standard 52-card deck. When a hand ends, the loser is penalised for whatever is still in their hand, using these values:

The eight being worth 50 is the tension in the whole game: it is the most useful card to hold and by far the most expensive to be caught with.

The deal

Seven cards each. One card is turned face up to start the discard pile, and the rest is the stock.

If the turned-up card happens to be an eight, the dealer names the suit it counts as before play begins.

Play

On your turn, play one card that matches the top of the discard pile by suit or by rank. A 7♥ can be followed by any heart or by any other 7.

Eights are wild. You may play an eight on anything, at any time, and when you do you name the suit that the next player must match. The eight's own suit is irrelevant once it is down.

If you cannot play, draw. You keep drawing from the stock until you can play or the stock is empty. If the stock runs out and you still have nothing playable, you pass and your opponent continues.

If both players are stuck with an empty stock, the hand ends there.

Scoring

The player who sheds their last card wins the hand and scores the total value of the cards left in the loser's hand.

If the hand ends in a block — both players stuck with the stock empty — nobody sheds, and the player with the lower hand value scores the difference between the two hands.

Being left holding an eight is what usually decides a hand: it is 50 points on its own, more than five face cards.

Ending the game

Hands are played until one player reaches the target. The default is 100 points, with 150 and 250 offered for longer games.

Variants we implement

1. Standard two-player Crazy Eights, which is what this page describes.
2. Target score — 100, 150 or 250.

Where we differ from the common rules

1. Two players only. The multiplayer game is not implemented; a bot fills the other seat.
2. No trick cards beyond the eights. Many house rules give the 2 a "draw two" effect, the Queen a skip, the Jack a reverse, or the Ace a change of direction. None of those are implemented — only the eights are special.
3. You draw until you can play, rather than drawing a single card and passing.
4. No stacking or countering. An eight cannot be answered with another eight to pass an obligation along, because there are no draw penalties to pass.
5. No reshuffling the discard pile back into an exhausted stock. When the stock is gone it is gone, and a hand can end in a block.

Ready to play? Start a Crazy Eights table — a bot fills the other seat, so a game starts whenever you do.

For the wider game, including the house rules above that we do not implement, see Crazy Eights on Wikipedia.

Common questions

How do you play a card in Crazy Eights?

It has to match the top of the discard pile by suit or by rank. On a 7 of hearts you may play any heart or any other 7. Eights may be played on anything.

Why are eights wild in Crazy Eights?

That is the game's one special rule: an eight can be played on any card, and the player who plays it names the suit that must be matched next. It is also worth 50 points against you if you are still holding it when the hand ends.

What happens if you cannot play in Crazy Eights?

You draw from the stock until you can play. If the stock is empty and you still have nothing playable, you pass.

How is Crazy Eights scored?

The player who runs out of cards scores the value of the cards left in the other player's hand. Eights count 50, face cards and tens count 10, Ace counts 1, and everything else counts its face value.

How many points do you need to win Crazy Eights?

100 by default. The table settings also offer 150 and 250 for a longer game.