How To Play Crazy Eights Card Game: Rules, Strategy, and Tips to Play!

Crazy Eights is a well-known card game that people of all ages may enjoy. The game may be played by any number of people between two and eight. While more players playing the game can add to the mystery and thrill, it also provides for a smaller game span for many players, merely because fewer cards are available for each. However, if you’re looking for a fun way to bring people together, there’s nothing finer than a deck of playing cards, and Crazy 8 delivers on all fronts.

This game has a plethora of versions as well as several other names. It is also known as Switch, Rockaway, Swedish Rummy, among others. Some British players refer to it as Black Jack, which is bad since it can be confused with the popular American card game Blackjack.

Table of Contents

How to Play Crazy Eights (Crazy 8)

Below, we unpack everything you must know about how to play crazy eight.

The Deck

Crazy Eights is played with a standard 52-card deck. Jokers are not used in the traditional version of the game.

Number of Players

Crazy Eights can be played by 2 to 7 players. That said, the game is flexible and can accommodate different group sizes.

The Objective of The Game

The objective of the crazy eights card game is simple, and it is to be the first player to get rid of all your cards.

Card Values

Number cards are played according to their face value, and ace cards have no special function beyond their face value. However, eights are special cards. When a player plays an eight, they get to choose the suit that the next player must follow.

The Deal

In its most basic form, two players receive seven cards from a conventional 52-card playing deck—or five cards from two decks of 104 cards if more than two players are present. The remaining cards are dealt facedown to create the draw pile, with the top card flipped up to begin the draw pile. If this hand is an 8, it is “buried” in the remaining cards, and the following card is drawn from it.

Gameplay

Starting from the dealer’s left, each player adds a card face up to the discard pile of cards in the crazy eights card game. By rank or suit, every card being played must equal the uppermost card in the discard pile. All 8s are wild and can be thrown at any moment, and the player who plays one can designate any suit for the following player to follow. Anyone unable and unwilling to follow the highest card must draw cards from the top of the inventory and add them to their hand until one may be dealt to the discard pile or the inventory runs out.

The game is over when the last card from someone’s hand is revealed or when no one can equal the last card. The person who played out earns payment from each opponent according to the total face value of cards left in that opponent’s hand, counting 50 points for each 8, 10 points for each face card/s, and other cards at their number value. If the game “blocks,” the person with the lowest total of holding cards gets the difference between totals with each adversary. To conclude, in the four-hand partner game, both partners should go out.

Also Read: How to Play Presidents Card Game

Switch

In a switch development, a player who is unable to discard draws just one card from inventory, and some cards are subject to unique rules:

Aces are pretty powerful and considered wild (instead of 8s).
Usually, when 2 is played, the following player is obliged to play a 2 or, if unable, to pull two cards from stock and skip a turn. If that person draws, the following player may proceed normally; however, if a 2 is revealed, the next player must pull four cards and lose a turn.
Each subsequent 2 played adds two to the number of cards that the following player must draw for failing to play a 2, up to a total of eight.
A 4 functions similarly to a 2, except that it needs a 4 to be thrown or four cards to be collected (with a limit of max 16 cards).
Throwing a jack changes the direction of play and compels the previous player to play a jack, reversing play once more, or that player will miss a turn.

Last card

When either player’s last card is played, the game is over. When a person with two cards in hand plays one of them, he or she must say, “One left” or “Last card.” The penalty for any rule violation (even going too slow) is to pick two cards from the deck. The winner receives the face amount of all cards left in the hands of the other players, plus bonus values of 20 points for an ace, 15 points for a 2, 4, or jack, and 10 points for a king or queen.

Crazy Eights Rules

Here are some crazy 8 game rules players must follow:

The player to the left of the dealer starts.
Players must match the top card of the discard pile by either the same suit or the same rank
Any 8 can be played on any card, and the player must declare the suit for the next turn.
If a player is unable to play, they must draw cards from the draw pile until they can play or until they have drawn 3 cards. If the draw pile is empty, the player must pass their turn.
The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the round.
The winner scores points equal to the total value of the cards left in the opponent’s hands.
The game can be played to a set number of points (e.g., 100 points) or a predetermined number of rounds.

Tips & Tricks for Crazy Eights

When and if you throw an eight, you could either select the suit in which you get the most cards or try and pick one in which your opponent does not have any. You can tell by recalling the last suit to which they had to pick a card.

Throw a rank match before such a suit match in most cases. However, consider this based on the hands you have. One may be a far superior play than others.

When matching a suit and vying for points, play the top cards first.

Read More: How to Play Whist?

Variations of the Game

You may play Crazy Eights in a set of games by keeping score on hand. At the end of each game, total up the cards still in the losers’ hands and give the points to the victor.

Usually, each face card, such as the queen or king, is worth 10 points, the face value of the index cards (6 points for a 6), an Ace is for 1 point, and an 8 is worth 50 points. Don’t hold on to those eights!

Allow players to continue discarding more than one card every turn if they can.

Play when Jack skips the following player’s turn. If there are only two players in the hand, the Jack enables an extra turn.

Choose a reverse card to shift the game’s direction. A queen is frequently used as the reverse card.

In another variation, a player can play multiple cards at the same time. But the catch is that the cards must be of the same number.

FAQs

What is another classic card game like crazy eights?

If you are looking for card games similar to crazy eights, you can try Uno. It brings the same element of fun with easy-to-understand basic rules. However, you need a special set of cards to play the game.

What is 2 in the crazy 8s card game?

The number 2 card does not have a special function and is played according to its face value, like most other number cards. However, some variations of the game introduce special rules for certain cards, including the number 2. For example, when a 2 is played, the next player must draw two cards and forfeit their turn.

Are Uno and Cray 8s card game the same?

Uno and Crazy Eights are similar card games, but they use different decks and have unique rules and special cards. They are not the same.