Crazy Eights Variations and House Rules
Few card games have as many family versions as Crazy Eights. Because it is usually taught by one person to another rather than read from a book, small changes creep in and become "the rules" in that house. Below are the differences you are most likely to meet. Five of them can be switched on in the Settings of our online game; the rest are here so you know what to expect at someone else's table.
How Long a Game Lasts
The usual game is played to 100 points, which takes a handful of hands. Our game also offers 200 and 500 for a longer evening, and One hand only, where whoever goes out first simply wins. A single hand is how children often play, and it is handy when you have five minutes.
Some families score the other way round: each player adds up the cards left in their own hand as penalty points, and when someone passes 100, the lowest total wins. It comes to much the same thing; the winner of each hand still gains the most.
Draw Until You Can Play, or Draw One
This is the biggest difference between households. Under the usual rule, a player who cannot play keeps drawing from the stock until they get a card that fits, and then plays it. Hands are short, because everybody plays something every turn, but a long run of bad luck can leave you holding a dozen cards.
The other common rule is draw one: draw a single card, play it if it fits, and otherwise pass. Hands last longer and swing less; nobody is buried in cards after one turn. Some tables draw up to three cards before passing. Choose When you can't play in Settings to switch between the two.
Drawing When You Could Play
Strictly, you may only draw when you have nothing to play. Many families relax this and let you draw whenever you like, perhaps to hold on to an eight, or to keep a suit that you expect to come back round. Turn on You may draw even when you could play to allow it. It adds a little strategy, but it also means a player who draws is no longer telling you they could not follow, which makes the game harder to read.
Action Cards
Many families give other cards special powers, which turns Crazy Eights into a livelier, more cutthroat game. Exactly which cards do what varies from house to house. Our Action cards setting uses a popular set:
| Card | What it does |
|---|---|
| Any 2 | The next player draws two cards and misses their turn. |
| Queen of spades | The next player draws five cards and misses their turn. |
| Any Ace | Reverses the direction of play. With two players, it works like a skip: you go again. |
| Any 8 | Still wild, as always. |
Action cards must still match the top card by suit or number like any other card. The card turned up to start the pile has no effect, and a player who goes out on an action card simply wins the hand: the action does not happen. When action cards are on, the order of play is shown under the discard pile, so you can see at a glance when it has been reversed.
Other tables make Jacks skip the next player, or let a black Jack make someone draw. If you know Switch, the British relative of Crazy Eights, you will recognize many of these ideas.
Passing a Draw On (Stacking)
With action cards, some families allow stacking. If a 2 is played on you, you may answer with a draw card of your own instead of drawing. The penalties add up, and the next player must draw the total, or pass it on again. A run of 2s can end with someone picking up a fistful of cards. Turn on Pass a draw on with another draw card to play this way; any draw card (a 2 or the Queen of spades) can answer any other. It only has an effect when action cards are on.
Other Rules You May Meet
- More cards. Some families deal seven or even eight cards to everyone, whatever the number of players.
- Last card call. A player down to one card must say so out loud, or draw two as a penalty. Our game shows a Last card! label for everyone instead.
- Ending on an eight. A few tables forbid going out with an eight, or score it double. Ours lets you go out with any card.
- Two decks. With six or more players, shuffle two decks together.
- Blocked hands. If the stock and the discards run out and nobody can play, the hand ends and the lowest count wins. Some tables give the points to nobody instead.
Which Rules Should I Pick?
For a first game, leave everything as it comes: draw until you can play, eights the only special card, and a game to 100. Once that feels familiar, try action cards for a game with more back and forth, or draw one for a slower, steadier game. The heart of Crazy Eights stays the same whatever you choose: match the suit or the number, and save that eight. The basic rules are on the rules page, and if you like this kind of game, Kings in the Corners and Go Fish are worth a try too.