Public domain card game which plays with a regular deck of cards. The idea is to get rid of all your cards FIRST. Everyone gets some number of starting cards (like 5), and must play a matching card (colour/suit/value), or pick up 1 from the 'stock' pile, and either play THAT or pass. In Crazy Eights, players begin with a deck of cards and have a goal of getting rid of all of them, like in the card game UNO and Old Maid. The game is a type of 'shedding' card game that requires skills in both tactics and communication.
Crazy 8's is a family card game favorite at our house, and kids as young as 4 can easily join in on the fun if they understand the concept of the card's suit (which you explain using the pictures of diamonds, hearts, clubs, and spades) and how to match numbers (ranks). Here's how to play crazy 8's with your kids!
Of course, card games sometimes do have their challenges…
How to Play Crazy 8's: Step 1- Locate a full deck of cards!
Every time my kids want to play a card game, I open this drawer to pull out a deck, and find this mess!
And yes, they know that they are the ones that leave it like this!
So the first step (at my house anyway) is to grab a big pile of cards and then start grouping them into suits to see if we can actually put together a complete deck!
Step 2: Shuffle and Deal
And I might suggest that once you assemble a full deck, have an older sibling or adult conduct the first shuffle and be the dealer. Otherwise the game will go by very quickly as every player will just have the next card in the suit!
To play Crazy's 8s, deal five cards to each player.
The rest of the deck is placed in the center of the table, face down.
Take the top card from the deck, turn it over and place it beside the deck, forming the discard pile. (If the first card turned over is an eight, put it back on the bottom of the deck and turn up the next card.)
Step 3: Agree on the Rules of the Game
Here is how to play Crazy 8's:
The player to the left of the dealer discards a card from his hand that matches either the suit or the number (rank) of the top card in the discard pile.
If he has no such card, he takes one card from the deck, which he can either play (if it matches either the suit or the rank (number) of the face-up card), or he must add the card to his hand.
Play continues in the manner, with players matching the card at the top of the discard pile, or taking a card from the pile.
Eights are “wild” and can be put down at any time by the player who is taking a turn. The player who discards an eight chooses the suit his opponents must play next.
If a player discards a 2, the player to his left loses a turn and instead must take 2 cards from the deck.
If a player discards a 4, the player to his left loses a turn and instead must take 1 card from the deck.
The first player to use up all his cards wins.
Sound easy, right? But there is a point of large dispute here in the Rowley household on the exact rules of the game. See the hand below?
The card that is face up is a 7 of clubs. Now the way that I play (which of course we ALL KNOW is the “right way”!) is that the player has the right to decide based on strategy whether or not to discard his Jack of clubs, or either of the 7's that he is holding.
Strategically speaking, it would be in his best interest to discard the 7 of hearts, in the hopes that by the time his turn came around again, hearts would still be the suit being played, and he would have another opportunity to discard.
The way certain grandparents that I know play- is that the player has no choice. Suit must always be played before rank. And therefore, the Jack of clubs is the only option.
My view is that a card game should be based on strategy and not only by chance. (Of course, I am smart enough to keep quiet about it when the grandparents are playing with the kids and I am using the opportunity to get something else done!)
But the choice of rules my friend is yours to decide.
Step 4: No Bleeding!
We try to teach the younger kids how to hold their cards so that others cannot see what is in their hands. The older ones will admonish them with “No bleeding!” and the little ones know what to do!
What card games does your family like to play? Leave a comment and share some inspiration!
Crazy 8 Card Game Rules
Introduction
Eights charms almost everybody, while a component of strategy exists in the game, you can play it at the unassuming level of getting rid of one of your cards at every turn, without any pre-planning, and still win, with a bit of luck.
The basics
Crazy 8 Card Game Directions
-Number of players: two or more
-Playing time: half an hour
-Cards: at least one standard 52-card deck of cards
-Ranking: ace high, then King down to deuce. Suits are equal.
-Deal: The players cut for the deal, with the person drawing the lowest card awarded the task. You deal the cards one card at a time, clockwise and face-down. Each deal progresses one place to the first dealer’s left.
Every player begins with the same number of cards. When playing with two-four players, each player gets seven cards. When playing with more than four players, each player gets five cards. When the number of players rises above six, add an additional deck.
Crazy 8 Card Game Instructions
Object of the game
The object of the game is to be the first to eliminate of all your cards. Everyone plays independently, no matter how many players participate. The first player to remove all their cards (go out) scores points according to the cards left in his opponents’ hands (see scoring section below). The first player to reach 250 points wins the game.
Play
After all the cards are dealt to the players, the dealer puts the remainder of the deck face-down in the center of the table and reveals the top card to start the discard pile. The player to the dealer’s left is the first to proceed, and he has three distinct choices about which card to play:
– He may play a card that agrees with the suit (clubs, spades, diamonds, or hearts) or the rank (2s, jacks, and so on) of the top card.
– He may present an 8. All 8s are wild, meaning that you can play an 8 at any time, no matter what the card played beforehand was. Furthermore, when you play an 8, you can propose any suit (but not a rank), and the next player must play a card of the presented suit. They may put down another 8 and are able to repeat the process.
If he can do neither, he is obligation to retrieve a card from the stock. (If the first card which is turned over is an 8, the first player can play whatever he wants.)
– He may also pick up the top card from the stock and add it to her hand if she is reluctant or incapable to play a card. After a player acquires a card from the stock, the play passes clockwise to the next player. You may not pass, and then play a card that you pick up from the stock. Your turn ends after you pass.
It is argued by some players that you must play if you can. However it can cause problems to play a card just because you can. For example, you may not want to let go of an 8 early in the game so you can play it later in order to command what suit is played.
Scoring
The game completes when one player goes out. When this occurs, the winner evaluates the damage he has caused the other players:
Each court card (aces, kings, queens, and jacks) is worth 10 points.
All other cards, except the 8s, are charged at face value.
The 8s come in at an agonizing 50 points each.
The winner collects the points from the cards which remain in his opponents’ hands. Most circles usually play that the first player to 250 points wins. When the game seems to be reaching its finale, make sure to unload your 8s as fast as you can, because the penalty for holding an 8 at the end of the game could prove disastrous.
Variants
There are two major popular variants of Eights, the first is Mau Mau, and it provides the simplicity of Eights but with a few twists thrown in. The main difference of Mau Mau, which differs from Eights, is the rule against describing or querying the rules. This makes it particularly difficult for new players to join; it requires new players to assume the rules of the game by trial and error.
Related External Links
A useful crazy eights guide can be found on the pagat website.