Play Crazy Eights

How to play Crazy Eights

1. Deal. Two players get 7 cards each; three or four players get 5. The rest go face down as the draw pile, and the top card is turned up to start the discard pile.
2. Match it. On your turn, put down one card that matches the top card's suit or its rank. A 9 of clubs can go on any club or on any other 9.
3. Eights are wild. An eight goes on anything. Whoever plays it names a suit, and the next player has to match that suit (or play another eight).
4. Can't play? Draw. Take cards from the draw pile until one fits, then play it. Some families draw only one card and pass if it does not fit; pick that in the settings.
5. Go out. The first player with no cards left wins the hand.

Rules this game uses

Crazy Eights has no single official rule book, so tables argue about the details. Here is what this page does, so nothing surprises you:

• Starting card. If the first card turned up is an eight, it goes to the bottom of the draw pile and the next card is turned up instead.
• Drawing. With "draw until you can play" you may only draw when nothing in your hand fits. With "draw one", you draw a single card and then play any card that fits or pass.
• Empty draw pile. The discards under the top card are shuffled into a new draw pile.
• Stuck hands. If nobody can play and there is nothing left to draw, the hand ends and the player holding the fewest points wins it.
• Scoring (optional, the common scoring). The hand winner scores the cards left in everyone else's hand: each eight 50, Kings, Queens and Jacks 10, aces 1, every other card its number. First to 100 or 250 wins the game. Leave scoring off to play single hands.

How the computer plays

Normal holds on to its eights until nothing else fits, plays toward the suit it has the most of (it will switch suits with a matching rank when that helps), sheds its high cards first, and names the suit it holds most after an eight. Easy plays the first card that fits, spends eights freely and names a suit at random. Neither one can see your hand.

Nothing leaves your browser. Your settings and how many hands you have won are saved only on this device.

Crazy Eights questions

How many cards do you deal in Crazy Eights?

This game deals 7 cards each when two people play and 5 each with three or four. That is the most common rule. With four players at 7 cards each, more than half the deck would start in hands and the draw pile would run out fast.

Can you play an eight on anything?

Yes. An eight can go on any card, on any turn, and the player who puts it down names the suit the next player has to match. If an eight is your last card, you win the hand right away and do not need to name a suit.

What happens when the draw pile runs out?

Keep the top card of the discard pile where it is, shuffle the rest of the discards and turn them face down as a new draw pile. If there is nothing left to shuffle and nobody can play, the hand is stuck, and the player holding the fewest points wins it.

Can the computer see my cards?

No. The computer players choose from what a person at the table would know: their own hand, the top card, the suit to match and how many cards everyone holds. Every shuffle uses your browser's cryptographic random numbers.