Crazy Eights

Overview

Match the top card of the discard pile by rank or suit, and shed your hand first. Eights are wild. UNO works the same way.

No governing body publishes rules for this game. This page describes the most common form. House rules vary, so agree them before you start.

1. Setup

Two or more players, standard 52-card deck. Deal five cards each, or seven for two players.

Place the rest face down as the stock and turn one card face up to start the discard pile.

2. Play

On your turn, play one card matching the top card by rank or suit.

If you cannot, draw from the stock. Rules vary on how many:

• Draw one and pass, or
• Draw until you can play

Agree before starting.

3. Eights

Any eight may be played on anything, at any time. On playing one, you nominate the suit that must follow.

An eight nominating its own suit is legal but pointless.

4. Optional action cards

The basic game has only eights. Many tables add some of these:

Card	Common effect
2	Next player draws two
Jack	Skip the next player
Queen of spades	Draw five
Ace	Reverse direction
4	Skip

Agree the set before dealing. There is no canonical list.

5. Winning and scoring

First to shed every card wins the round.

They score the value of cards left in the other hands:

Card	Points
Eight	50
Face cards	10
Ace	1
Others	Face value

Play to an agreed total, often 100 or 500.

Commonly argued

• Eights are the only wild cards in the base game. Everything else is a house addition.
• Drawing one versus drawing until playable must be agreed first.
• You nominate a suit when playing an eight, and may choose one you already hold.
• The scoring makes eights expensive — hold them, but not too long.