How to play Crazy Eights

Objective

Play every card in your hand before the other players. This page uses a five-card deal for 2–5 players: only eights are wild, with no extra action cards.

Setup

Shuffle a standard 52-card deck without jokers. Deal five cards each, one at a time, starting left of the dealer. Keep hands hidden and put the rest face down as the stock.

Reveal the top stock card beside it to start the discard pile. If it is an eight, bury it in the stock and reveal another; repeat until the starter is not an eight. Play begins left of the dealer and moves clockwise.

Turns

Play one card matching the top discard’s suit or rank. Any eight is also legal: name clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades. The next player must use that named suit or another eight, even if the eight’s printed suit is different.

If you cannot play, draw until you have a legal play or the stock runs out. Play when you can; unplayed draws stay in your hand. If you still cannot play with an empty stock, pass. The standard rules also allow drawing voluntarily when you already hold a legal card.

Worked turn

The top card is 6♥. You hold 6♣, K♥, 8♠ and 3♦. Your legal choices are 6♣, K♥ or 8♠. The 3♦ matches neither rank nor suit.

You play 8♠ and call diamonds. The next player can play 3♦ or any other diamond, or an eight to choose a new suit. A spade does not qualify just because your eight was a spade.

On another turn the discard is K♣, and you hold 3♦ and 5♥. You draw 2♥, which stays in your hand, then J♣, which you play. Your turn ends with three cards still in hand.

When the stock is empty

Keep playing legal cards; anyone unable to play passes. Do not shuffle the discards into a new stock in this ruleset.

Site convention for a blocked hand: if every player passes consecutively, end the hand, award no points and redeal. The standard rules do not specify how to settle a fully blocked hand, so agree this convention before starting.

Winning

Your last legal card wins the hand, including an eight. The winner receives the combined value of cards left in opponents’ hands:

Remaining card	Points
Eight	50
King, queen, jack or ten	10
Ace	1
Two through seven, or nine	Face value

Scoring example: one opponent holds 8♦ and 3♣: 53 points. Another holds Q♥ and A♠: 11 points. The winner scores 64 points, not just the largest opposing hand.

The standard rules give no fixed match target. This page teaches one hand; agree any longer match format before dealing.

Common mistakes

• Following an eight’s printed suit instead of the called suit.
• Playing several cards together; this ruleset uses one discard per turn.
• Treating twos, queens or aces as action cards without agreeing a variant.
• Giving an eight its ordinary face value when scoring.

Variants

Other versions deal more cards to two players, limit drawing to one card, recycle the discards, require a last-card warning or add skip, reverse and draw cards. These change the game; they are not part of the rules above.

If you want dedicated action cards, try UNO Classic. Its normal draw is one card, so keep the two games’ draw rules separate.

For a game about emptying your hand onto a shared layout, try Kings in the Corner: cards build downward on alternating colours instead of matching a discard.

Common questions

How many cards do you deal in Crazy Eights?

Five each in this version, including with two players. Many published rules deal seven each for two players; agree which before dealing.

Can you play an eight whenever you want?

Yes, on your turn, even with another legal card available. Choose the suit that follows.

Do you draw one card or draw until you can play?

Draw until a play is possible or the stock is empty here. Draw-one is a variant.

Can you finish Crazy Eights with an eight?

Yes. An eight is a legal final card and empties your hand.

Do twos make the next player draw two cards?

Not in this ruleset. Extra action effects must be agreed separately.