The Probert Encyclopaedia of Recreation

CRAZY EIGHTS

Crazy Eights is a card game for two or more players, in which the object is to get rid of the cards in your hand onto a discard pile by matching the number of suit of the previous discard. There are a huge number of variations of this game, and many alternative names. It is sometimes called Crates, Switch, Swedish Rummy, Last One or Rockaway. In Germany it is Mau- Mau; in Switzerland it is Tschausepp. Some British players call it Black Jack. The basic game of Crazy Eights uses a standard 52-card deck, or two such packs shuffled together if there are a lot of players. The dealer deals (singly) five cards to each player (seven each if there are only two players). The undealt stock is placed face down on the table, and the top card of the stock is turned face up and placed beside the stock to start the discard pile. Starting with the player to the dealer's left, and continuing clockwise, each player in turn must either play a legal card face up on top of the discard pile, or draw a card from the undealt stock.
The following plays are legal: if the top card of the discard pile is not an eight, you may play any card which matches the rank or suit of the previous card (for example if the top card was the king of hearts you could play any king or any heart); an eight may be played on any card, and the player of the eight must nominate a suit, which must be played next; if an eight is on top of the pile, you may play any card of the suit nominated by the person who played the eight. The first player who gets rid of all their cards wins, and the other players score penalty points according to the cards they have left in their hands - 50 for an eight, 10 for a picture, and spot cards at face value. Crazy Eights is one of the easiest games to elaborate by adding variations, and is not often played in its basic form. There are variations in the number of cards dealt, the rules about drawing cards and the scoring system. Frequently special meanings are given to particular cards; when played these cards affect the sequence of play, or have other effects.
In the normal game, you may always use your turn to draw a card. However, some people play that you may only draw if you are unable to play - if you can play you must. Some allow the drawn card to be played immediately if it is a legal play. Some allow more than one card to be drawn - either up to a fixed number of cards, after which if you still cannot (or will not) play the turn passes to the next player. Others require you to continue drawing until you can play. There may be a rule that you must alert the other players when you have just one card left. If you fail to do so you must draw cards (usually two) from the stock as a penalty. Traditionally an eight can be played at any time and the player can nominate any suit. Some play that you can only play an eight that matches (either the same suit or another eight). Some play that you can play an eight at any time but cannot nominate another suit - the next player must match the suit of the eight you played or play another eight.
Some players use jacks or aces rather than eights as the cards which have the power to change suit. Some play that when a queen (or some other designated rank) is played, the next player in rotation misses a turn, and the turn passes to the following player. Some play that when an ace (or some other designated rank) is played, the direction of play reverses, becoming anticlockwise if it had been clockwise, or vice versa. Some play that when a two is played the next player must either draw two cards or play another two. If several consecutive twos have been played the next player must either play another two or draw two cards for each two in the sequence.
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