Yorimichi Games
How to play Crazy Eights
Crazy Eights is a card game for two or more players in which everyone races to get rid of their cards. On your turn you play one card onto the discard pile, and it has to match the top card by suit or by rank. If you can’t, you draw from the draw pile, so your hand can grow as well as shrink. Eights are wild: you can play an 8 on anything and choose the suit the next player must follow. The first player with an empty hand wins.
This version lets you play against one to four computer opponents. It starts with the classic rules, where the 8 is the only special card, and you can switch on the extra action cards used in many homes: a 2 that makes the next player draw, a jack that skips a turn, a queen that reverses the direction, and a joker. The “Japanese standard” setting follows Page One, the name Crazy Eights goes by in Japan, where these action cards are part of the usual rules.
The table
Each player is dealt five cards (seven each in a two-player game). The rest of the deck becomes the draw pile, face down. The top card is turned up to start the discard pile, and the player on the dealer’s left goes first, with play moving clockwise. In this game, if the first card turned up is a special card, it goes back under the draw pile and another card is turned up, so nobody starts with a penalty.
Crazy Eights rules: what you can play
On your turn, play one card that matches the top card of the discard pile in suit or in rank. Your card becomes the new top card for the next player. Playing a card of the same rank is how you change the suit: put the ♥5 on the ♠5 and the next player now has to play a heart or a 5.
An 8 can be played on any card. When you play it, you call a suit, and the next player must play a card of that suit or another 8. The 8 does not count as its own suit after that; only the called suit matters.
When you can’t play, draw
If you have no card you can play, draw one card from the draw pile. If that card can be played, you may play it at once; otherwise it joins your hand and your turn ends. By default you may not draw when you already have a playable card, but many families play that you can always draw instead of playing, and some play that you keep drawing until you find a card you can use. Both are available in the settings. When the draw pile runs out, the discards under the top card are shuffled to make a new draw pile.
Call “Last card!”
When the card you play will leave you with only one card, you must warn everyone by calling “Last card!”. In this game, press the Last card! button (or the 1 key) before you play. You are still safe if you press it right after playing, as long as the next player hasn’t moved yet. If you are too slow, a computer player will catch you and you draw penalty cards: five by default, which is the Japanese Page One rule, or two or three if you prefer. The computer players never forget to call.
Special cards
In classic Crazy Eights the only special card is the 8. House rules usually add a few more. With the “Japanese standard” setting, the cards work like this:
- 2 – draw two: the next player draws two cards and loses the turn, unless they play another 2 on top.
- 8 – wild: play it on anything and call the next suit.
- Jack – skip: the next player misses a turn. With two players, you play again.
- Queen – reverse: the direction of play changes. The arrows on the table turn around. With two players it has no effect.
Other groups use different cards for the same jobs. A common American set is a queen to skip and an ace to reverse, and many British players use the ace, not the 8, to change the suit. The idea is the same everywhere, so choose the set you are used to and the game plays the way you expect.
Stacking 2s
When a 2 is played at you and you hold a 2 as well, you can play it on top and pass the penalty along, now two cards bigger (2, 4, 6…). The first player without a 2 draws the total and loses the turn. The next player then continues from the last 2 as usual: a card of its suit, another 2, or an 8. An 8 cannot be used to escape the draw.
The joker
With the “With joker” rules, one joker is added to the deck. It can be played at any time, you call the next suit as with an 8, and the next player draws four cards. A 2 cannot pass it on.
Going out and scoring
When you play your last card you are out. The classic rules end the game right there and the others score penalty points for the cards left in their hands. This game normally carries on until everyone has a place (1st, 2nd, 3rd…), which keeps everyone playing to the end. Choose “Stop when one player goes out” to use the classic ending; the remaining players are then ranked by their hand points (8s and the joker 50, 2s, 3s, jacks and queens 20, tens and kings 10, other cards at face value). Over a 3- or 5-game match, each game gives points by place (with four players: 3, 2, 1 and 0), and the highest total wins.
Rule sets compared
| Rule | Eights only | Japanese standard |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Wild, call the next suit | |
| 2 | Normal card | Draw 2 (stackable) |
| J / Q | Normal cards | Skip / reverse |
| Joker | None (“With joker” and “Everything” add one: draw 4) | |
| Extras | “Everything” adds 3 = draw 3, same-rank cards played together, and calling “Stop” on your final card | |
Under “Set the rules yourself” you can also make the 2 a forced draw that can’t be passed on, draw until you can play, stop players from going out on a special card, or change the penalty for forgetting to call.
Crazy Eights strategy and tips
1. Save your 8s
An 8 can always be played, so it is your safety net. Hold on to it while you have other legal cards and use it when you would otherwise have to draw. Going into your last two cards with an 8 in hand almost guarantees you can play next turn.
2. Change to your strongest suit
When you match by rank, you also change the suit. Moving play into the suit you hold the most of gives you more options on your next turn, and if your opponents are short of that suit, they will be the ones drawing.
3. Aim action cards at the player about to go out
A draw 2 or a skip does the most damage when the next player has only one or two cards left. Watch for the “1 left” tag and save these cards for that moment rather than spending them on a player with a big hand.
4. Keep a 2 for defense
When 2s can be stacked, a 2 in your hand protects you from having to draw. If the player before you is close to going out, keeping a 2 back can be worth more than playing it.
5. Remember who drew
When an opponent draws instead of playing, they had nothing in that suit or rank. Steering play back to that suit, or calling it with an 8, can make them draw again.
6. Call before you play
Make a habit of pressing “Last card!” as soon as you are down to two cards and about to play one. A penalty of five cards can undo several good turns.
Crazy Eights FAQ
When exactly do I call “Last card”?
When you have two cards and are about to play one of them, so that one card will remain. You don’t call when you play your final card, unless you turn on the “Stop” rule, in which case you call “Stop” on that last card.
What happens if I forget?
If someone points it out before the next player plays or draws, you draw penalty cards (five by default, or two or three if you change the setting). If you call it before anyone notices, there is no penalty.
Can I play an 8 on a draw 2?
No. When a 2 is played at you, the only way out is another 2. The 8 is wild for suits, but it does not cancel a draw penalty.
Can I go out on a special card?
Yes, by default. If you go out on a 2, the next player still draws two. Some families don’t allow going out on an action card; you can switch that on in the settings.
Which computer level should I choose?
Start with Easy if you are new: it sometimes forgets to pass on a 2 and spends its 8s too early. Normal plays sensibly and keeps its 8s for when it needs them. Hard also watches card counts and the suits other players have drawn on, and picks the card that is most awkward for you. There is plenty of luck in the draw, so you can beat any level.
Can I stop and continue later?
Yes. If you close the page in the middle of a game, press Continue the next time you open it. Your game is saved only in this browser on this device.
Page One: Crazy Eights in Japan
Games where you match suit or rank are played all over the world. Crazy Eights is the best-known American form; it appeared as “Eights” in the 1930s and took its current name in the 1940s. In Britain it is often called Last Card, and in Germany it is Mau-Mau. Card game writers describe it less as one fixed game than as a pattern that every group adds its own rules to.
In Japan the same game is widely known as Page One (sometimes “American Page One”). It gets the name from the call a player makes when down to one card, where English speakers would say “Last card”. The usual Japanese house rules are a little busier than the classic American game: a 2 makes the next player draw two, a jack skips, a queen reverses, and forgetting the call costs five cards. Confusingly, “Page One” is also the name of a different Japanese game where everyone follows suit in tricks, but the matching game on this page is the one most people mean.
If you grew up with a different set of rules, try the settings: between the classic eights-only game, the Japanese standard, and the custom options, you should be able to recreate the way your own family plays.