1Object of the game
Get rid of all your cards before anyone else. Each card you play must match the top card of the discard pile by suit or by rank, and 8s can be played on anything. When you go out, you collect points for the cards your opponents are still holding, and the first player to reach the target score wins the game.
2Setup
- Use one standard 52-card deck. With 6 or more players, shuffle two decks together.
- Deal 5 cards to each player, one at a time, starting with the player to the dealer's left. With only two players, deal 7 cards each.
- Place the rest of the deck face down as the stock. Turn the top card face up next to it to start the discard pile. This is the starter.
- If the starter is an 8, bury it in the middle of the stock and turn up the next card.
3The play
- The player to the dealer's left goes first, and play moves clockwise.
- Play one card from your hand face up on the discard pile. It must match the top card in suit (any heart on a heart) or in rank (any 6 on a 6).
- An 8 can be played on any card. When you play one, name a suit (never a rank). The next player must play a card of that suit or another 8.
- If you can't play, draw cards from the stock one at a time until you draw one you can play, then play it. If the stock is empty and you still can't play, pass.
- The first player to play their last card wins the hand.
4End of a hand
The hand ends as soon as one player plays their last card. That player collects points from everyone else for the cards left in their hands. If the stock runs out and nobody can play, the hand is blocked. Usually the player with the lowest count wins it. Pagat.com's alternative is to shuffle the discard pile, minus its top card, into a new stock and keep going. The deal passes to the left for the next hand.
5Scoring
The winner of each hand scores the value of every card left in the other players' hands. Add each hand to a running total.
| For | Points |
|---|---|
| Each 8 | 50 |
| Each K, Q, J, or 10 | 10 |
| Each ace | 1 |
| Each 2 through 7 and 9 | Face value |
Holding 8s at the end of a hand is expensive, which is why players try to use them. A common target, given in Wikipedia's summary of the game, is 50 points per player: 100 for two players, 150 for three, 200 for four, and so on. Pagat.com scores the other way around, with the non-winners taking penalty points (see house rules).
6Winning
Play hands until one player's running total reaches the target. With the 50-per-player target, a four-player game ends when someone reaches 200. Families who just want a quick game often skip scoring altogether and count the first player to go out as the winner of each hand.
7A worked hand
Four players. The top card is the 9♣ and you hold 9♥, K♣, 8♠ and 3♠. You could play the K♣ (same suit) or the 9♥ (same rank). You play the K♣ to shed a 10-point card. The other three players follow with the 4♣, the 4♦ and the 10♦, so the suit is now diamonds. You have no diamond and no 10, so you play your 8♠ and name spades, since you still hold the 3♠. The next player has no spade and no 8, so they draw from the stock until they get the 7♠ and play it. The next two play the Q♠ and the Q♥. You play the 9♥ on the Q♥. Around the table come the 9♦, the 3♦ and the 3♣, and you go out by playing the 3♠ on the 3♣. Your opponents are left holding 8♣ and K♦ (50 + 10 = 60), 2♠ and A♥ (2 + 1 = 3), and 10♣, 7♥ and 2♦ (10 + 7 + 2 = 19). You score 60 + 3 + 19 = 82 points toward a four-player target of 200.
8House rules
The rules above are the version most US players use. These are the variations you are most likely to run into; settle them before the first deal.
- Penalty scoring
- Pagat.com scores the losers instead of the winner: each player who did not go out takes penalty points for the cards they hold (8s 50, face cards 10, others face value). Play to an agreed limit, and the player with the lowest total wins.
- Draw one card only
- In pagat.com's basic rules you either play or draw one card, and your turn is over. Some groups let you draw even when you could play; others allow draws up to a fixed number, often three, then pass.
- Eight as the starter
- Instead of burying an 8 turned up at the start, pagat.com has the dealer look at their hand and name the suit for the first player.
- Special cards
- Many families add action cards: a queen makes the next player skip a turn, an ace reverses the direction of play, and a 2 makes the next player draw two cards unless they play another 2, which passes a bigger draw along. This is close to how Uno plays.
- Crazy Eights Countdown
- Everyone starts at 8. Your score sets the wild rank for you, and it counts down each time you win a hand, until a player wins a hand while at zero.
9Mistakes people make
- When you play an 8 you name a suit, not a rank. The next player can play any card of that suit or another 8.
- You can play on a card by matching its rank even when the suit is different. A 5♥ is a legal play on a 5♣.
- In the standard game you keep drawing until you can play or the stock runs out, not just one card and pass.
- With two players each player gets 7 cards, not 5.
10Playing better
- Save your 8s. An 8 gets you out of trouble when you can't match anything, so don't play one when a regular card works.
- When you play an 8, name the suit you hold the most of, or a suit you know the next player is out of.
- Get rid of high cards early. Face cards and 10s cost 10 points each if someone else goes out first.
- Change the suit by rank when a player is running low. If someone has one card left and has been playing hearts, switch to spades with a matching rank.
- Pay attention to who draws. When a player draws several cards, they are out of that suit, so keep it going.
Crazy Eights: questions people ask
- How many cards do you deal in Crazy Eights?
- Deal 5 cards to each player when three or more are playing, and 7 cards each in a two-player game. Turn the next card face up to start the discard pile and place the rest face down as the stock. With 6 or more players, shuffle two decks together.
- What happens when you play an 8 in Crazy Eights?
- An 8 is wild and can be played on any card. When you play it, you name a suit, and the next player must play a card of that suit or another 8. You name a suit only, never a rank, so naming 'sevens' is not allowed.
- What if you can't play a card in Crazy Eights?
- In the standard game, draw from the stock one card at a time until you get a card you can play, then play it. If the stock runs out and you still can't play, you pass. Some groups play that you draw one card and your turn ends.
- How do you score Crazy Eights?
- The player who goes out collects points for the cards left in opponents' hands: 50 for each 8, 10 for each king, queen, jack or 10, 1 for each ace, and face value for everything else. A common target is 50 points times the number of players.
- Is Crazy Eights the same as Uno?
- Uno is a commercial game based on the same idea. Both are shedding games where you match the top card by color or suit and by number or rank, with wild cards. Crazy Eights uses a regular deck and only the 8s are special in the basic rules; Uno adds skip, reverse and draw cards.
- What happens if the first card turned up is an 8?
- Under Bicycle's rules, bury the 8 in the middle of the stock and turn up the next card instead. In pagat.com's version the 8 stays, and the dealer looks at their hand and names the suit the first player must follow.
- How many players can play Crazy Eights?
- Crazy Eights works for 2 to about 8 players. With 2 to 5 players one standard deck is enough. With 6 or more, shuffle two decks together so the stock doesn't run out too quickly, which makes it a good game for family gatherings.
Sources
Checked by Morgan Hale against the sources below. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.
- Crazy Eights, pagat.com. Read September 28, 2026.
- How to Play Crazy Eights, Bicycle Cards. Read September 28, 2026.
- Crazy Eights, Wikipedia. Read September 28, 2026.
Also on the table: UNO, Go Fish, Rummy, Kings in the Corner.