Printable Crazy Eights rules

Crazy Eights in one page

2–8 players · 1 deck (2 decks for 6+)

Deal 5 cards to each player (7 each with two players) and turn up one card to start the discard pile. On your turn play a card that matches the top card's suit or rank, or play an 8, which is wild and lets you name the next suit; if you can't play, draw from the stock until you can. The first player out of cards wins the hand and scores the value of the cards left in the other players' hands.

In brief

• Deal 5 each (7 each with 2 players)
• Turn up a starter; if it's an 8, bury it and turn again
• Match the top card by suit or rank
• 8s are wild: play any time and name a suit
• Can't play? Draw until you can; stock empty = pass
• First player out of cards wins the hand
• Winner scores: 8 = 50, K/Q/J/10 = 10, ace = 1, others face value
• Target: 50 × number of players

Setup

1. Use one standard 52-card deck. With 6 or more players, shuffle two decks together.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. If the starter is an 8, bury it in the middle of the stock and turn up the next card.

On your turn

1. The player to the dealer's left goes first, and play moves clockwise.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. The first player to play their last card wins the hand.

Scoring

Winning

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.