Crazy Eights
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 In Crazy Eights, playing an 8 card will change the current suit of the game. |
|
| About | |
|---|---|
| Skills required | Tactics, Communication |
| Gameplay | |
| Type | Shedding-type |
| Players | 2+ |
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | Anglo-American |
| Play | Clockwise and Counter-clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | 8 J A 2 K Q 10 9 7 6 5 4 3 |
| Playing time | Various |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Related games | |
| UNO | |
Crazy Eights is a shedding-type card game for two to seven players. The object of the game is to be the first to get rid of all the player's cards to a discard pile. The game is considered a pre-extension of Switch and Mau Mau, much favoured in schools during the 1970s.[1]
A standard 52-card pack is used when there are fewer than six players. When there are more than five players, two packs are shuffled together and used.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
There are many variations of the basic game, and a number of different names including Crates, Finlander's Uno, Last One, Mau-Mau, Pesten, Rockaway, Spoons, Swedish Rummy, Switch, Last Card, Screw Your Neighbour, and Tschausepp. In Britain, it is often referred to as Black Jack (not to be confused with the casino card game Blackjack). The name Crazy Eights dates to the 1940s, derived from the military designation for discharge of mentally unstable soldiers, Section 8. Bartok, Mao, Quango, Zar, Taki and UNO are more extreme variations, containing elements not covered in this entry.
[edit] Basic play
When there are two players seven cards are dealt to each player. When there are more than two players, each player gets five cards. The remaining cards of the deck are placed face down at the center of the table. The top card is then turned face up to start the game.
Players discard by matching rank or suit with the top card of the discard pile, starting with the player left of the dealer. If a player is unable to match the rank or suit of the top card of the discard pile and does not have an eight, he draws cards from the stockpile until he gets a card that he is able to play. If the stockpile runs out of cards and the player still cannot play, then he must pass. A player may choose to draw from the stockpile. When a player plays an eight, he or she must declare the suit that the next player is to play; that player must then follow the named suit or play another eight.
As an example, once the six of clubs is played the next player:
- can play any of the other sixes
- can play any of the clubs
- can play any eight (then must declare the suit)
- can choose to draw from the stockpile
- if none of the above, must draw from the stockpile until drawing either a six, club, or eight
[edit] Scoring
Scoring varies depending on the weighting of special cards. Points are incurred for any cards left in the opponents hand at the end of a round. Traditionally, pure Crazy Eights is scored 50pts for an eight, 10pts for a face card, and face value for a spot card. These points are then awarded to the winner of the round. The winner of the game is the first player to reach a specific amount of points. For two players it is 100pts, three players 150pts, four 200pts, five 250pts, six 300pts and for seven players 350pts.
[edit] Rules variations
In some variants, a player who cannot discard need only pick up one card before the turn passes to the next player. In this case another variable rule is whether or not a player picking up a card that could be played is allowed to play it immediately or not. An 8 cannot be played at the end of the game. In other versions, the suit-changing card may be a different card (often Jacks or Aces), and rules vary as to whether the card has to be played on a matching suit (that is, 8♥ has to be played on a heart) or whether it can be played regardless of the top card.
In some variations the players may agree to the "Dealer's Goodies" rule, in which the dealer is allowed to take the first discarded card if it is a "special" card, and continue taking cards until an "ordinary" card surfaces. Sometimes it is obligatory to call out "last card" if the player has only one card remaining. If he fails to make this call and is spotted, he may be obliged to pick up two cards as a penalty. Another variant requires that if a player's last card is an Eight, he must reveal this to the other players.
In some variations, any number of cards of the same rank may be played consecutively when discarding, and in others, the players may choose to hold on to the wild 8's cards if so they choose. In some versions runs (e.g. playing the three, four and five of a suit together) are permitted when discarding. Another version allows for the top card of the discard pile to be removed and the remaining cards in the discard pile are reshuffled and serve as a new stock pile when the stock pile has run out. Some players require that in order to win, the player must run out of cards and finish on an "8". In another version the winner is the player with the fewest points.
The game is sometimes "spiced up" by specifying that, as well as Eights allowing the player to change the suit, other specific ranks have special rules applied to them. Examples include:
- Skip - The next player in the rotation is skipped. If more than one card is played, the appropriate number of players are skipped. Skip cards are often Aces. Players may agree that the player being skipped may cancel this by playing a skip card himself ("Skips on Skips"); in this case the next two players are then skipped. A similar option exists with draw cards, where 2s and the Queen of spades may be played on each other interchangeably if players agree on "Draws on Draws".
- Reverse - Players may agree that play reverses direction when a Queen is placed down.
- Additional properties of 8 - The player who plays an 8 can force the next player to play a card of a certain suit. In addition, playing an 8 cancels out any draw cards that would ordinarily be required. Some variations allow or require the player to play an extra card on top of the 8, thus setting the next suit. This changes strategy slightly, as the 8 becomes a more valuable card when a player cannot otherwise play, but less valuable as a tool to "block" the next player by trying to call a suit the other player does not have.
- Draw Cards - When a draw card is played, the next player must take a number of cards from the pack. There are two basic draw cards: the 2 (draw 2) and the Ace (draw 4). If the next player can play another draw card, they add up and the third player must draw the total, unless he or she also has a draw card or an 8. Playing more than one draw card simultaneously will usually require a draw equal to the sum of the cards (i.e. three twos = six cards). Some players use black jacks to require the draw of five cards, and allow red jacks to cancel the draw. After drawing, the drawer cannot drop a card until it is their turn again.
[edit] Canadian rules
Some specific variations exist, which vastly alter the strategy used from the above description.
Eight cards are dealt to each player. The remaining cards of the deck are placed face down at the center of the table. The top card is then turned face up to start the discard pile. Players discard by matching rank or suit with the top card of the discard pile, starting with the player left of the dealer. The winner is the first player to discard all their cards. Some specific rules are as follows:
- Multiple cards of the same rank can be played at once.
- A player does not have to play a card if they do not wish. This allows the possibility of picking up extra cards if one desires. Example: A player may wish to act as if they cannot play after being forced to pick up two cards, and pick up a third card in order to try to extract another 2 from the pile to punish their opponent back. This also allows for strategic punish card play. Example: A player holding more than one 2 may wish to "hold-back" one or more 2s if they think their opponent may also have a 2. As 2s add together when played, this will force their opponent to net more cards than if they had been played all at once.
- If a player cannot or does not want to play a card, they must pick up one card from the pile. If after picking up they still cannot or do not want to play, they must pass.
- If the stockpile is out of cards and a player cannot or does not want to play, they must shuffle the discard pile and put it back into play, leaving the top card of the discard pile visible.
- When a player has only one card left, he must declare "Last Card".
- The loser of each game must shuffle and deal the next game.
[edit] Special action cards
Some specific rules pertaining to special actions cards are as follows:
- Any 8 will change the current suit to the players choosing. They can be played on ANY card.
- Multiple 8s can be played at once.
- 8s have no other special blocking action. (major variation from above)
- A Jack (J) skips the turn of the next player. in a two-player game, this acts as a "play-again" card.
- A 4 will skip direction of play. In a two-player game, the 4 has no special action.
- Playing a 2 will force the next player to pick up two cards, unless that player can play a 2 themselves (forcing the next player to pick up four cards), or can play a Black Jack (which will force the next player to pick up seven cards). Playing more than one 2 card will force the next player to draw multiple pairs of cards.
- The queen of spades forces the next player to pick up five cards. This cannot be played in response to a 2. If the queen of spades is played with other queens in the same discard, the next player still must pick up five cards, regardless of if the queen of spades is the top card or not.
- If any special action card is turned as the first card at the beginning of the game, play proceeds as if the dealer played the card.
- If an 8 is turned as the first card at the beginning of the game, it has no special action.
[edit] Crazy Eights Countdown
Another version of the game is "Crazy Eights Countdown", usually played to extend the length of the game. Once a player is able to discard his first hand, the first game finishes. For example, if a person was dealt eight cards in his first hand and discards them all, he draws a second hand, this time with seven cards (thus 7 becomes his particular wild card). This goes on until a player goes down all the way to drawing one card and is able to discard that hand. Whoever does so wins.[citation needed]
[edit] Naked 8s
For "Naked 8s", the above rules apply, however first 8 cards are dealt face up. All subsequent cards picked up are face down. If the discard pile requires reshuffling, all hidden cards are turned face up. Play then continues as before, with all subsequent cards face down, until the next reshuffle. Note that the advanced Crazy Eights player would already know what cards their opponent has at reshuffle (specifically in a 2-player match). This variation helps bridge the gap between advanced and amateur players.
"Half Naked 8s" is a variant similar to Naked 8s, but only the first four cards are dealt face up.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of Card Games, David Parlett, pg. 291 - Oxford University Press 1996 ISBN 0-19-869173-4
