How to play Crazy Eights
- Each player gets 7 cards. The rest of the pack is the deck, and its top card is turned face up to start the pile. (If that card is an 8, it goes back into the deck and another card is turned up.)
- On your turn, play one card on the pile that matches the top card's suit (hearts on hearts) or its number (a 7 on a 7, a queen on a queen).
- An 8 can be played on any card. When you play one, you choose the next suit, and your rival must play that suit or another 8.
- If you have no card you can play, draw from the deck, one card at a time, until you get one you can play. Then play it. If you can play, you must play: you can't draw instead.
- If the deck runs out, the pile (all but its top card) is shuffled to make a new deck.
- The first player to play their last card wins the game.
- In the rare game where nobody can play and there is nothing left to draw, the player whose cards are worth fewer points wins: 50 for an 8, 10 for a 10 or a picture card, 1 for an ace and the number for the rest.
Controls
- Play a card: tap it. The cards you can play stand up with a yellow edge.
- Draw: when you have nothing to play, the deck glows. Tap it to draw a card.
- Play an 8: tap the 8, then pick the next suit. Press Back if you change your mind.
- Keyboard: use ← and → or Tab to move between your cards, Enter to play one and D to draw.
Each suit has its own colour, so you can tell them apart at a glance: spades are dark, hearts red, diamonds blue and clubs green. With 2 Players, a cover screen hides the cards whenever the device passes to the other player, so nobody sees their rival's hand.
Computer levels
The computer plays by the same rules and never looks at your cards or the deck. It only knows what you could know: its own cards, the pile, how many cards you hold and what you've done.
| Level | How it plays |
|---|---|
| Easy | Plays any card it can, and spends its 8s at any time. |
| Medium | Usually keeps its 8s for when it's stuck, but now and then plays a card without thinking. |
| Hard | Keeps the suit it holds most of, saves its 8s, and notices when you have to draw. If you draw on hearts, it knows you have no hearts left and steers the game back to hearts. |
| Expert | Tries out each card it could play in 40 possible games, imagining your hand from the cards it hasn't seen and the clues you've given, and plays the card that won most often. |
Tips to win
- Save your 8s. An 8 gets you out of trouble at any time, so keep it until you have nothing else to play, or until it wins the game.
- Stay in your best suit. If you hold four clubs, play clubs and keep the game in clubs as long as you can.
- Watch what your rival draws. A player who draws on diamonds has no diamonds. Play diamonds, or name diamonds with your next 8.
- Use matching numbers to change suit. A 9 of spades on a 9 of hearts switches the game from hearts to spades without spending an 8.
- Count the cards in your rival's hand. When they're down to one or two, play the suit they couldn't follow earlier, or name it with an 8.
- Get rid of high cards early. If the game is ever blocked, every card left in your hand counts against you.
About Crazy Eights
Crazy Eights belongs to a big family of "shedding" games, where the aim is to get rid of all your cards before anyone else. These games are played all over the world under many names, and families often add rules of their own, such as a 2 making the next player draw two cards or a queen skipping a turn. Several well-known commercial card games use the same idea with special cards. This version keeps to the simple classic rules: match the suit or the number, eights are wild, and the first empty hand wins.
Questions
How many cards does each player get?
With two players, each gets 7 cards. Everything else forms the deck, apart from the one card that starts the pile.
Can you play an 8 on an 8?
Yes. An 8 can be played on any card, including another 8, and you then choose the next suit.
Do you have to play a card if you can?
In this version, yes. You only draw when none of your cards can be played, and you stop drawing as soon as you get one that can.
What happens when the deck runs out?
The pile is turned over and shuffled to make a new deck, leaving its top card in place, so you can keep drawing.
Can two people play Crazy Eights on one phone?
Yes. Choose 2 Players. After each turn a cover screen hides the cards until the next player taps to see theirs, so pass the device and don't peek.
Is Crazy Eights free?
Yes. It's free in your browser, with no download, no sign-up and no ads during a game.
Updated 7 November 2026