Crazy Eights

Follow suit, unleash your 8s and 2s: the first to empty their hand wins!

The classic of Quebec kitchen tables, for 2 to 4 players: the 8 changes the suit, the 2 makes the next player draw (and stacks), the jack skips a turn, the ace reverses direction… and don’t forget to announce your last card!

Players: 2 to 4 players
Length: 10 min

Against the AI
Online with friends

Play Crazy Eights

15 days of full access, no account · No download

How to play

Goal

Be the first to get rid of all your cards. The winner of the round scores the value of the cards left in their opponents’ hands; the first player to reach the chosen total (200 points by default) wins the game.

How it works

Each player is dealt 8 cards. The next card is turned over to start the discard pile; its special effects do not apply, and a turned-over 8 is put back in the deck.
On your turn, play a card of the same suit or the same rank as the top card, or an 8.
If you cannot or do not want to play, draw a card: if it is playable, you may play it straight away; otherwise your turn ends.
When the draw pile is empty, the discard pile (except the top card) is reshuffled to form a new draw pile.

Special cards (common Quebec rules)

8: can be played on any card; you choose the new suit.
2: the next player draws two cards and misses their turn, unless they play a 2 themselves, which stacks the penalty (4, 6, 8 cards…) onto the next player. Facing an attack, only a 2 lets you defend.
Jack: the next player misses their turn.
Ace: the direction of play is reversed. With two players, the ace acts like a jack: you play again.
Last card: before playing your second-to-last card, announce it with the “Last card!” button. An opponent who catches you out makes you draw two cards. You can also catch out an absent-minded opponent.

Scoring

The winner of the round scores 50 points per 8, 10 points per face card (jack, queen, king), 1 point per ace and the face value of the other cards left in their opponents’ hands.

Tip: keep your 8s to get out of a jam or to finish. When an opponent is down to one or two cards, attack them with a 2 or make them miss a turn. Watch what your opponents draw: if they draw, they probably could not follow suit. Tap the draw pile or the “Draw” button to draw a card.

About the AI

Levels 1 to 3 play by increasingly refined rules of thumb: keeping their 8s, steering the suit towards their strong cards, attacking the player about to go out or who leads on points. The AI deduces the suits each opponent is missing from their draws. Levels 4 and 5 use Monte Carlo determinization: the AI generates hundreds, even thousands, of distributions of the hidden cards and the draw pile that are consistent with these deductions, plays each round through to the end and picks the move that maximizes its chances of going out first. It never sees your cards.

AI levels

BeginnerOften plays the first card that comes to hand and sometimes forgets to announce its last card.
AmateurKnows the basics, but wastes its 8s and special cards.
IntermediateKeeps its 8s, steers the suit and attacks the player about to go out.
ExpertDeduces missing suits and simulates hundreds of round endings.
MasterMonte Carlo determinization: thousands of simulated rounds on every move.