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Crazy Eights

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Crazy Eights is a fun card game for two to seven people.

The main goal is to be the first person to get rid of all your cards. This is called a shedding-type game. It is a famous American game in the Eights Group. This group also includes games like Pig and Spoons. Many people know games that are similar, such as Uno or Mau-Mau. You can play this game with friends or family to have a good time.

To start, you must deal the cards. Each player gets five cards. If only two people play, they each get seven cards. The rest of the cards stay face down in a pile called the stock. You turn the top card face up to start the discard pile.

Players must match the suit or the rank of the top card. You can also play any 8 at any time. An 8 is special because it lets you pick a new suit. The next player must follow your suit or play another 8. If you cannot play, you draw from the stock until you can.

This game has a long history. It first appeared as a game called Eights in the 1930s. The name Crazy Eights started being used in the 1940s. Some people think it came from a German game called Mau-Mau. In the past, children often played it with leftover cards from a game called Euchre. Today, it is a very common game. It is a basic pattern that people can change easily.

There are many ways to keep score and win. If you empty your hand, you win the round. Your opponents then pay you points based on the cards they still hold. An 8 is worth 50 points. Court cards are worth 10 points. Other cards are worth their face value. To win the whole game, you must reach a certain number of points. You find this number by multiplying the number of players by 50. For two players, you need 100 points. For seven players, you need 350 points.

Players love to add their own rules to make it exciting. These are called variations. For example, a Queen might make the next player skip a turn. An Ace can reverse the direction of play. Some people play a version where a 2 makes the next player draw cards. You can even stack multiple 2s together. There is also a version called Crazy Eights Countdown. In that game, players try to reduce their score to zero. It is a very flexible game for everyone.

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