What is Crazy Eights?
Crazy Eights is the card game where everyone races to empty their hand. On your turn you play a card that matches the top card of the discard pile — same suit or same rank. Can’t match? Then an eight comes in handy: it fits on almost anything and lets you name the suit everyone has to follow next. Whoever gets rid of their last card first wins.
The rules fit in a sentence, but there is plenty to think about. Do you play your eight now or keep it for when you are stuck? Do you draw on purpose although you could play? And which suit do you call so the next player has nothing to follow?
In Germany the same family of games is called Mau-Mau, and it comes with more special cards: the jack picks the suit, a seven makes the next player draw two, an eight makes them miss a turn, and whoever goes down to one card has to call “Mau”. You choose before every game: Crazy Eights, Mau-Mau or your own mix of the rules. The rule variants show the differences.
How to play Crazy Eights here
Here the cards are dealt on a green 3D felt table: they fly across the felt on the deal, and your hand sits large and easy to read at the bottom of the screen.
Play a card
Tap or click a card in your hand — or swipe it upwards. Cards that fit lift slightly, everything else is dimmed. After a wild card you pick the suit from four large buttons.
Draw or pass
Nothing fits? Tap the draw pile in the middle of the table or the “Draw” button. If the card you drew fits, you may play it right away; otherwise “Pass” hands the turn on. When sevens are stacked against you, one tap takes all the cards.
Call “Mau!”
In the Mau-Mau rules a “Mau!” button appears when it is your turn and you hold two cards. Tap it before you play your second-to-last card — forget it and you draw a penalty card. Crazy Eights rules have no call.
In the start menu you set up your table: you plus 1 to 7 bots (easy, normal or hard). There you also choose the rules, how many cards everyone gets and whether you play one, three or five rounds. Hands are secret, so on one device you play against the bots; for games with friends there is the lobby. A game in progress is saved in your browser automatically, so you can pick it up again later.
To play with friends, create a lobby and share the invite link, the QR code or the six-character code, fill empty seats with bots, pick the rules and deal. Up to 8 players sit at one table, more guests can watch, and the chat keeps the table talk going. Your cards are only ever sent to your own device. To keep the game moving, every turn has 40 seconds — when time runs out, the game draws for you and passes the turn on.
On a computer everything works with the keyboard, too: Tab or the arrow keys move through your cards, Enter plays the selected one, D draws, P passes and M calls “Mau”; when you pick a suit, keys 1 to 4 stand for the four suits. In the settings you sort your hand by suit or rank, choose the card back (felt, red or onyx) and adjust sound, graphics quality and — on Android devices — vibration.
Crazy Eights rules
The basic rule fits in one line: same suit or same rank. The special cards take care of the rest.
The goal
Whoever plays their last card first wins the round. Everyone else scores penalty points for the cards still in their hand (see scoring). Over several rounds, the lowest total wins.
Cards and the deal
We play with a 32-card deck, as is usual for Mau-Mau: seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king and ace in clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds. One deck is enough for up to four players; from five players on, two decks are shuffled together automatically (64 cards), so every card exists twice.
Everyone is dealt five cards face down (or six or seven, if you like), one at a time, clockwise. With four players and seven cards each, it is six, so enough cards stay in the draw pile. The rest goes face down in the middle as the draw pile. Its top card is turned over to start the discard pile; if it is a special card, it goes back under the pile and the next one is turned.
The dealer moves on every round. The player to the dealer’s left starts, and play goes clockwise.
Your turn
On your turn you play one card that matches the top card of the discard pile by suit or by rank. On a nine of hearts you can play any heart and any other nine.
Instead of playing, you may always draw one card from the pile — even if you could play. If the drawn card fits, you may play exactly that card right away; otherwise you pass and your turn is over.
Special cards
Which cards have a special effect depends on the rule variant (overview: special cards at a glance):
- Wild card (the eight in Crazy Eights, the jack in Mau-Mau): it fits on any card — except another wild card. Whoever plays it names a suit, and that suit has to be followed until someone plays a card of it.
- Seven — draw two (Mau-Mau): the next player has to draw two cards, and their turn is over. They can fight back by playing a seven of their own: then the player after them takes four, after a third seven six, and so on. While sevens are stacked, no other card fits.
- Eight — skip (Mau-Mau): the next player misses a turn. While the eight is the wild card, it does not skip.
- Nine — reverse (only if switched on): the direction of play changes. With two players this means you go again.
“Mau” — and how a round ends
In the Mau-Mau rules, whoever plays their second-to-last card calls “Mau”, so everyone knows the end is near. Forget it and you draw a penalty card straight away. Crazy Eights rules have no call.
Your last card ends the round at once, and its effect no longer counts: a final seven makes nobody draw, a final wild card needs no suit. You don’t have to announce your last card.
When the draw pile runs out
Once the draw pile is used up, all cards of the discard pile except the top one are shuffled into a new draw pile. If there is nothing left to draw and no card fits, you pass.
Several rounds
In a one-round game, whoever goes out first wins. Over three or five rounds the penalty points add up; after the last round the lowest total wins, and a tie shares the place.
Special cards at a glance
What each card does — in the two preset rule variants.
| Card | Crazy Eights | Mau-Mau |
|---|---|---|
| Seven | plain card | Draw two: the next player draws two cards — or adds a seven of their own, and the player after them draws four. |
| Eight | Wild card: fits on any card except another wild card. Whoever plays it picks the suit to follow. | Skip: the next player misses a turn. |
| Nine | plain card (reverse can be switched on) | plain card (reverse can be switched on) |
| Jack | plain card | Wild card: fits on any card except another wild card. Whoever plays it picks the suit to follow. |
| Second-to-last card | no call | Call “Mau” when you are down to one card — or draw a penalty card. |
Each of these rules can be switched on or off on its own in the start menu and in the lobby — see the rule variants. Aces, kings, queens and tens are always plain cards.
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Crazy Eights or Mau-Mau: the rule variants
You choose the rules before every game — in the start menu or, as host, in the lobby. In English the start menu begins with Crazy Eights, in German with Mau-Mau; after that it remembers your last choice. Every new lobby starts with Mau-Mau.
Crazy Eights
The lean variant makes do with a single special card: the eight is wild. Sevens, nines and jacks are plain cards, and there is no call.
Ideal for getting started and for quick rounds. What matters most is when you play your eights.
Mau-Mau
The German way to play: the jack is the wild card, a seven makes the next player draw two, and sevens can be stacked. An eight makes the next player miss a turn, and whoever goes down to one card calls “Mau”.
With this many special cards, there is plenty of fighting back, drawing and suit-calling — a round can turn right up to the last card.
Custom rules
Every rule can be changed on its own. If your mix matches neither variant, it is called “Custom rules”. You can set:
- Wild card
- jack · eight
- 7 draws two
- on · off
- 8 skips
- on · off
- 9 reverses
- on · off
- Call “Mau”
- on · off
- Cards per player
- 5 · 6 · 7
- Rounds
- 1 · 3 · 5
The eight only skips while it is not the wild card. Reversing with the nine can be added to either variant whenever you like.
Scoring
Whoever goes out first scores 0. Everyone else counts the cards left in their hand as penalty points — lower is better.
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Seven | 7 |
| Eight | 8 |
| Nine | 9 |
| Ten | 10 |
| Jack | 20 |
| Queen | 3 |
| King | 4 |
| Ace | 11 |
The most expensive card is the jack at 20 points — even when it is not the wild card. An ace counts 11, number cards count their value, while the queen (3) and king (4) cost next to nothing.
The points of every round add up. After the last round, whoever has collected the fewest penalty points wins; a tie shares the place. In a one-round game, all that counts is who went out first.
jack of clubs, ten of hearts and queen of spades
20 + 10 + 3 = 33 penalty points
Tips & strategy
Luck decides which cards you get. What you make of them is up to you.
Don’t waste your wild cards
A wild card fits almost always — which is exactly why it is too good for a turn where a plain card would do. Save it for the moment nothing else fits, or as one of your last cards: with it in hand, you are almost sure to go out.
But careful: in the Mau-Mau rules a jack left in your hand costs 20 penalty points. Once someone is down to one card, play it while you still can.
Steer the suit
Call the suit you hold most of — and steer the discard pile there without a wild card, too: if the queen of diamonds is on top and you hold lots of spades, switch suits with the queen of spades.
With many cards of one suit you can play turn after turn while the others have to draw.
Keep a seven in reserve
When sevens are stacked against you, only a seven of your own helps — otherwise you take all the cards. A seven in your hand is good insurance.
With few cards left, fighting back almost always pays. With a full hand, a few more cards hurt less, and your seven stays for later.
Watch the next player
If the player after you is down to one or two cards, it is time for a seven or an eight — or a change of suit.
Also remember who drew instead of playing: they probably didn’t have the suit asked for. If they play after you, call exactly that suit.
Shed expensive cards in time
Over several rounds every point counts. When things get tight, get rid of jacks (20), aces (11) and tens (10) first; queens and kings cost hardly anything and can stay.
Practise with the bots
“Easy” mostly plays any card that fits and sometimes forgets to call “Mau”. “Normal” plays with a plan: it saves wild cards, calls its own strong suit and attacks when someone is about to go out. “Hard” also keeps track of the cards already played and remembers who could not follow which suit.
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Crazy Eights FAQ
Can I play Crazy Eights here for free?
Yes. Crazy Eights at The Usuals is completely free — no sign-up, no download and no in-app purchases. It runs right in your browser, on your phone or computer.
How do I play Crazy Eights online with friends?
Click “Play with friends”, choose a name and create a lobby. Share the invite link, show the QR code or tell your friends the six-character lobby code. Up to 8 players sit at one table, the host fills empty seats with bots, and more guests can watch. Everyone sees only their own cards.
Can I play alone against the computer?
Yes. Play solo against 1 to 7 bots in three levels: easy, normal and hard. The bots only see what a person in their seat would see — they never peek at other hands.
How many people can play?
2 to 8. Up to 4 players use one 32-card deck; from 5 players on, the game automatically plays with two decks (64 cards), so the draw pile doesn’t run out all the time.
What is the difference between Crazy Eights and Mau-Mau?
They belong to the same family of games. In Crazy Eights the eight is wild, and there are no other special cards and no call. In Mau-Mau the jack is wild, a seven makes the next player draw two, an eight makes them miss a turn, and whoever goes down to one card calls “Mau”. The basic rules and the scoring are the same. More in the rule variants.
Can I play an eight on an eight?
No. A wild card fits on any card except another wild card. After an eight you follow the suit that was called, or you draw. In the Mau-Mau rules the same goes for the jack.
What happens if I forget to call “Mau”?
In the Mau-Mau rules you draw a penalty card right after your turn — so much for going out quickly. When it is your turn and you hold two cards, tap “Mau!” before you play, or press M. You don’t have to announce your last card.
Do I have to play a card if I can?
No. You may always draw a card instead. After that you may only play the card you drew, if it fits; otherwise you pass. When sevens are stacked against you, you choose between a seven of your own and taking all the cards.
What happens when the draw pile runs out?
The discard pile is shuffled into a new draw pile, all except its top card. If even that leaves nothing to draw and no card fits, you pass.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes, the game is made for touch screens: tap a card or swipe it upwards to play it, tap the draw pile to draw. Games on one device are saved in your browser automatically, so you can carry on later. On older devices, a lower graphics quality in the settings helps, down to 2D with no 3D graphics at all; where 3D does not run, the game starts in 2D by itself.