Crazy Eights: the classic card game for two

Empty your hand before your friend does

Crazy Eights is one of the best-loved card games in the world, and the grandparent of the colourful shedding games many families play today. Each player gets a hand of cards. On your turn, put down a card that matches the top of the pile, either the same suit or the same rank. Eights are wild: play one on anything and choose the suit your friend has to follow. Can’t play? Draw a card. The first to play their last card wins.

On BeatMe you play it with a link, just the two of you. Send the challenge and play live, or take your turn whenever you like: the cards wait on the table. Prefer more action? Pick Mau-Mau rules, where a 7 makes your friend draw two, an 8 makes them miss a turn and a jack lets you wish for a suit.

The rules in short

• Classic Crazy Eights: 52 cards, 7 each. Eights are wild. Everything else follows suit or rank.
• Mau-Mau: 32 cards (7 to ace), 5 each. A 7 means draw two, and 7s stack: answer a 7 with a 7 and your friend draws four. An 8 skips the other player, so you go again. A jack is wild.
• Drawing: draw one card when you can’t or don’t want to play. If it fits you may play it at once.
• The stock runs out: the pile is shuffled into a new stock, keeping its top card.

Tips to win at Crazy Eights

• Save your eights. A wild card is your escape when nothing else fits. Don’t waste it early.
• Change to your strongest suit. When you play a wild, name the suit you hold the most of.
• Count what’s gone. If most hearts are already on the pile, switching to hearts can leave your friend stuck.
• Get rid of high cards and odd suits first. A long run in one suit gets you out faster at the end.

Fair cards

The cards are shuffled on our server, and your friend’s hand and the order of the stock never reach your page, not even in the page code. Every card you play is checked there too, so a tampered page can’t sneak an extra wild card onto the pile.