Eights.

How to play Eights

1. Press Play, choose the number of seats, pick Easy, Medium or Hard CPU opponents, and select Classic or Special rules.
2. Wait for the seven-card deal. The highlighted player label marks the active seat, and the colored diamond shows the current color.
3. Click or tap a card matching the discard’s color or symbol. A wild opens a four-color selector; choose the color that best supports your remaining cards.
4. Use the face-down deck to draw. Play a newly drawn card if it is legal, or choose Keep card & pass. If a draw penalty is pending, stack another draw card in Special mode or take the total.
5. Press the 1 button after your play leaves one card. Announce it before an opponent catches you; use the same button to catch an opponent’s missed call.
6. Empty your hand, review the round score, and choose Next round. Continue until a player reaches 250, then start a fresh match or change the settings.

Make your move

About Eights

Eights is a free color-matching card game played on a blue felt table. You receive seven cards from a deck of one hundred and eight, with numbers, skips, reverses, draw cards and wilds spread across four colors. A face-up discard sets the first challenge: play a card of the same color or the same symbol. When several cards fit, the choice matters. Keeping a useful color alive can help you unload the rest of your hand; changing the direction can keep a dangerous opponent waiting. Your cards stay in their original order, and legal plays are highlighted when your turn begins.

A turn does not require a rushed reaction. Read the discard and the number of cards each opponent holds, then choose a move. A wild lets you name the next color. A skip misses the next seat, while a reverse changes the order around the table. With only two players, either action gives you another turn. If no card suits your plan, draw one. A playable drawn card can be used immediately, or you may keep it and pass. An unplayable draw passes the turn automatically. The draw pile recycles older discards when it runs out, keeping the current top card in place.

Choose Classic rules for separate draw penalties, or enable Special mode for stacking. In Classic, a draw two makes the next player take two cards and miss their turn; a draw four does the same with four. You may use a Classic draw four only when your hand has no other playable card. Special mode removes that restriction and lets a player answer a pending penalty with another draw card. The accumulated total passes to the next player until someone takes it. The rules choice appears before the deal so the entire match uses one consistent set of expectations.

After a play leaves one card in your hand, press the one-card button. An opponent can catch a missed call and make you draw two penalty cards. You can use the same button to catch an opponent who has not announced their final card. Empty your hand to win the round and collect points from all cards your opponents still hold. Number cards count at face value, colored action cards count twenty and wild cards count fifty. Scores carry into the next hand, and the first player to reach two hundred and fifty wins the match. You can choose a two-, three- or four-seat table, always with clearly labeled computer opponents. Match wins and completed matches are stored locally in this browser when storage is available.

A little help for your next high score

• Save a wild when several ordinary cards can do the same job. Its ability to change color becomes more useful when your remaining colors are awkward.
• Count an opponent’s visible card backs. A skip or draw card is especially useful when the next player has only one card left.
• In a two-player match, a reverse behaves like a skip. Use the extra turn to keep control of the color.
• A stacked penalty can grow quickly. In Special mode, consider holding one draw card as an answer instead of spending every action immediately.
• High-value wilds score fifty against you if another player finishes. Near the end of a hand, shedding expensive cards may matter more than preserving flexibility.

Good questions