How to Play the Crazy Pairs Game

Crazy Pairs is a variation of the popular card game known as Crazy Eights. In Crazy Paris, games tend to play much faster though because players can play multiple cards in one turn. This is done by playing pairs of cards on the playing pile. Crazy Pairs is played using a standard deck of playing cards, with some cards having special functions during the game.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Deck of playing cards

1. Find a small group of friends to play the Crazy Pairs Game. Crazy Pairs can be played with either 2 or 3 players.

2. Shuffle the standard deck of 52 playing cards; jokers are not used in Crazy Pairs.

3. Deal 8 cards face down to each player. Players may look at their own cards. Place the remaining cards face down to form the drawing deck.

4. Flip the top card of the drawing deck face up next to it to form the playing deck. Sometimes the playing deck might be depleted during the game of the Crazy Pairs Game. If this happens, leave the top card of the playing deck face up and shuffle the remaining cards in the playing deck and then turn them face down replacing the drawing deck.

5. Choose the player to the left of the dealer to take the first turn. On a player's turn he can either play or pass. If a player passes, he must draw a card from the drawing deck. Playing a card involves playing a card that matches either the suit or the rank of the card on the top of the playing pile. If a player plays a card on his turn, he does not have to draw a card from the drawing deck.

6. Play pairs. If a player has a card that matches the card she just played in rank, she can play that card as well on top of her first card. She may play as many cards as she wishes from her hand that match the rank of that card. There is a restriction though-- after playing her matches, she must also play one more card that matches the suit but not the rank of the last card she played.

7. Play special cards on your turn. An 8 can be played on any card even if it does not match the rank or suit. The player that played the 8 announces any suit he wishes as the new suit of that card. Playing a jack requires the next person to lose her turn. Playing a 4 requires the next player to take 4 cards or play a 4 from his own hand. To avoid drawing 4 cards, that player may play a 4 as well, requiring the next player to either draw 8 cards or play a 4. This continues until 1 player can not play a 4. That player draws the number of cards equal to 4 times the number of 4s played in a row before his turn.

8. Continue alternating turns in a clockwise rotation around the table until 1 player is out of cards. That player is the winner in the Crazy Pairs Card Game.

Tips & Warnings

• A typical game of the Crazy Pairs Card Game only takes about 5 minutes for 2 players, and up to 10 minutes for 3 players. It is a very quick game.
• Be careful about playing 4s when playing with 2 players; if you don't have a second 4 you might end up drawing 8 cards instead of your opponent drawing 4 cards.