The mostly widely known card game in The Gambia, but unlike the
version you might know at home. First of all the suits are called by
African names in The Gambia—heart (?) is “love sign,” diamond (?) is
“biscuit,” spade (?) is “black card,” and club (?) is “tánkipitá,”
which means “foot of the bird.” The rules of Crazy Eights are as
follows:
The Dealer will deal the cards by two, counter-clockwise, starting
with the person on his right. The usual hand is four cards, but the
Dealer has the authority to deal as many cards as he likes. The rest
of the deck is placed faced down in the middle of the table. The
Dealer flips over the top card in the deck and lays it face up on the
table.
The first play is made by the person to the right of the Dealer. A
card must be played on top of the flipped-over card that is either the
same suit or the same number/value. If he cannot play, he forfeits his
turn and must draw one card from the pile. Jacks, 10, joker, 8, 2, and
Ace are special cards, explained below. Jokers and 8s can be played on
anything except an Ace that asks if you are strong (see below); the
other special cards must follow number or suit.
Jack is jump—if it is played, the next person is skipped.
10 is reverse—play goes in the opposite direction.
8 is crazy indeed—it acts as a wild card, and the person who plays it
changes the suit to what ever he pleases
2 means draw two—the next player must take two from the deck without
taking a turn. Nothing in his hand can deter him from drawing two.
Ace means “Are you strong?” The person who plays an ace must ask this
question to the next player. If the next player is not strong (as in
he doesn’t have an ace to put down), he must skip his turn and draw
two cards from the deck. If he has an Ace, he is strong, and must play
the Ace. Either way, the next player is not asked the infamous
question, but has the option of following suit or playing another Ace.
Joker is a penalty for the next three players—the first player must
draw three cards from the deck, the second player must draw two, and
the third player must draw one. The fourth player can place whatever
card he pleases on top of the joker. If there are only three players,
the next player takes two cards and the player after takes one. If
there are two players, the other player takes two cards. (Note that
nothing in your hand can deter a joker if you are in line to draw
cards).
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When the end of the deck is reached, flip over the discard pile
(except for the top card) to become the new deck. Shuffling is
entirely optional.
Misplays, including playing out of turn, are punished by drawing
two cards, but only if the deed is noticed by another person who
is playing the game. If a player draws too many cards by
accident, he is not permitted to return the cards to the deck.
Under-drawing merits only the completion of card drawing, not
the two-card penalty.
When a player has only one card remaining in his hand, he must
say “last card.” If someone catches him with one card and he
failed to say “last card,” even if his turn is not yet complete,
he must draw two cards from the deck.
The game ends when one player empties his hand—this is called an
“arrest.” The remaining players count the cards remaining in
their hands; the player with the highest score is out. Points
for cards are calculated as follows:
2 –10, excluding 8: face value
J, Q, K, A: 1 point
8: 32 points
Joker: 64 points
In case of a tie for highest score, the two players play a
private round. The first to arrest remains in the game.
Play continues as from number 1, with one person getting ousted
each round. The champion is the person who arrests first in the
final, one-on-one match.
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