Updated
September 16, 2001
Crazy Eight - Updated
This popular card game has a basic set of rules - but each compound has its own variations to catch you out. Sainabou during her 2001 visit, put us right on a few of the rules
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We hope you enjoy Crazy 8, it is fast and fun.
Cards can be bought in local corner shops in The Gambia at between 5 and 20 Dalasi a pack, aroud 25 pence !!!
Sainabou travelled
with us from Gambia in August 2001 to visit Tong and Shirley who have
visited Gambia regularly for years.
She visited us in london on her birthday which she share with our Owen and again in the middle of September for the weekend.
We went on the London Eye, a visit to Brixton Market and to the Cinema.
In the evening we played Crazy 8 and got the rules a bit better sorted.
Played with a full set of cards including the jokers.
Almost any number of players
Each player is dealt up to 8 cards (but as few as 1 can be dealt depending on the dealer), the remaining cards are placed on the table as a pick up pile and the top card turned over to display it. (In some versions the first player chooses the first card from their hand)
Play starts anti-clockwise from the dealer.
The object of the game is to get rid of all your cards, by fair means although a little cheating does come in on occasions.
Playing for points, matchsticks or any other counters might be seen as gambling which is totally against the Islamic tradition, but crazy 8 can be a gambling game in some compounds and be warned Gambians are very very good at it. Each round has a winner the person who gets rid of their cards the fastest and the person with the highest points at the end is out.
The suits have different names in the game as follows:-
Clubs = "Tanke Bitta" (means foot print)
Diamonds = "Biscuit"
Hearts = "Love Sign"
Spades = "Black Heart"
You need to know these names as when you play an 8 (eight) card, you choose the suit that must be played next and you must call out its name
Placing certain cards on the discard pile and shouting certain phrases has an affect on the play of the following players as follows:-
- An Ace - You must say "Are you strong?" the following player must then play any Ace or pickup 2 cards. After a player has to pick up 2 cards, play continues with the next player placing any card from the suit of the Ace that was played.
- Any 2 same suit or
on any other 2 - Next person must pick up two cards or put down a 2.
- Any 8 at any time
- Player who plays the eight can choose the next suit to be played
- Any 10 on suit - changes
the direction of play, where only two players this is the same as having
another go
- Any Jack - the next
player misses a go, called a jump
- A Joker played at any time and you must say "Bomb" the next player picks up the same number of cards as there are people playing, the next player one less and so on till the person who played the Bomb, they then have another go.
On playing the last but one card in your hand you must
say "Last card"
On playing your last card you must say "Arrest"
STARTING THE GAME
The person on the right of the dealer starts the play, either placing the first card on the table by choosing from their hand OR in some versions following the suit of the card turned up by the dealer at the end of the deal.
You must follow suit OR place the same value card of a different suit on the pile and if you can't go, you must pick up a card. When the pile is used up the discard pile is tuned over and used - in some variations the pile is shuffled, in others it is not.
ONLY an 8 and Joker can be played at any time and the player can choose any suit not necessarily the suit on the 8 they have played, After a joker play the next card down can be any suit.
Crazy Eight is a very simple game at first sight BUT once played a few times you discover that it is infact very skillful.
Counting your cards when someone 'Arrests' (goes out)
Picture cards & Aces = 1
Any 8 = 32
Either Joker = 64
All other cards score the value on the card
Highest score drops out - in some versions this person becomes the dealer.
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