Eights

How to play

2 to 6 players. 52 cards in four suits (leaves, acorns, berries, feathers) numbered 1 to 13. Each player gets 7 cards with two players, 5 with more; one card turns face up to start the pile.

A turn

• Lay one card on the pile: of the suit asked, or of the same number as the top card.
• An 8 goes on anything: you name the next suit.
• A 2 makes the next player draw two cards, unless they lay a 2 too: then the next one draws four, and so on. A jack skips the next player.
• Nothing fits? Draw a card: lay it if it fits, or pass.

The end

The first player to lay their last card wins. If no card is left to draw and nobody can lay a card for a whole round, the fewest cards win.