How to Play

Ochos Locos ('Crazy Eights' in Spanish) is the Latin American family-party version of Crazy Eights. 2 to 5 players shed cards by matching suit or rank to a discard pile, with the eights acting as wild 'locos' that let a player change the active suit.

Ochos Locos ('Crazy Eights' in Spanish) is the Latin American family-party version of Crazy Eights, a shedding game where 2–5 players race to empty their hands by matching suit or rank to a face-up discard pile, with the eights acting as wild 'locos' that let the player change the active suit. Games are quick, chatty, and usually decided in a few minutes per hand; a typical session runs several hands with cumulative scoring.

Players

2 to 5 players. Every player plays for themselves; there are no partnerships or teams. The dealer is chosen by cutting the deck: low card deals. The deal rotates one seat to the left after every hand.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card deck, no jokers. All four suits (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades) and all thirteen ranks are used. With six or more players, shuffle two 52-card packs together.

Objective

Be the first player to get rid of every card in your hand. Across multiple hands, accumulate the fewest penalty points (cards left in losers' hands at the end of each hand).

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the deck; the dealer offers it to the player on their right to cut.
2. Deal 7 cards to each player, one at a time clockwise starting with the player on the dealer's left.
3. Place the remaining cards face-down in the centre as the stock (draw pile).
4. Turn the top card of the stock face-up next to it to start the discard pile. If the starter card is an eight, bury it in the middle of the stock and turn the next card instead (so the first active player has a real suit/rank to match).
5. If during the deal too many or too few cards are accidentally dealt, the hand is a misdeal: reshuffle and deal again.

Gameplay

1. Turn order: Play proceeds clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer's left.
2. Legal play: On your turn you must play a card that matches the top of the discard pile by suit or by rank. For example, on the you can play any heart or any seven. Place the card face-up on the discard pile.7♥
3. Eights are wild (the 'locos'): An eight of any suit may be played on any card. When you play an eight, you must immediately declare a new active suit (clubs, diamonds, hearts, or spades); the next player must match that suit or play another eight.
4. If you cannot play: Draw one card from the stock. If that card is playable, you may play it right away; otherwise your turn ends and play passes on.
5. Stock runs out: If the stock is empty, set aside the current top card of the discard pile, shuffle the rest of the discards, and place them face-down to form a new stock. Put the set-aside card back face-up to continue the discard pile. If the stock still cannot supply a card (all cards are in players' hands), a player who cannot play simply passes.
6. Last card: When you play your second-to-last card (leaving one in hand) you must announce 'last card' or equivalent. A player who fails to do so before the next play draws two cards from the stock as a penalty.
7. Illegal play: A card that matches neither suit nor rank (and is not an eight) is an illegal play. If spotted before the next player acts, the offender takes back the card and draws one card from the stock; otherwise the play stands.
8. End of hand: The hand ends the instant a player plays their final card. Any special effect on that card is ignored.

Scoring

• Winner of the hand: The player who emptied their hand scores zero for that hand and collects penalty points from the losers.
• Penalty values on cards still in losers' hands: each eight = 50 points; each picture card (Jack, Queen, King) = 10 points; each Ace = 1 point; number cards = face value (2 = 2, 3 = 3, …, 10 = 10).A♠K♠Q♠J♠
• Cumulative score: The winner of a hand collects the sum of every loser's remaining-hand value; add that to a running total. Alternatively, each loser adds their own remaining-hand value to their running total; the two scorekeeping styles are mathematically interchangeable.
• Target score: Play until one player reaches an agreed target, commonly 100 or 200 points. The player with the lowest cumulative score at that moment wins the match.

Winning

• Hand winner: The first player to discard all their cards in a hand wins that hand.
• Match winner: The player with the lowest cumulative penalty score when another player reaches the agreed target.
• Tie-breakers: If two players are tied on the lowest score at the moment someone reaches the target, play one more hand between them; if they are still tied, the hand winner wins the match. Ties at higher scores are broken the same way: lowest after the extra hand takes it.

Common Variations

• Action cards (most common house rules): Jack = skip next player; Queen = reverse direction of play; Two = next player draws 2 cards (or plays another 2 to pass the penalty on, stacking 2+2+… in sequence). These are optional; agree on which are in play before the first hand.2♠
• Draw until playable: Instead of drawing one, a stuck player draws until they find a playable card.
• No eight on eight: Some groups forbid playing an eight on another eight to prevent chained suit switches.
• Silent eight: The player of an eight does not declare a new suit; the suit of the eight itself remains active.
• Two decks for big groups: Use two 52-card packs when 5 or more players sit down, so the deal and stock last longer.

Tips and Strategy

• Save at least one eight for emergencies; an eight in the hand is both a guaranteed play and a lever to swing the suit to your strength.
• Track which suits your opponents are drawing on vs. playing freely; if a player has had to draw three hearts in a row, they are unlikely to have any.
• When playing an eight, declare a suit you personally hold several of. The more you can follow up, the better.
• Offload high-penalty cards (eights, picture cards) earliest when you have the choice; you want them in your discard, not your hand, when the round ends.

Glossary

• Stock / draw pile: The face-down pile of undealt cards in the centre.
• Discard pile: The face-up pile where played cards go; its top card is the 'active' card to match.
• Loco (pl. locos): A wild eight: it may be played on any card, and the player names a new active suit.
• Shed / shedding game: A family of card games whose goal is to be the first to have no cards left in hand.
• Misdeal: A deal declared invalid because of a dealing error; the cards are gathered and redealt.